Seeking Interesting Sites When Travelling the World? 401
An anonymous reader asks: "Is there anyone besides me who likes to travel and look at engineering projects? When I first read Neal Stephenson's Wired article on his trip around the world to watch an intercontinental fiber cable being built from England to Japan (still available at HotWired) I knew this was what I wanted to do with my vacation days. Space launch sites, high-speed rail lines, container ports, technology museums - I've tried them all. Does Slashdot have suggestions for destinations, or for web sites where people share their experiences."
Society for Industrial Archeology (Score:5, Informative)
sPh
Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Score:4, Informative)
In general, it rules, and it's only $9 to get in for the day.
If in Ottawa try this museum: (Score:4, Informative)
I went twice this year, and it has everything from trains, to boats, to satelites.
Sydney Harbour Bridge (Score:3, Informative)
Some of the best money I have spent.
SIA ! (Score:5, Informative)
A group of us used to do the same thing you mentioned, and we've been to their conferences and tours. One of our friends subscribed to all their newsletters and journals, and passed them around. The ads in there alone will point you to other organizations just like it. It's amazing.
I smiled while reading your description of awe-inspiring marvels of the world. I must say that being able to run a 5K race on the Great Wall of China was most amazing experience I've ever had.
Re:Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Score:3, Informative)
Mind the Gap. (Score:2, Informative)
Angkor wat (Score:2, Informative)
Re:A Few Ideas (Score:1, Informative)
Visit a Linear Accelerator... (Score:4, Informative)
The home of the industrial revolution (Score:3, Informative)
The UK is full of historical sites of that era, when Britain lead the world in science and industry. A historically-inclined geek's paradise.
Check out Fred Pohl's book *Chasing Science* (Score:2, Informative)
> and look at engineering projects?
Frederik Pohl, the great science fiction writer,
for one. He recently published a book called
*Chasing Science* which is a guide for people like
you (and me).
Fred describes himself as a "science fan" and
he's fascinated with science and technology
as spectator sports. He's visited labs, digs,
observatories, volcanoes, museums, and historic
sites. He also attends technical conferences.
Good homework for a hard-SF writer, to be sure,
but to Fred it's pure fun.
In the book Fred describes some possible
destinations, tells a lot of his science-tourist
stories, and provides lists of places to visit.
It would be a great gift for a kid who's gobbled
up books about his favorite science topics and
wants to find ways to learn more.
By the way, I really liked the Stephenson article,
too, but "hacker tourism" is scarcely new. Here's
something I wrote when it was first published:
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=1996Dec3.133
Summary: Charles Babbage did it, too.
Bill Higgins
Fermilab
The Atomic Tourist.. (Score:2, Informative)
Someone suggested SLAC. I'd add to that Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, not too far from Chicago. They have a circular ring (4mi circumference, I think), and a buffalo herd to keep the grass short..
The National Cryptologic Museum! (Score:1, Informative)
But I've been to their museum, and it is incredibly
interesting. Don't be dissuaded by the outside either!
http://www.nsa.gov/museum/index.html
screw the Museum of Science and Industry (Score:1, Informative)
Also, the MoSaI is a damn sight more than $9, especially now that they encourage you to buy "city passes", which are a combined ticket for the MoSaI, the Field museum, the Shedd aquarium, the Adler planetarium, the Art Institute, the Historical Society, and probably a whole fucking slew of other things.
Re:Boston's Big Dig (Score:2, Informative)
Since this was such a huge undertaking, the state went all-out on the PR front. The practical upshot of this is an amazing web site that changes constantly and is always interesting to look at when you have some time to kill.
http://www.bigdig.com [bigdig.com]
Parisian Sewers (Score:2, Informative)
It was without a doubt the coolest thing I've seen thus far. And my female companion didn't even get disgusted. Mostly grey water from sinks and whatnot anyway.
Deutsches Museum in Munich (Score:3, Informative)
A geniune mine shaft [deutsches-museum.de] dug underneath the museum, that cronicals the modernisation of mining as you progress.
Other highlights: technical toys [deutsches-museum.de], a BWM robot [deutsches-museum.de], and the the first jet aircraft to be produced in quantity the Messerschmitt Me 262 [deutsches-museum.de]
My list: (Score:3, Informative)
2) The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center [cosmo.org], Hutchinson, Kansas. See where Apollo 13 and Liberty Bell were restored, and (in a couple of months) watch them restore a V2 rocket (and even help them do it!). (While here, if it isn't Sunday, get directions to The Carrage Crossing restaurant).
3) EBR-1 [inel.gov] the world's first breeder reactor, and the first reactor to make electric power, just outside Arco, Idaho (first city to be powered by nuclear power) (while here, you can go through Craters of the Moon National Park [nps.gov], one of the places that the Apollo astronauts trained. Stay in the DK inn, and you have a good chance of staying in one of the rooms they stayed in).
4) The Very Large Array [nrao.edu], outside Socorro, New Mexico. While here, you could also go through White Sands National Park [nps.gov].
5) The London Bridge V2.1 [golakehavasu.com] in Lake Havasu, Nevada, where the entire London Bridge was relocated to.
6) The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial [nps.gov] a.k.a. The Saint Lewis Arch - there is quite a museum below the arch, and I found it mind-blowing to realize that Saint Lewis is an ocean port.
7) Mount Rushmore National Park [nps.gov] - go through the Rushmore Borglum Story [rushmoreborglum.com] for how they carved it and the tricks Borglum used to make the faces look more alive. While there, stop by....
8) Crazy Horse Memorial [crazyhorse.org] to see such a work being created.
9) Mesa Verde National Park [nps.gov], near Cortez, Colorado, and Walnut Canyon National Monument [nps.gov], near Flagstaff, AZ, are great examples of how people can eake out a living and build a city where you wouldn't think anybody could survive.
Of course, just look at The National Parks Service [nps.gov] website for all sorts of cool places to go.
Deutsches Museum (Score:2, Informative)
This museum is HUUUUUUGE!
It has all sorts of industrial and technological
artifacts and exhibits, from a viking warship to a long hall of exhibits that mix two chemicals to demonstrate the reaction.
I've heard it would take you a year to see the whole museum if you spent a minute at each exhibit. But I had fun just visiting it for one day
A few in New Zealand (Score:2, Informative)
Civil Engineering projects in Berlin, Germany (Score:2, Informative)
And not to forget the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof, a new huge railway station. It includes a couple of tracks in a tunnel, crossed by several others on a dam, and the whole thing is covered with one of Europe's largest glass roofs. Really impressive.
Most of the sites have some kind of viewing platform. The Potsdamer Platz and the government sites used to have visitor centers proper, with models, guides, video, coffeeshops and souvenirs to boot! If you expend some effort to establish local contacts to one of the engineering firms, you may get more access than a regular visitor. Maybe www.berlin.de [berlin.de] has more information on the engineering projects.
Where the web was born... (Score:3, Informative)
A must-see for any self-respected geek!