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."
Why don't you tell us some? (Score:2, Insightful)
I'd be curious to hear which of these places you found interesting, stories from your travels, etc., etc.
Re:Why don't you tell us some? (Score:2)
I love my job!
Re:Why don't you tell us some? (Score:2, Interesting)
If you want to really be amazed by the Leaning Tower of Pisa, read about [discover.com] the measures they've taken to prevent it from totally falling over.
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.
Re:Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Score:3, Informative)
NASA Ames (Score:2)
Computer History Museum in San Jose (Score:2)
Also, directly in the shadow of a huge airship hangar at Moffett Field, is the Computer History Museum [computerhistory.org].
Very geek-friendly, geared towards a technical audience, and not at all dumbed-down like the "kid-friendly" computer sections in "normal" museums.
The site [computerhistory.org] says open Wednesday/Friday at 1300h, and the First and Third Saturdays of each month at 1300 and 1400h. Admittance to Moffet Field requires that you show driver's licence or other photo ID, but I don't think you have to be a US citizen.
Upcoming lectures include Steve Wozniak on December 10th. (woot!)
Re:Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Score:2)
Re:Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Score:2)
Chicago has a lot of GREAT museums. Also check out the natural history museum too. Great stuff.
Re: Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Score:2)
Deutsches Museum (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.deutsches-museum.de/e_index.htm
Re:Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Score:2)
I wish. They have a nice model railroad, but it's far, far simpler than all the rail connections in Chicago. [dhke.com]
The Museum of Science and Industry model railroad has been around for many decades. It was "modernized" in the 1980s by the Santa Fe Railroad. Modernization consisted of doing the same things the real railroad was doing during downsizing - all the passenger trains were discontinued, cabooses were replaced by end-of-train devices, most of the industrial sidings were abandoned, the retarder yard was downsized, and container cars were introduced.
Where the web was born... (Score:3, Informative)
A must-see for any self-respected geek!
"Mother Earth, Mother Board"... Great Article (Score:2)
Re:"Mother Earth, Mother Board"... Great Article (Score:2)
On topic, I recommend Hoover Dam. [usbr.gov] Take the tour and see the big-ass turbines in action. Unfortunately the hard hat tour isn't available now (security concerns). Only an hour from Las Vegas!
If in Ottawa try this museum: (Score:4, Informative)
I went twice this year, and it has everything from trains, to boats, to satelites.
First look around your town (Score:4, Insightful)
People tend to look all over the world for what they want to see or experience without looking in their own city.
When I was in Washington DC (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm from Europe + when I was hitchhiking through the US I did the usual touresty stuff around the White House etc.
I hardly heard a single American accent in DC!
People will trael the world but not look at what is on there own doorstep. (I'm sure I could say the same for most cities in the world)
Incidently, the Musiums in DC are some of the best I've ever visited....
Re:First look around your town (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, it's defintely like that... only different. In fact, it's almost as if there's a lot of places I'd love to visit, even though I wouldn't want to live there. In fact, I'm quite happy with where I currently am--except for the part where the Louvre, the Kennedy Space Center, and the Northern Lights aren't within walking distance of my home.
Maybe you can afford to be smug, in your topologically-convenient universe, but the rest of us still have to deal with the fact that there's more to life than what we can walk to in an hour, or a day!
Or maybe I should just adopt the Buddhist approach and renounce all desire. That way, I won't be dissappointed that I never got to see Mt. Kilimanjaro up close.
Let me get this right... (Score:2)
Sydney Harbour Bridge (Score:3, Informative)
Some of the best money I have spent.
Differing opinion (Score:2)
My favorite part is that they will not let you take your own camera up there, you must buy one of their pre-shot photos if you want something to remember it by.
All in all, a complete scam, and a very large waste of money. Go to bennelong point instead, and imho you will get a much better view of the harbor anyway, free.
Re:Sydney Harbour Bridge (Score:2)
You can walk across on the sidewalk for free, though it's a long way up and a long way down. Not as much technical detail, but the view can't be beat. The price is right too.
On vacation last April I also hit the radio telescope at Parkes [csiro.au], and the Siding Spring Observatory [sidingspri...ory.com.au]. Much fun. Got some great pictures of The Dish [imdb.com].
...laura
Re:Sydney Harbour Bridge (Score:2)
Basically You go up in a sealed all-over coverall with radio headset and Glasses have to be attached via a restraining strap. You are to a cleverly designed guide wire that runs the whole way along, leave from the underside, walk up the top of the Arch on the South East side, across the top, and back down the South West arch
You should go now, because PM John Howard now has it guarded 24 hours a day 7 days a week due to 'terrorist threats' made against it.
(Personally, I think the NSW Police force are worried someone's going to steal it, and have taken a leaf from the Ankh Morpork law Enforcement Handbook)
How about Iraq? (Score:2, Funny)
Just look out for white trucks with a 'UN' logo.
Re:How about Iraq? (Score:2)
If you're serious about it, this [comebackalive.com] might be a great resource. Came in quite handy when I visited Iraq last year to smuggle nuclear material.
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.
Three Gorges Dam (Score:4, Insightful)
2) Unfortunately, the Three Gorges were an artistic inspiration for centuries of Chinese artists. They will be flooded, and their beauty lost. You can still see them pretty well now, but that won't be true for long.
So that trip is a twofer.
Re:Three Gorges Dam (Score:2)
I thought they kept the /. editors sequestered on the Eastern Coast of the U.S.
Work for the Project (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't know your personal situation, perhaps you have kids or something, maybe it is entirely out of the question. But if I had a nickel for every time someone suggested something "obvious" to me that I hadn't considered before...
A Few Ideas (Score:3, Interesting)
Trans-Siberian railroad. Just because.
Lewis and Clark Bridge, St. Charles, MO / Alton, IL. See the Nova special, Superbridge, first. And close to the Gateway Arch, too.
WTC site. Damn, that thing took hits from two jetliners and it stayed up long enough to get most (not all, alas) of the people out?
Sears Tower, Chicago.
Assembly building at KSC.
The list goes on and on.
Re:A Few Ideas (Score:2)
Re:A Few Ideas (Score:2)
"Before they close it"? Is that a euphemism for "Before the dam breaks, causing unbelievable amounts of damage and human suffering"?
Total Solar Eclipse (Score:3, Interesting)
It's science, not engineering, but I recommend it just the same. Find a good one here [nasa.gov] or here [nasa.gov]
Check the Science Museum in London (Score:2)
The website is here [sciencemuseum.org.uk]
The geothermal electricity plants in New Zealand are pretty cool, they runs tours and stuff. You can also check the Echelon base at Waihopai while your there too
Machu Picchu, Egyptian Pyramids (Score:4, Interesting)
But it is good to see things that were built so well with so little technology that survive today. Attesting to human intelligence and cunning. Give you a real good perspective on the world we live in now.
Much prettier than an IMAX movie, plus you are outside.
I love technology museums but the Great Wall of China would be a good thing to stroll down with my lady(plus you geeks could get some choice hentai).
I guess my point is check out something other than the electronic.
Puto
Re:Machu Picchu, Egyptian Pyramids (Score:2)
My only concern (and the reason that I have not visited Machu Picchu) is that a lot of the tourism is damaging the site(s), and very little of the money is going to preserving them. It's a real shame that these things last hundreds or thousands of years just for us to take a trinket home and destroy them.
Angkor wat (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Machu Picchu, Egyptian Pyramids (Score:2)
Dunno about the Egyptian pyramids -- the one time I went through Cairo airport my layover was about a half-hour too short to do the "bus to the pyramids, get out, look at them, back in the bus, back to the airport" quickie tour (which was about two hours, as I recall).
Malmö bridge (Score:2, Interesting)
Some engineering feats to consider (Score:2)
Other engineering achievements I'd recommend would be the Petronas Towers [skyscraper.org] in Malaysia (these are the tallest buildings in the world right now, and they have an interesting "bridge" between them); the Hoover Dam [usbr.gov] outside of Las Vegas, NV; and the Channel Tunnel [raileurope.com]. If you have a few million to spare, you could always contact Russia to visit the International Space Station [nasa.gov]. I'm sure other Slashdotters will think up many other sights to see...
Re:Some engineering feats to consider (Score:2)
...travel into a random item. (Score:2)
Travelling around the world sure sounds interesting. But... if you stop for a moment, like right now, look at all the items in the room where you are right now. Pick a random item. I see a plastic coffee cup. Then travel in that cup. This one came from italy. It has been designed to provide some extra grip (there's some stripes in it) - there's plenty of tiny little neat things in it that have been developed to produce that very simple item. Then, think how that item reached your desk, how many steps and people have been involved in making that item transport from the manufacturing place to this desk...kids toys are good items as well, they have lots of design in it, many of them read "produced in taiwan" atleast in our case. :)
Well, I guess this is the poormans version :) and maybe it's time to catch some sleep :)
Museum of Science in Florence, Italy (Score:2, Interesting)
One particular item of interest: after Galileo died, some of his students managed to scavenge the middle finger of his right hand from the corpse when it was appropriated by the Church of the time. They preserved it, and today the remains of the finger are in a little bell jar in room 6, as I recall. The irony is that the item is arranged such that as near as I could tell, it's facing the Duomo (the major cathedral in Florence) where religious figures of the day... ahem. Let's just say that it's comforting to know that, evermore, Galileo gets to give the finger to the Church.
Check local or AAA tour books. (Score:2)
I've done tours of uranium mining and milling operations, a day-long tour of Abitibi's forest products facility (from tree farm to pulp and paper mill) in northern Ontario, an iron mine in Minnesota, a (decommissioned) nuclear facility in Idaho, the Jack Daniels' distillery in Lynchburg, etc, etc -- all as side trips on touring around the country. Various conferences often have such side trips for the early arrivers before the first day of the official conference (I did a tour of the Boeing 747 assembly facility that way.)
I suppose in this post 9/11 era some of this stuff might be scaled back, and even before that some of the more interesting stuff required an organized group and advanced notice for clearance (e.g. the NORAD facility in Cheyenne Mountain, which I've toured). Best bet if there's something you're interested in is to ask their Public Relations office.
Mind the Gap. (Score:2, Informative)
Boston's Big Dig (Score:3, Interesting)
And I'm going to get to drive on it in a month. ENVY ME!
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]
Largest Building in the World!! (Score:5, Interesting)
The Hoover Dam [usbr.gov] is deceptively MASSIVE.
The Eiffel Tower [tour-eiffel.fr] is a whole lot of iron!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa [duomo.pisa.it] was actually quite terrifying before they put up the railings!! (Think about walking, 10 meters up, on wet, smooth-as-glass marble at like a 15 degree angle)
The Pyramids [pbs.org] are one hell of an engineering feat!
And, although not human engineering, my favorite has to be Uluru [ea.gov.au]. Yeah, it looks like just a big hunk 'o rock, but when you walk all the way around it, it's quite amazing how the hues change with literally every footstep.
Re:Largest Building in the World!! (Score:2)
The entire tower's only 324m, but it's such an open structure that it makes you painfully aware of every metre of it. It was quite the most vertiginous thing I've ever done. I regret that I never made it to the top.
By the way, I should point out that this year it's 105 years old. There are twelve states in the US that old...
Re:Largest Building in the World!! (Score:2)
Oops --- mea culpa. It seems that in my caffeine-deprived state I was under the impression that 1889 > 1896. What can I say? It's not my country.
Okay, so it's older than five states. And bits of it are older than Utah. That's still pretty impressive...
Hoover (Score:2)
Re:Largest Building in the World!! (Score:2)
The most tempting tech I saw was an open access panel, revealing a ton of CAT-5, in the floor of Caesar's Palace [caesars.com] in Las Vegas. To paraphrase Homer Simpson: Hmmmmmm..... networked slot machines... I really would like to know what OS they run.
The USAF Museum [af.mil] has TONS of kick ass tech.
Someone else mentioned walking the Sydney Harbour Bridge [bridgeclimb.com].
The Grand St Bernard [grandsaintbernard.ch] and Chunnel [raileurope.com] tunnels are cool.
The Roman Coloseum [teatrocolosseo.it] is very impressive, especially since you can now walk inside of it!
Some way early tech: Stonehenge [amherst.edu].
There's an awesome museum full of armor in Innsbruck [innsbruck.at], but I don't know its name.
Oetzi [bolzano.net] has some cool old tech too (he looks like shiny beef jerky).
Really big, and really small (Score:2)
Another location for really big stuff is strip mines; the Germans are big (pun intended) on really huge digging machines. Also, I believe the Chunnel between England and France has on display the equipment that drilled/dug it.
The ultimate, of course, would be a trip to the Space Station (at the moment it's both the largest and the smallest space station). More reachable is a trip to Biosphere 2, in Arizona.
Titan Missle Museum, Tucson AZ. (Score:5, Interesting)
The Titan Missile museum is the only one like it in the world -- A cold-war nuclear silo open for public tours. Setting foot on the premises before 1983 would have meant you would be shot on sight.
The rocket is still in the silo, but its been drained of fuel and the warhead disarmed. Its connected to the control room by an enormous underground corridor build out of massively reinforced steel with giant springs the size of Volkswagons to absorb the shock of a nuclear strike.
Back during the cold war, Tucson was #6 on the Soviet Union's list of strike targets due to the fact we have a major air base, and a rather large number of defense contractors. They built the silo like a couple hundred feet underground, anticipating that it would get hit by a nuke, and still function. The operator's chair in the control room is even mounted on springs and rails, to allow the guy to do his job in the event the facility got hit. You can even sit in the chair.
The tour includes the actual control room where launch codes were recieved, and the infamous red button & code book are kept. You can even push it..Doing so before 1983 would have meant a couple million people would die..
The tour also requires you to wear a hard-hat. You'll need it. I hit my head on a friggin support girder.
Cheers,
Bowie
Nike Missile Base, San Francisco, CA (Score:2)
Cool! (Sorry, I'm a sucker for Cold War History - might I also recommend The Bureau of Atomic Tourism"> as a vacation planning site?) [atomictourist.com]
For the Bay Area, I recommend the nearby SF-88 Nike Missile Base [nikemissile.org]. During the 60s, this was the last line of defence against incoming bombers - the entire system was dismantled after the signing of the ABM treaty, except for one site that was kept (mostly) intact for historical purposes.
Located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and open a couple of days a week, you'll get to stand on the launch platform and descend into the bay where the missiles were stored. When you're not standing on the platform, they can also raise the missiles into firing position.
The tour guides are informed and geeky - when they detect a fellow geek, most will be happy to show off the gear they've restored. Lots of analog computers, vaccuum tubes, and frighteningly-high voltages. Be sure to ask how the computers worked. You'll be amazed at the engineering.
> The tour includes the actual control room where launch codes were recieved, and the infamous red button & code book are kept. You can even push it..Doing so before 1983 would have meant a couple million people would die.. :)
Likewise, the control vans at the Nike Missile Base feature a Button. Pushing said button before 1973, would have taken out a squadron of incoming Soviet bombers 100+ miles away with either a conventionally-tipped or nuclear-tipped warhead, saving several million people :)
Less than two minutes down the road the launcher at SF-88L [acme.com], is a second Nike launch site - SF-87L [acme.com]. Better known as the Marine Mammal Center [www.marinemammalcenter], it now defends cute little seals and sea otters, and is also open to visitors daily.
The hike up to the radar platforms at SF-87C [acme.com] is a bit long, but affords a wonderful view of the Marin headlands. (In addition to some of the best views in the Bay Area, the whole area is full of historical artifacts, including abandoned artillery emplacements from the Spanish-American War, through World War I and II.)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Score:2)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes. [imdb.com]
French V2 rocket launch site (Score:2)
The launch site is interesting as it was actually the final stages of the assembly line: unpack, fueling, QA, arming, fire at London, repeat. Shows how the response times of warfare have changed.
The french make a big thing of the site, "The birthplace of space exploration" or something, but I think the place in Germany where the rockets came from has that distinction. This is more the birthplace of supersonic delivery of explosives onto foreign cities.
This may come back to haunt me but... (Score:4, Funny)
I designed my honeymoon around a trip to the east coast of Canada so that I could see the Confederation Bridge up close, take pictures for the engineers in my family, and drive over it.
Of course I didn't tell my wife that. She saw it as an opportunity to visit the Anne of Green Gables tourist traps and see several historical sites in the area.
I'd call that a win-win situation.
However, I would like to visit the sites of some engineering failures. I would love to go and scuba dive on the old Tacoma Narrows Bridge (high currents and all).
best restaurant (not engineering related) (Score:2)
Damn fine eating, you should try it some time.
Aerospace nuttiness (Score:4, Interesting)
The Titan Missile Museum (an old missile silo):
http://www.pimaair.org/titan_01.htm
I would love to buy the place and move in, userfriendly.org-style.
It's companion, the Pima Air Museum, has tons of old aircraft including an SR-71 and JFK's Air Force 1. Be sure to hit the hangers:
http://www.pimaair.org/
They're both around Tucson.
The Champlin Fighter Museum has lots of great WWII and WWI stuff:
http://www.champlinfighter.com/ It's east of Phoenix, I think.
Champlin is in Mesa (Score:2)
The Champlin Fighter Museum [champlinfighter.com] is in Mesa, which is in the eastern part of the Phoenix metro area. Another great aircraft museum is the USAF Museum [af.mil] in Dayton, OH at Wright-Patterson AFB. They have the only surviving XB-70 Valkyrie, an X-15, Apollo 15's command module and a whole wing just for Presidential aircraft that I didn't get a chance to visit.
Harbours and boats (Score:5, Interesting)
Having been born there has nothing to do with my enthusiasm for the place ;-)
It's a shame (Score:3, Interesting)
A G Bell, too. (Score:2)
One day I noticed a small plaque that mentioned that the telephone had been invented there. Made me sort of sad that all they did was put up a stupid plaque.
Cheers,
Jim
One Book... (Score:2)
I mean, this one book contains most of the coolest structures in the world - I myself have based many trips around visiting some of the projects mentioned in this book. It's called "The Builders: Marvels of Engineering" Published by The National Geographic Society. There's a link here [ngbooks.org]
Doesn't look like you can buy it on Amazon - my copy doesn't even have an ISBN number - so I think you can only buy it through Nat'l Geographic. Still, at $14.95, I wouldn't complain.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Score:3, Interesting)
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) [unesco.org] has a list of 730 sites around the world [unesco.org] that they qualify as "World Heritage Sites" - sites that are one of a kind culturally significant locations. Things ranging from The Statue of Liberty [unesco.org] to Ancient Thebes [unesco.org], and lots of others. I'm sure many of the items listed in this slashdot discussion will also show up on the list. (The Great Wall of China [unesco.org] is there too)
I try to visit at least one UNESCO World Heritage site on every trip I take. Many of the sites are fascinating for their architecture as well as their cultural significance.
Visit a Linear Accelerator... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Visit a Linear Accelerator... (Score:2)
I used to work there, it was quite a laugh. People still step back when I tell them I used to work in anti-matter containment.
Prediction (Score:2, Interesting)
Calatrava and UNESCO (Score:2)
Another thing always woth checking out is practically anyting by everyone's favourite engineer-who-wants-to-be-an-architect Santiago Calatrava [calatrava.com]. Personally, I love his bridges, but pretty much everything that he builds is beautiful in appeareance, design, and functionality.
Or just go to Japan, get a JR-Rail Pass, and try to go on every type of Shinkansen in the system. And then spend you last day at an indoor ski hill.
Intelligent Farming - Taiwan/Japan (Score:2, Interesting)
Then, I managed a trip to Taiwan, and discovered that they have some amazing ways of farming, and is the most productive place I've ever seen. There was a fair amount of smarts that went into all of that, and I'm sure you'd find something similar elsewhere.
Joshua
Ted Kennedy's Colon (Score:2)
American History Museum, Washinigton, DC (Score:2)
It's a really well-designed exhibit, too--they put a lot of effort into tying the technology of the time to the culture of the time. The science exhibit right next door to it is also worth seeing, as is Julia Child's kitchen, just across the hall. Heck, the whole museum is worth seeing.
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.
Nuclear Accidents: Windscale, and successors (Score:2)
To round it off you could do 3Mile Island and then Chernobyl, though I'd still be pretty reluctant to do the latter.
Re:The home of the industrial revolution (Score:2)
baltimore museum on industry (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.charm.net/~bmi/index.html
most everything still runs (giant lathes, printing press, etc), and the tour guides are very knowledgable.
Cape Cod - French Cable Station Museum (Score:2, Interesting)
I visited the French Cable Station Museum in Orleans, Cape Cod. It was really very interesting. This is a small museum in the original building where the first French trans-Atlantic submarine communications cable (laid in 1869) connected to the U.S. They have all of the orginal equipment used to send and receive communications, including one of the earliest (I presume) A to D converters which read to and from paper tape.
There weren't many visitors in the museum, and the elderly gentlemen who volunteered there were extremely friendly and more than willing to give an extensive tour of the place and all the equipment. I'd recommend it if you find yourself in that area. As they might say up there, "It's wicked pissah!"
A quick search did not reveal a website for the museum, but there is a bit about it here [atlantic-cable.com].
The Delta Works (Score:5, Interesting)
If you want to see some spectacular engineering, I suggest visiting the Delta Works in the Netherlands.
The Delta Works are basically a series of projects, culminating in the flood control barrier in the Eastern Scheldt (Oosterscheldedam), to protect the lower areas of the Netherlands against flooding.
The impetus to build them was the great storm of 1953, where a combination of storm and high tides flooded most of the coastal regions, claiming some 1800 lives. A decision was made to improve our already impressive flood defences.
One problem turned up however: the Eastern Scheldt. This arm of the Scheldt delta was unique in terms of its environmental value, and also home to a very lucrative arm of the fishing industry (mussels and oysters). In order to protect both the environment and business, a decision was made to put in a flood barrier instead of a regular dam.
At its time, the Eastern Scheldt flood barrier was the most technologically advanced piece of hydrological engineering in the world, and you'll still be hard pressed to find its equal now.
The official URL [deltawerken.com] returns an error from where I'm sitting, but a Google search on "Delta Works" returns enough English-language sites to give you an idea.
Bonus: most Dutchmen have a fair command of the English language, so getting around should be easy. I am also a native of the area that was hit hardest, so if you need a personal guide, just drop me an e-mail.
MartHow about Hawaii? (Score:4, Interesting)
For big engineering, there is Mauna Kea. Several of the world's largest telescopes, sprouting like mushrooms from the top of an extinct volcano. Cough up a hundred and fifty bucks or so and you get a guided tour of the summit, as well as a ride up from the coast. And parkas--even in August it's bloody cold up there. The sunset from the top is to die for, and you're almost always above the clouds. It's like the surface of the moon--no vegetation, just dust. The guided tours also usually stop on the way down at around 10,000' and set up a smaller scope for some observing and general stargazing. Very cool.
This is science, not engineering, but you really should go snorkelling, or SCUBA diving if you have your papers. There's a lot of interesting life just about anywhere you get into the water.
More biology: the smallest, least settled island at the end of the chain (Kaui) is mostly rain forest. See the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and hike through the forests. The Bali Ha'i scenes from the movie version of South Pacific were shot here. Very much worth the trip, since Aloha Airlines runs very inexpensive flights between the islands. (Don't forget to take pictures of Hickam AFB when you're flying into or out of Honolulu.)
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
Exploratorium, San Francisco (Score:2, Interesting)
Also in San Fran, although suspension bridges get kinda old, is the Golden Gate. Lots of fun to walk out and feel it sway underneath you as it literally just hangs there. Plus there's a piece of the cable down by the visitor's center - huge! - amazing. Plus great photo-op of the Bay and the Marin Headlands.
Somebody already pointed out the Stanford Linear Accelerator that runs underneath 280, south of SF.
Things I've loved (Score:2, Interesting)
I lived about 15m below sea level and used to look up at ships travelling
down the nearest canal. You've got to see the Zuiderzee [wikipedia.org]
and the Rhine delta projects.
The Oresund [longman.com.au] bridge between Denmark and Sweden is amazing,
completed a couple of years ago it's 16km (~ 9 miles) long.
Back in 1999 I took the train from Amsterdam to Beijing. I went thru Berlin,
Minsk, St. Petersburg, Moscow, along the trans-Sib [geographia.com] to Irkutsk
then south to Mongolia and into China. It took three weeks in all with a
couple of days stops along the way. The Russian train stays on Moscow
time the whole way thru. I had train lag getting off! It's the Trans
Mongolian rather than the Trans Siberian and it's more interesting
since you get to go thru Mongolia and end up in China.
In China I went to the Great Wall of China, altho' it is impressive I wasn't
blown away by it. I think I'd heard too much about it already. I only
saw one section, if you followed it for thousands of kilometers then you'd
respect the builders a hell of a lot more....
The Cathederal [bawue.de] in Cologne is pretty impressive.
The attention to detail is second to none, even in places no one would
normally look.
and a plug for home, the 5000 year old Megalithic Passage Tomb at
Newgrange [knowth.com] in Ireland is awe inspiring. On the morning of
the shortest day of the year, a shaft of light shines thru an opening
over the entrance and fills the chamber inside. It's humbling to
think that people were making those sort of claculations so long ago...
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..
Shanghai, Kuala Lampor (Score:2)
favorite places to visit? (Score:2)
Engineering marvel / travel site (Score:2)
-- Greg
Historical/scientific important sights. (Score:3, Interesting)
Find something/person you're interested in and do some research on them. Then maybe visit their old stomping grounds. There's a lot of interesting things in the world.
If anyone else has interest in World War 2 and cryptography, take a trip to London and take the train an hour out to Bletchley Park for the day. It was well worth it for me. VERY cool stuff. `8r) (Oh, and don't point out you're american to the tour guide, or all he'll talk about how great those american chaps are. heh)
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.
Porthcurno Cable Museum, and other Cornish spots (Score:2)
A bonus is that the cove and beach where the cables came in is really lovely, and there's a neat open-air theatre there (unfortunately, there were no performances when I visited. The whole area is beautiful, but the facility at Lands End is so commercialized that it's sure to disappoint.
Two other geek holy places in the general area are the site of Marconi's first transatlantic transmitting station at Poldhu, and the Goonhilly Downs (hope I didn't screw up that name) satellite receiving site that BT runs. The tour at Goonhilly is pretty lame if you're technically inclined, but the field full of big dishes is a neat site. Poldhu has no tourist facility at all, just a stunning bluff, a monmument to Marconi, and a memorial ham radio club station (unfortunately unoccupied when I was there).
Poldhu and Goonhilly are only a couple of miles apart, so you get an interesting sense of the old and the new in radio technology.
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
Old technology, other geek tourist pleasures... (Score:3, Interesting)
There are lots of great European geek sights, but labels are almost all in local languages. Some good ones:
Become an eclipse chaser, see the world (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Italy (Score:2)
I was going to give you some pointers then I realised this means more of the good stuffs for me !!!!
Also in PA, coal fires... (Score:2)
Warning: If you visit Centralia, it's probably best to do so with a buddy. The ground can sink, and the gases leaking from the ground (CO, SO2, and others) are none too healthy. If you visit and you start to feel lightheaded or nauseous, move upwind or downwind until the feeling goes away.
Interesting fact for the day: Centralia is a drop in the proverbial bucket. There's a coal fire in China that releases 360 million tons of CO2 per year [agiweb.org], an amount "equivalent to that emitted per year from all automobiles and light trucks in the United States".
(Rant: With that in mind, can someone explain to me why those Canadians think the Kyoto Protocol, which won't apply to China, is worth ratifying, and environmentalists in America think SUVs are the real cause of global warming?)
Re:A pinch of humanity (Score:2)
I don't know what your life philosophy is, but surely the idea of helping others can't be that repugnant to you??