COSI On Wheels: Inspiring Kids, Saving Lives

Post by Chris Husmann

Did you know COW blood is compatible with human blood?

Give blood any chance you get!

COSI's Chris Husmann making a difference.

COSI On Wheels at the National Night Out Festival

Post by Perrin Shepherd

COSI was present during the 7th Annual National Night Out Festival at South Ogden Avenue in Columbus, Ohio.

National Night Out is a nationwide event that invites residents to stand with community leaders and local police to give crime a “going away party.” There are over 10,000 communities that participate in this event.

For the community on South Ogden Avenue, it was a way to bring the community closer together. And what’s a better way than to have COSI On Wheels’ Science Spot bring some enjoyable hands-on science? COSI On Wheels was able to teach science, bring COSI closer to their community, and let all of the South Ogden community have fun at the same time.

I know for me, events like these make COSI On Wheels a little more special.

COSI On Wheels' Science Spot at the National Night Out on South Ogden Avenue in Columbus.

An important part of this complete COSI On Wheels show…

Pat and Joe from the COSI On Wheels team unpack a critical accesory for our newest science education outreach program, “Astounding Astronomy,” set to debut in September 2011.

Cold As Ice

Post by Jonathan Barnes

Last week I had the distinct privilege of going to the longest local name in the state of Ohio, Washington Courthouse. It might not be the actual longest name in Ohio, but it felt like it as I was writing it down in my daily COSI truck log.

However, I digress.

Last Tuesday marked a particularly rainy, cold, and humid day for the residents of the WC and I was appropriately cold and/or wet whenever I went outside. Usually this isn’t much of a problem for an Outreach Educator, as we spend most of our time inside a school’s gym or cafeteria, edutaining the masses yearning to breathe in the science goodness which we magnanimously distribute.

The “Launch Into Space” program is a bit different, however, as it requires the Educator to get a thermos full of liquid nitrogen before the beginning of the day’s assembly.

For those not in the know, liquid nitrogen is incredibly cold… ridiculously cold, in fact. It’s 320 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. For those who remember James Cameron’s one, true masterpiece, “Terminator 2”, you might remember liquid nitrogen as the stuff that froze the dreaded T-1000, prompting zee Governator to speak the iconic phrase, “Hasta la vista, baby.”

So, it goes without much more elaboration that liquid nitrogen is pretty cold. Last Tuesday presented a unique set of atmospheric circumstances that befuddled me for the first time. As I attempted to fill the thermos with the liquid nitrogen, I noticed that the valve was a bit hard to turn. Now this was the beginning of my travel week and the truck had been sitting in our Bat-Cave-like COSI truck lot all weekend, so I didn’t think much of it. After about a minute, the thermos was full and I went to close the valve again.

…but budge, it did not.

Try as I might, I could not turn off the nitrogen. The confluence of a cold, humid day with the hyper-cold nitrogen had caused the valve to freeze OPEN. After struggling for a few minutes, I decided it was time for desperate measures. I charged back into the gymnasium, grabbed my gloves and propane blow torch and marched back out to the truck, which appeared to be vomiting a cloud from the cargo hold.

I approached the tank and, with one last reserve of my herculean nerd-rage strength, grabbed the valve with both hands and got it to budge… a quarter inch. Another twenty seconds of struggle produced another quarter inch of progress. After what seemed like an eternity, the tank valve was close, the day was saved… and my nitrogen tank was empty.

To make matters better, it was so humid in the gym that my nitrogen cup actually froze to my glove… much to the delight of all of the second graders at Cherry Hill Primary.

Um, is there a problem, officer?

Post by Chris Husmann

I was on my way to South Side Learning and Development on Reeb Avenue to teach preschoolers about the seasons when I realized I wasn’t sure exactly where it was. I saw a large elementary school, Reeb Elementary, and thought perhaps the preschool might be inside. I parked the COSI van, got out and started walking around when I realized this building was closed and the preschool I was looking for must be somewhere else. I take out my cell phone to call the school when police car after police car start pulling into the parking lot and parking next to and around the COSI van! I’m already on the phone with the school and before I could finish our brief conversation there were eight police cars, a SWAT van, two black surveillance vans, two black Chevy Suburbans, and a few civilian cars all parked near the van.

A familiar feeling crept up on me; the feeling you get when a police car is driving behind you on the freeway and you start second guessing whether you’ve done anything wrong or not. A lot of thoughts raced through my mind like “what kind of crime would require this many officers?”, “could this old building be a giant meth lab?” and “I didn’t park in a handicap zone, did I?” I decided of course I had done nothing wrong but I still needed to move my van so I walked up to an officer whose car was behind me and asked him if he could move it. He told me they were getting ready to start a training exercise in the building and didn’t realize he was parked too close for me to back out of the parking spot. After this I managed to drive all the way across the street where the preschool actually was and unload successfully.

I suppose if I had thought about it from another perspective it would have all made sense: When someone parks a strange van near an abandoned building and starts wandering around knocking on doors while on the phone you should really just assume that the police are already on their way.

The Force is Strong With This One

Post by Kyle Jepson

Oh, Tech and Science fest. You sneaky sneak you. I arrive and expect the worst, to sit around for eight hours with Jonathan handing out silly bands in a community college. You went above and beyond with your National Weather Service nerds and your stamp enthusiasts. I thought it couldn’t get any better than people in top hats and crazy lab coats. Then you drop this in my lap.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

COSI's Science Spot attracts some unique visitors.

“Dissection? ‘Tis merely a flesh wound.”

Post by Nicholas Steinbrecher

At the start of the day, with much dismay, an object pierced my palm.
A metal splinter, of a centimeter, was deep in my skin.
With the school filing in, I had to begin, and I presented my show.
Afterward to the nurse’s I went, to see if we couldn’t, get this splinter out.
Even with tweezers and a pin, we failed to get in, and remove the object.
“A dissection kit, would do the trick,” exclaimed my coordinator.
“It’s not that bad,” for the vision I had, involved the use of a scalpel.
“The tweezers are thinner, and won’t be a hinder,” and it had an angle probe.
It was a cinch, with a slight pinch, with the new these tools.
Thanks to my school, for being so cool, with my awkward dilemma.

DC or Bust

Mobile Post by Doug Buchanan

Well, here goes: not only my first post to the COSI On Wheels blog, but my first mobile post to boot. As I type this, Kevin and I are speeding along at 70 mph (or thereabouts), heading east on I-70 in the COSI Sprinter.

Kevin at the Wheel

We’re now 119.3 miles from Columbus, it’s 9:42 on a beautiful Thursday morning. We’re bound for the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC, billed as the first-ever Woodstock for science centers.  We’re loaded down with three COSI Science Spots, one Zula Patrol Science Station, snacks, water, luggage, a brand-new John Lennon CD (“Remember,” bought at our first Starbucks stop of the morning), and slime-making supplies for 2,500 residents of our nation’s capital.

Beautiful Eastern Ohio

We’re expecting great weather for a weekend on the Mall with hundreds of other science centers bringing their own hands-on science demos, activities, and live shows. Some of which might even be as cool as ours (maybe). In the meantime, we’ll enjoy beautiful eastern Ohio with its fall colors and many orange construction barrels.

Parkway Elementary School: Counting Down to COSI On Wheels

Post by Rebecca Kelly

From day-to-day I can sometimes forget the excitement that COSI On Wheels can bring to a school. For me, the Launch Into Space program is an everyday occurrence. But, to a school, it is a once a year exciting day of science exploration. At Parkway Elementary School in Rockford, Ohio, excitement for my visit started even before I arrived. On the school’s webpage a countdown was created in anticipation of my arrival. Each day the school posted a description of one of the activities and a “space” vocabulary word. This proved not only to fire up the kids but to also prepare the volunteers. Through the use of their webpage, adults understood what being a volunteer involved and became excited at the prospect of helping. Launch Into Space ran without a hitch that day due, in great part, to the excitement and preparation of the students, staff and volunteers.

Even when we’re not driving trucks, we’re still on wheels…

Mix a closed-to-the-public-COSI, a spare Segway from COSI On Wheels, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and a video camera, and this is what you get. Seen here are COSI On Wheels Outreach Educators Derek Bringardner, Katya Karaivanova, Kyle Jepson, Jordan Rader, and Chris Husmann.