So far Evelyn, Leslie, and I have been to the National Aquarium and the Baltimore Science Center. Neither quite measures up to their Boston counterparts, the New England Aquarium and the Boston Science Museum. But they each had their strong points as well.

The aquarium actually went beyond water in its tropical rain forest exhibit. There is a huge atrium with very sturdy wooden trails and platforms that lets you get up into the canopy. It had a lot of exotic birds as well as water life in that display. We were particularly impressed with the volunteers, who were plentiful and very knowledgeable.

The Science Center was definitely more geared to a younger audience, and there were quite a few stations that were slightly broken or didn't quite work right. But it did seem to achieve what we perceive as the goal of a science museum, which is to get kids who might not be interested in science to discover that science is fun.

The highlight of the museum for Evelyn and Leslie was the Wet Lab. This was a real hands on lab (complete with lab coats and eye protection) where kids get to pick one cookbook experiment to do. They chose to extract DNA from wheat germ. Following instructions on the computer monitor, they mixed raw wheat germ with water and soap, added meat tenderizer and baking soda, then transfered some to a test tube, and poured alcohol on top. Then they used a glass rod to collect strands of DNA that collected in the layer between the wheat germ layer and the alcohol.

Colin got back last evening, and we were most happy to see him. Tonight we celebrated our reunion and our successful cruising experience with a traditional Maryland steamed crab dinner.