Cheapskates' Paradise, part the 4th

If you've been following along at home, you may recall that my satisfaction at learning that Kipplinger's online had named my hometown the top pick for cheapskates has lead to the only real ongoing series of posts I've ever done, unless you count droning on endlessly about my booth at Kenrick Antique Mall or bragging on my thrifty finds as series, but since that's pretty much all I do most of the time. I don't think that counts.  Anyway, you can find previous Cheapskate Paradise posts, in which I wax poetic on the topic, here:
Part 1: Didja Hear About the 'Lou?  Reaction to the news, plus the St Louis Zoo.
Part 2: Cheapskates' Paradise, Part Deux!  The St Louis Art Museum, aka SLAM.
Part 3: Cheapskates' Paradise Junior-Junior A trip to the county: Laumeier Sculpture Park/Poweder Valley.

And now we arrive at part 4 of my cheapskate love affair with my home town.  Today's topic? 

The St Louis Science Center!

Now, like the Zoo and the Art Museum, the St. Louis Science Center is also situated in Forest Park and is also - and you can sing along if you know it by now - Free To The Public (dun-DUN!).  It started out as a single, spectacular building on the South side of Forest Park - the McDonnell Planetarium.  An architectural gem on par with our gorgeous Gateway Arch, if you ask me (I love the crispness of the sweep of white against the sky), it was designed by Gyo Obata, who was later, not coincidentally, chosen to design the National Air and Space museum in DC (also free admission, by the way, but we got the better design for ours!):

The James S McDonnell (yes,of McDonnell-Douglas) Planetarium - sleek!

Other buildings were later added on the South side of highway 40, on Oakland Avenue, with an enclosed bridge linking the two (where you can look down on cars racing by, and even clock their speeds). 

The main building.  Image borrowed, oddly enough, from NASA.gov, here.

There are over 300,000 square feet of exhibit space, and much-to-most of it offers hands-on experiences to engage the visitor.  You can, for example, learn building/engineering principles in the Structures gallery, including building a replica of the Gateway Arch from soft blocks (an exhibit that's helpful for kids who are afraid of a trip to the top of our tallest national monument - they'll learn what makes it so strong!).  You can also marvel at the cheesiness of the giant animatronic dinosaurs, check out fossils and watch lab types perform science-y goodness for your enjoyment.  Also, you can design your own fish, which is kind of adorable, try out flight simulators, and play around with dozens of other cool exhibits all for free! And if you are lazy, tired, easily amused or probably also if you're one drugs, you could just watch the giant rube goldbergian Energizer ball machine for an hour or so:

One section of the enormous contraption, from the 2nd floor after hours.

Parking in the main lot does cost, but there is free parking available.  And if you simply must spend your hard-earned pennies, you can spend them on:

Planetarium or Omnimax shows, the Discovery Room (great for the smaller kiddies), or Lego MindStorms.  You can also fork over some dough to ride a Segway around the joint, enjoy whatever big travelling exhibition is on at the moment, or to raise a fork at the concessions.  But I've been going to the Science Center for years, and have yet to shell out for any of that, and it's still fun every time!

It's especially nice this time of year, when kiddos are off school and temperatures are outdoorsiness-limiting.  Tons of activities to keep the kids entertained for hours without making a dent in the pocketbook - nice! 

And beyond that, I wanted to get a post on the Science Center out around now because of two big bonuses currently in place to bless your cheapskate soul:

1. Drippin' Discount!:

If the temp outside is over 95, tickets to the main exhibit, and to any Omnimax show go for only $5.00 a pop - what a fun way to beat the heat!

2. First Fridays:

A great one for grownups who want to get their awe on.  On the first Friday of the month, the Science Center gets jiggy after hours, with discounts to the exhibits, free music, cheap Omnimax shows and Segway rides, free Planetarium shows and public telescope viewings, and at 10:00 PM, a free viewing on the Omnimiax screen.  August's First Friday freebie will be Batman:

The campy 1989 version - 40% less angst!

That's the main reason I wanted to get this post out now - First Fridays is a blast.  I went last month, which is why the above picture of the Energizer ball machine seems empty and dark.  I had to work until 9:00 pm, so I missed most of the festivities but I got there in time for the most important thing.  Last month's free Omnimax showing was of my very favorite 2-parter of Doctor Who: The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances.  

The only thing better than The Doctor is The Doctor, Omnimax sized.  See how happy it made my friends?

There's apparently a Doctor Who fan club in the 'Lou who turned out complete with Doctors 10 and 11!  I was way too shy to speak to them, but plenty creeper enough to snap a photo or two from afar:

11th Doctor had the look down pat.

10 was less convincing to look at,
but you should've seen him do the walk!

They cleverly chose this 2-parter as a tie-in, as the story features prominently some sub-atomic critters.  Fits nicely with the current summer exhibit: Amazing Nano Worlds, about nanotechnology.

I had a wonderful time last First Friday.  Check it out for yourself next weekend.  If you do, let me know what you think!

Cheapskates' Paradise Junior-Junior

It all started here, when I learned that St Louis topped Kipplinger's list of 10 best cities for cheapskates, and I waxed on about the wonderful St Louis Zoo.  Then there was this, where I revisited the topic to brag on the world-class St Louis Art Museum and decided this topic definitely merited a series.  Today, my friends, we'll be taking a mini-trip outside of the city limits to the St Louis suburbs, where the intersection of highways 44 and 270 afford us a two-for-one bounty of free recreation/edification, less than 20 minutes from the (mid-century lovers' delight) Gateway Arch downtown.  Our first stop, dear friends, lies just north of Highway 44, and just inside the lasso that highway 270 throws around the core of the St Louis area.  Along Watson Rd between said lasso and Lindbergh Blvd, you'll find two things: a large suburban shopping area anchored by a Home Depot, and an office park.  Google doesn't seem to recall, but I remember fondly that this area also once housed, during the days before Netflix and RedBox, a very cheapskate-friendly $1.00 movie theater that showed films that had long since left the regular theaters, but hadn't yet showed up on cable (remember those days?).  It was a very mom-and-pop operation, if I recall.  The lobby was populated by a pair of tie-dye sporting mannequins having a barbecue, and as a kid I saw Drop Dead Fred there twice.  And now you know I'm old, so I might as well tell you that since beginning this reminiscence, I can't stop humming The Kinks' "Come Dancing":

Anyway, after that long "Dollar Show" digression, let me tell you what's behind the shopping center and the office park.  This:

 


Giant eyeball sculpture

   and this:
  


The Way.  Significantly giant-er.

   and this:
  


Big smiley skull in the ground.

 

All three images above courtesy of LaumeierSculpturePark.org 

 The first of our two-for-one cheapskates' havens, the free-to-the-public Laumeier Sculpture Park was once the country home of Henry and Matilda Laumeier, and so boasts a beautiful stone house that serves as office, art gallery and gift shop.  The rest of the over 100 acres of rolling meadows and wooded trails is populated by dozens of modern/contemporary sculptures and what I would call collaborations with either natural features or ruins already on the property.  One such ruin is my favorite spot in the park.  A trail winding through the woods eventually leads to an old abandoned swimming pool, part of the long-gone Orchard Valley estate that neighbored that of the Laumeier family.  Artist Mary Miss, who's known for blending art and landscape design, built decking and trellises around the remains of the 1930s stone and concrete pool, leaving it intact and allowing for a quiet, peaceful place that at the same time teems with nostalgia and the feeling that at any moment the past will join you and you'll hear the splash of water, laughter and the tinkle of glasses.

There are lovely spots to picnic, including in the shadow of The Way, commonly known as the Big Red Thing pictured above, where you can watch or join in with fellow park-goers to play frisbee or fly kites in the presence of amazing works of art.  What more could a thrifty art and/or nature lover want?


Well... if the thrifty nature lover wants more, more can be had just across the highway!  Take Geyer Road just across the I44 overpass to Cragwold, where you'll find another completely free outdoor destination:  Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, run by the Missouri Department of Conservation.  It, like Laumeier, offers something a little different from your average park.  Another 100+ acres of mostly wooded real estate, ribboned with short, shady trails that are family and even handicapped friendly.  The interpretive center houses a small gift shop, classrooms, and kid-centric exhibits relating to local wildlife and conservation.  The best bit by far to me is ahead and to your left as you walk into the building.  A wall of windows complete with comfy seating overlooks a wildlife feeding area with birdfeeders, salt licks and the like that attracts everything from tiny hummingbirds to big, beautiful deer. 




Birds high up on some of the feeders

 I've spotted fat wild turkeys, hawks stalking chipmunks, and dozens of other furry and feathered critters as well, and microphones are discretely situated among the feeders so that, while you relax after your picnic and trail walking, you can listen to the songbirds.  Lovely!

If you haven't had enough of the great outdoors at this point, you can always follow Cragwold a little further, across highway 270 to yet another nearly 100-acre park, along the Meramec River, but I'll let you discover the more traditional Emmenengger Park on your own.  Just know that all 3 of these wonderful, free outdoor destintions are nestled within about two square miles in St Louis County.  Just imagine all the fun you can have exploring the rest of the area!