NEMO Science Center

Description:

• A paean of praise to science and technology, NEMO is housed in a swooping modern building in the Eastern Dock, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano; it seems to reproduce the graceful lines of a green ocean-going ship. The center is a hands-on experience, through games, experiments, and demonstrations -- the motto is: Forbidden Not to Touch. Admission, though not exactly cheap, is worth it.

  You'll learn how to steer a supertanker safely into port, boost your earnings on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, execute a complicated surgical procedure, blow a soap bubble large enough to stand inside, boil potatoes, and play the drums. One exhibit even tries to help you understand the basis of sexual attraction. Questions are asked and answered: Why is water clear but the ocean blue? Why does toothpaste contain sugar? In IStudio Bits & Co, NEMO's digital world, don a virtual-reality helmet and play with images, sounds, and your own imported material. Internet-linked computers on every floor provide additional insights, as do workshops and theater and video productions.

  The broad, sloping stairway to NEMO's roof is an attraction unto itself, a place to hang out and (when the sun cooperates) soak up some rays. At the top, you're 30m (98 ft.) above the IJ channel, with fine views over the redeveloping Old Harbor.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2009
•  Recommended 2010