Our next stop in Arizona was at Meteor Crater. This is another one of those instances where I never truly fathomed how big something like an impact crater really was until I saw it in person. It’s not like it is even that big when compared to the Chicxulub or Sudbury impact craters, but I think the fact that you can see all sides of the impression and even down into it, makes it a sight to see. Our kids, like most (please tell me your kids are like this), really enjoyed the video of exactly how the meteor was thought to have crashed into the earth. They watched it over and over, cheering when it hit. I did my “mom look” while casually applauding them for their awesome find.
The museum, while small, could have kept us entertained all day. Don’t let the cheesy pamphlet fool you, it is filled with wonderful, enriching material. Though do grab the pamphlet because it will get you $5 off per person. The staff in the museum loved how interested the kids were in knowing the geology and especially loved when they described the rock composition of the meteorite. H actually took it a little bit further and let us know that the iron in the meteorite sample, does in fact taste like the iron in his blood. A also was able to tell us her tears tasted like sodium chloride because having H lick the meteorite, was traumatizing. For us all. I had to Google how many people frequented the museum so that I knew what kind of diseases our son was up against. He’s fine by the way. He went on to licking bigger and better things, like the sidewalks of the Vegas Strip.
The part I loved most, was when you went outside to view the actual crater. They had a little telescope to look down the 550ft and you could see a cute little astronaut cut-out to visually discriminate how far down the crater went. H naturally took it to the next level by trying to blind himself while looking into the sun with the telescope. Wrong way buddy… It truly is a miracle this child has made it 6.5 years on this earth. There is also an outdoor walking tour that you can do, but sadly we got there too late in the day to experience it. On the way home, we did get to experience a desert rainstorm which was pretty cool! And also scary, because I had assumed all the rattlesnakes would be washed out of their holes. Have you been to Meteor Crater in Winslow, Arizona?
