Manchester, Tennessee - Science Center & Old Stone Fort

We were so happy to be in Manchester, Tennessee with my parents.  They are serving a mission there, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

They have been living there since September 2013 and only had a couple of months left on their mission.  We really wanted to go see them during our time off, between James' graduation and his beginning work.  Who knows when we'll be able to have another nice long vacation like this. 

 

One of the first things we did, after recovering from the drive, was to take the kids to a Hands-On Science Center.  

It was an interesting place.  Like a mini OMSI. The kids were able to examine and play with all kinds of stuff.  Here, they are looking at x-rays of animals and then matching them to pictures on the wall.

 Logan found Lego type building pieces. 

And Taylor is working on a wooden puzzle.  

 The kids found a great 3-D puzzle of a dinosaur. 

It took team work to get this one done.  

This is what Taylor would look like if she were a giant bug.  That's a face I'm not sure even a mother could love.  Just kidding.  I could still love her cute little lips and kisses.  

They were also able to ride on a stationary bike which caused different electronics to work, such as a light and a t.v. to turn on.  The harder they pedaled the more electrical current they produced.  That gave them a work out. 

It was good for the kids to get out and enjoy some activities.  They'd been stuck in a car for a long time.  

It was warm and muggy in Tennessee, but not unbearable, so we decided to go to Old Stone Fort State Archaeology Park.  This is a site  built by Ancient Americans 1,500 - 2,000 years ago (circa 250 AD)!  This has got to be the oldest preserved place we've ever visited. 

 

 At first it just looks like a trail.  We see those all the time, nothing special about that. 

Then we started to notice a built up ridge of land.  Trees were growing on it and it took some head-tilting observations to realize that wasn't natural land formations.  It was actually part of the wall of the Native Americans' fort.

And it was surrounding this meadow area behind Taylor.  So we were able to appreciate... maybe... probably not... the work of these ancient people.  

This area was a ceremonial gathering place for the Ancient Americans.  The original entrance of the fort was designed to face the exact spot on the horizon where the sun rises during the summer solstice.  Very interesting stuff. 

The site (and the trail around it) are on the Duck River.  

A short, but beautiful waterfall on the Duck River.  Taylor was smiling for me, but Logan had something in his eye he wanted James to look at.  It turned out to be nothing.  

The heat and humidity and mosquitoes were bothersome, but the day's activities were not only fun, they were educational as well.  To be truthful though, it was very nice to get back to my parent's place, which has air conditioning.