Powerhouse Museum - lots of pics!

Yesterday I went out to the Powerhouse Museum here in Sydney - and I loved it! It's such a massive place, with all sorts of interesting stuff. I was like a little kid in a candy shop running back and forth looking at all the exhibits. I took loads of pics, but I'll only put up the more interesting ones.



This is one of the biggest plasma balls I have ever seen. I was sooo tempted to touch it but a) I have short hair and b) they had signs on it "beware with electrical devices" and I didn't feel like frying my camera and mobile phone. Not that it would have happened, I just prefer to err on the side of caution.



This one was neat. The above photo is of the one of many aircraft they have hanging from the ceiling. This one I liked because it's the same model that the aviator used in Mad Max - Beyond the Thunderdome. I didn't realize that it was a production model. So I learned something new...

These next three pics are of this HUGE seaplane they have hanging in one of the main spaces. I have no idea how they got it in there without pulling one of the walls or the roof out. It really is big, and you get a bit nervy standing underneath it. I'd have loved to be able to get up inside it.







And one of my "favorite" displays: technicians at work.



These two chaps were technicians working on one of the displays in the robotics section. I don't know why I found it so intruiging. Maybe because when I first saw them it didn't click that the door was open and they were working on the display. I must have thought for a moment that they were part of the display... oops.



Sputnik! Well, I assume it's a mock-up. That's not the sort of thing that Russia would let out of the country very easily. Although I did find it interesting that the museum had a lot of Russian space stuff - loads more than they had American stuff. I wonder why that is...



One of the displays is a "zero gee simulator" which is quite disorientating. You get a really curious feeling when you're in there. On one of the walls was the above sticker - not sure why I liked it so much, I guess I just like that type of humour.



There are so many jokes I could make about this robot... :o)

I took heaps more pics, but I wouldn't be doing the displays justice. It's a lot better to see them in person. They have steam engines, cars, construction gear, nuclear accelerators - too much stuff to mention. If you're in Sydney - go visit this place. It's not free, but it's damned cheap.

Oh, and that night there was a great sunset to boot: