Science center AHAA
To be honest, the main reason, why we went to Tartu, was because to visit the science center AHAA. This place was found in widely advertised visitestonia.com, information was informative, and even in Latvian. There was huge number of inscriptions in Latvian in the science center, as well as audio guides. And here a question arises – how many museums in Latvia are able to provide information in native language to our nearest neighbors?
Although ticket was pretty expensive (12EUR for adult), but everything we saw, was worth it. Attractions started already near the entrance, where in the place of ticket, we had to scan our fingerprint, to get in this center.
Here is much to do, explore, see as for the adults, as for children. The first ones even tried everything with bigger happiness and true joy about everything. At the begging visitors are amazed by big transparent ball, which hangs up in steel cables high near the ceilings, but frequently it becomes bigger and smaller, as getting nearer ceiling and floor. Both togather with the help of steel cables you can get up into the tower of Minhauzens and see everything from the highs.
Special attraction was a run with bike through all hall strained steel cable. Amazing were optical illusions and possibility to take photo with your shadow, as it is amazing to be in skew room and to feel something like swinging on ship deck. We did try to play on harp without strings and can meditate, crawling in one of five chambers with deafening material walls.
All center is separated in two big halls or corpuses. In one of them are physics, optics, multimedia wonders, in the second – nature, water and robot city. So that you could get throught all the center and could try everything, but not to get tired and not to get bored, optimal time could be two hours. You can rest sitting in one of interesting chairs, that takes your body form and after then gets straight again.
Interesting attraction going deep into the earth by elevator, in which, at the beginning, you can get like in science laboratory and after, deeper in the earth. 5-6 minutes you feel like out of reality. For claustrophobia people, this attraction is not advertised.
Personally I found very interesting mirror maze, where you lose all kind of orientation skills immediate after entering. Everywhere your image is reflected. And the only way to get out of labyrinth is to fumble around the mirrors (you should wear gloves before in order not to leave finger prints) to get forth, feeling where wall ends and gangway goes on.
AHHAA on the map
Center is Sadama tee 1, Tartu, Estonia. Open hours every day from 10:00 till 19:00. Friday and Sunday till 20:00. In GPS you can find by coordinates 58°22'36''N 26°44'3''E.
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