Speed Freak
Ready, set, go! Learn at a really fast pace at the State Museum
The first "Speed" was about a city bus wired to explode if it slowed to below 50 mph. The sequel was about a giant cruise ship with the same annoying problem.
The lesser-known "Speed 3" -- set in Indianapolis -- involved a guy with too many DUIs driving a moped that would blow up if it went over 4 mph. That one went straight to video.
Now it's time for "Speed 4," starring me as a reporter who went to see the new exhibit "Speed" at the Indiana State Museum. This is a direct-to-print release.
You are watching it right now!
While my "Speed" may not be as popular as something starring Keanu Reeves -- or even Jason Patric, for that matter -- the place was packed when I paid a recent visit.
The traveling exhibition -- here through Jan. 21 -- offers a hands-on learning experience for people of all ages on the topic of speed.
With 21 different activities, "Speed" uses high-tech interactive media and simple things like building and crashing Lego cars to get its physics-based points across.
The displays -- which also include great info to read -- all feature mathematical formulas that frighten me much more than explosives attached to the pedals of my Puch.
My favorites activities included a station where you can make your own stop-motion animation using characters from the Powerpuff Girls, one where you can figure out your own horsepower as you ride a stationary bike and another that involves shooting pennies with air to see how they bend or break.
I also had fun riding a ski simulator and racing the other little kids with my specially built, super fast Lego car.
I lost.
While the State Museum's "Speed" exhibit won't literally blow up any time soon, it is "the bomb" for the hundreds of kids and adults who visit every day.
Including me.
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