Catching the wind - São Paulo

Arrival at the Catavento...

I have blogged once before about the Catavento Museum (catavento means pinwheel) in São Paulo. It is a beautiful building with interesting exhibits, and the really good news is that it keeps getting better. Unlike Butantan which seems to get more decrepit each time I visit, the Catavento has added new exhibits and surprised and delighted me each time.

At the entrance to the museum, there is now a sign that says that Catavento is the most visited museum in Brazil with more than 4,000 visitors a day. That is not bad for Brazil, especially when you consider that it is hardly easy to get there to the Palacio das Industrias--this was the first time ever we have gotten there in one shot rather than having to loop around again (and for this I'd like to thank waze). We do not need to compare ourselves with the Louvre with its 23,000 visitors per day. After all, they've got the Mona Lisa. We have the tatu-gigante (giant armadillo). Which would you rather?

Me too. After a first exhibit with colored sand that kids can build into all kinds of mountains and cause rain to fall with their hands (hard to explain), we found the tatu-gigante. I for one am glad I don't have to worry about running into one of these on my street any time soon (they became extinct 10,000 years ago). Knowing my boys, they are disappointed by the same thought.

After this mandatory photo stop, we went through the natural history area with videos of the Pantanal, bird calls, a sabertooth tiger and a new live exhibit of stick insects. A new exhibit on venomous animals of Brazil so completely kicks Butantan's butt I might have to send the info on to the snake and scorpion folks and tell them to get it into gear.

Read it and weep, Butantan.

BH's favorite part of the museum is the physics area with hands-on explanations of various science-y things. Clearly I am a liberal arts graduate. Gravity, electricity, light waves, running horses, bendy waves and weight lifting were all discussed. I think. I was busy watching kids encase themselves in large soap bubbles. 

Science-y stuff

Another recent addition to the museum is a tiny shop that sells educational toys. Science toys. Real science--tornado formation, how things roll up hill, etc. All at reasonable prices like US$5-10. No crap like at US museums like plastic dinosaurs and sparkly wands. Love it.

Upstairs my 7 year olds just ran out of gas, but we walked through one exhibit that was excruciatingly educative. They had photos of people before they became drug addicted, and then photos of them (mug shots really) after they had become addicted to meth or cocaine or whatever. If you ever need to scare the poop out of your kids, that's a good place. Better than scorpions really.

Highly recommend.

Catavento - São Paulo

This is a photo of the Catavento ("Pinwheel") Museum in São Paulo. It is probably my second favorite after Butantan (the snake and spider museum). Fully half of Catavento is dedicated to hands-on learning, much like the Exploratorium in San Francisco (though that museum could eat Catavento for a snack). It is a place where you long to have a 10 year with whom to play with physics problems, light reflections, noises. My kids are a little young at 6 years to fully appreciate the explanations behind the fun--mostly they are interested in making noise and pulling levers.

The museum is housed in the old Palacio das Industrias, which dates from 1920. It's a crazy building in itself with animal gargoyles hanging off of every parapet. Definitely worth a visit. Afterwards you can head to the giant Municipal Market for lunch!