by April Fulton

two scientists stand in front of Horn Antenna in New Jersey

Dr. Robert Wilson (left) and Dr. Arno Penzias (right), who discovered the microwave background radiation from the universe that confirmed the Big Bang theory, in front of the Horn Antenna, 1975. Bell Labs via National Park Service website

 

A diversion from health, for a moment. Summer's here, and traveling is on our minds. But where to go for a unique experience?

We've seen the tired guide books on where to find the best restaurants, the best hotels, and the most important cultural sites, but how about a guide to locations of significant science interest?

Enter The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science & Technology Come Alive by John Graham-Cumming, due out June 3. Graham-Cumming has such geek cred that his first book was a self-published computer manual.

From the publishers:

You won't find tedious, third-rate museums, or a tacky plaque stuck to a wall stating that "Professor X slept here." Every site in this book has real scientific, mathematical, or technological interest -- places guaranteed to make every geek's heart pound a little faster.

I know my heart's beating faster at the thought of a trip to the Horn Antenna at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, where the Big Bang theory was confirmed.

Anyone up for a trip to the Tesla Museum in Serbia to pay homage to the man who paved the way for Edison's electrical experiments?

There's even a few health-related sites, if you must:

-- The Mendel Museum of Genetics in Brno, Czech Republic (p. 15)
-- The Rontgen Museum, Remscheid, Germany, where there's an exhibit on the Discovery of the X-ray (p. 74)
-- The Edward Jenner Museum, Berkeley, England, which celebrates the invention of vaccination (p. 165)

If the book's suggestions aren't enough for you, the author has a blog where you can offer your own "must see" science geek sites.

categories: For Fun, Information resources

2:51 - June 2, 2009

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