AHHAA Science Centre
The science center in Tartu is a fun complex that allows us to gain many experiences in a short time. Both children and adults can carry out scientific experiments themselves and get a better understanding of how each instrument works.
Founded in 1997 as a special project of the University of Tartu, the science museum moved to its new 3000 square meter building in 2011 and opened to visitors. Located very close to Tartu Market and the bus station, the museum is a must-visit. You should spend a minimum of 3.5 hours on your visit. Don’t think of the word “sacrifice” as a negative word, I am sure it will add a lot to you.
When you pay the fee, they give you a wristband, I don’t know what it is for, and you keep it on your wrist for the duration of your visit.
When you enter the first hall, you see various puzzles waiting to be solved.
Then you see a mirror room that opens the doors to infinity. It is possible to get lost in the mirror room in a few seconds. Because everything looks so similar that you will probably need help to find your way out.
For the first time in my life, I came across sands that create a topographical effect equipped with a lighting system. This system, which presents the elevation you will make with the surrounding sands by coloring them like mountains on the map, is quite interesting.
The science center, which also allows time travel, takes visitors back 200 million years with its moving dinosaurs. Tyrannosaurus Rex, which weighs 7.5 tons and can run at a speed of 30-45 km, Oviraptor, which can grow as big as a human and run faster than Rexes, Triceratops, which only exists in North America and weighs 9 tons, are just some of the information we learned from the information boards.
The next room is the room with various scientific mechanisms. Be sure to try the bed of 4000 nails. Lie on the bed of nails, which belongs to Indian culture, and press the button. From the outside, you would think that if you go to bed with nails in the evening, you will wake up with injuries in the morning. But this is not the case. Since each nail carries a certain weight, they take over the transportation process homogeneously.
In the technology room, there are many educational devices prepared for technology enthusiasts. Each of these interesting and instructive devices deserves to be examined one by one.
Lifting yourself up using only your arm strength, the working logic of a pickup truck, a device that recognizes your body and turns you into a skeleton and many more technological devices are waiting for you.
On the upper floor of the technology room is the harp, a musical instrument. You can reach the real harp sound by detecting hand movements with a laser technique invisible to the human eye. You can play alone or you can perform your musical art with more than one person.
After the musical instruments, we come across an exhibition area about human beings and their structure. These showcases of human organs, skulls, brains and many other things unique to human beings are really interesting.
And last but not least, we have to practice tightrope walking. There is no need to be afraid. Even someone who does not know how to ride a bicycle can easily ride a bicycle, and the weight underneath ensures that you do not fall.
The entrance fee to the science museum, which allows us to understand and experience the working logic of many complex things by simplifying them, is 12€ for adults and 9€ for students.
