Gravity

Sunday Mr P and I enjoyed the rare opportunity of him not working and went out for the day. With the the threat of heavy showers we chose a venue that would give us time to enjoy the available sun. We headed out to Woolsthorpe Manor. 

This is the birth place of Sir Isaac Newton, born 25th December 1642 and died a very old man on 20th March 1727. Neither of us knew much about him other than the word "gravity" and the apple.
I am not going to write a blog on Sir Isaac but you can read about him on wikepedia. The tour starts with a film which is really useful if like us you do not know much about him. Then a tour of his family home where you become aware of how Isaac's  mother must have despaired that he spent so much of his time looking up at the stars and carrying out experiments rather than helping her out with the farm. Sadly the public are not allowed to take photographs of the inside of his home. Outside we had to go and visit  THE apple tree.

Not the most dynamic looking tree where we all owe so much of our knowledge!

If you look carefully you can see how it has to be propped up.

Then I tried dropping an apple on my head - sadly it did not improve my brain!

All this mooching around encouraged an appetite for our picnic and we enjoyed some of that lovely leftover foccaccio bread with some yummy locally made Wensleydale cheese with cranberries, in Newtons' gardens.

Then back into one of the barns where they have a science discovery room with loads of stuff to experiment with. Yet again I am reminded that me and science just don't hit it off! In the introductory film there was a supposed conversation between Isaac's mother and himself saying "why do the stars stay up in the sky? She replies it just does". Well that's me to a "t". But the National Trust have made this a great place for children to enjoy and learn through playing.

"I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

Well I just love the National Trust - it's such a great resource at such a reasonable membership price to see and learn so much.

Still waiting for gravity to have its effects on my daughter!