11 best places to take a techie on a date
Not too late to plan a Valentine’s Day extravaganza
For Valentine’s Day, drag your techie sweetheart off the couch and into the real world. We’ve looked across the U.S. for a sampling of the best spots to mix romance and geekiness.
Bell Museum of Natural History: Birds & the Bees (Minneapolis)
Reservations are required for Valentine’s Day night: “The great outdoors are indoors at the Bell Museum making it the perfect place for an intimate Valentine’s Day picnic with your special someone or friends. We’re turning the lights down for this evening event among the dioramas and focusing on the “birds and the bees” —quite literally in fact! Enjoy special honey bee programming and the opportunity to tour Audubon and the Art of Birds, Birds & DNA and From the Field.”
Computer History Museum (Mountain View)
If you’re in Silicon Valley and have had enough of the young social media tycoons and their inventions, go old school and take a trip back through the history of computing at this museum. The History of Computer Chess, Revolution: The First 2000 years of Computing and the Hall of Fellows are among current exhibits worth checking out. Here’s a handy 1-hour tour guide if you want to combine the visit with other activities.
The Shire of Montana (Trout Creek)
No kids allowed at this resort that features Hobbit houses intended to whisk you away to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Loved to Death shop (San Francisco)
This shop in the Haight-Ashbury district started out as an art endeavor making Victorian-theme anthropomorphic taxidermy dioramas, but has evolved into much more than that, as fans of the Science Channel’s “Oddities: San Francisco” program can attest.
Mapparium (Boston)
Walk inside a three-story stained glass globe across a 30-foot glass bridge. Better than It’s a Small World at Disneyworld. This globe is located at the Mary Baker Eddy Library near Northeastern University. This activity will take less than an hour. If you’re really into maps, check out the map room at the Boston Public Library and if you’re really into globes, the 25-ton outdoor globe at Babson College, 20 miles west of Boston.
Museum of Science Fiction (Washington, D.C.)
OK, we hate to be a tease, but this museum doesn’t actually exist yet. But it could! Head over to crowdfunding site Indiegogo and lend your support to the creation of this planned nonprofit mecca for sci-fi.
IMAX movies (many locations)
So you don’t live in one of the big cities highlighted so far: How about visiting a local IMAX theatre and checking out a Hollywood or educational film (yes, mutually exclusive). This site has listings for IMAX theaters around the country.
Pinball Hall of Fame (Las Vegas)
Take a break from the ringing and lights at the casinos and check out the ringing and lights at this one-of-a-kind tribute to arcade games of the mostly past. For 25 or 50 cents per play, we’re smelling a very cheap date at this 10,000 square foot facility.
DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park (Orlando)
Five floors of virtual worlds, 3D encounters and classic video games. Attractions include Cyberspace Mountain and a Virtual Jungle Cruise.
National Museum of Mathematics (New York City)
This museum surely gets overshadowed by the Empire State Building and Central Park, but how can you resist a place that caters to those aged 105 to 5? Not to mention the Square-Wheeled Trike, Hyper Hyperboloid and coaster rollers.
Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
It’s pretty hard to pick just one museum of science, as there are many good ones across the country and many are being more and more interactive. And while a lot of exhibits are geared more for kids than dating adults, there’s typically something for everyone. At the Chicago museum, for instance, you can see a German submarine, a futuristic sustainability game and artifacts from Walt Disney’s collection.
Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com