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Last Updated: 03. Mai 2000
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Germany
An Adventure in Fulda
Deutsches Feuerwehrmuseum
Kinder Akademie
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One cold, dreary day in January we took a field trip to a small nearby city with interesting museums, so we could stay warm and dry but still go sightseeing. We choose Fulda because it is located near Frankfurt and there are some interesting museums for children. In Fulda, there is Deutsches Feuerwehrmuseum (German Fire Brigade Museum) and Kinder Akademie (Children's Museum).
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Deutsches Feuerwehrmuseum
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In the Feuerwehrmuseum, we saw very old fire fighting equipment dating back to the Renaissance and the techniques of fire fighting and fire prevention since the 14th century. We saw a demonstration of how a fire hose pump works. There were many pictures showing scenes of how the towns people pump water from a river or a lake using the fire hose pump.
We also saw modern equipment including some fire trucks from the early and late 20th century. There was a fire red VW fan that was used for storing the fire hoses. Of course, Chris had to take pictures of this very special piece of fire fighting equipment.
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Kinder Akademie
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After the Deutsches Feuerwehrmuseum, we drove to the Kinder Akademie. In 1991, the founder of the museum, Helen Bonzel, decided to create a children's museum in Germany - a concept she had seen in the States. Frau Bonzel succeeded at creating a great place where kids can play and experiment with crafts, science, and nature. Exhibits include a giant human heart that kids can walk or crawl through, optical experiments (e.g. zoetropes), gear puzzles, a huge megaphone, a large heart "game board" and of course, a grocery store. A museum tour guide gives an explanation of the heart and how it works as part of the "walk-through" of the heart. The tour guide knew that we were Americans and she gave some explanations in English but we were also able to follow some of the explanations in German as well. The heart "game board" was modeled after the game of mini-golf. Children hit "blood cells" or croquet balls through the heart into the arteries to various parts of the body, then back to the heart and into the lungs.
After the Kinder Academie, we had a long drive home, so we stopped at a roadside McDonald's for dinner. Erika had a great day - visiting museums that interested her and choosing where to eat dinner!
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Die Fotogalerie von die Deutschland
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See you all later.
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