So today we all went up to Broomfield to test drive a
Nissan Leaf. It's a wonderful car -- zero emissions, low maintenance (no oil changes or pumps to break,) very safe (low center of gravity due to heavy battery under the seats, no gas tank to burst into flames,) quiet and responsive to drive, and all sorts of neat gadgets like a rear view video that comes on when you go into reverse. The one we liked was
electric blue, like this one:
They generally have a range of about 100 miles, so are great for running around town or taking kids to classes in the Springs (about a 40 to 50 mile round trip.) They're already available in twenty states, but we won't be able to get them in Colorado for another three to four months.
After testing the Leaf, we went to
Cinzetti's, one of our favorite restaurants, for lunch.
Thereafter we went into Golden to visit the Geology Museum at the
Colorado School of Mines. The museum was great! We appreciated the opportunity to take a look around the school, which is one the kids are considering. Being a state school, tuition is about a third that of private schools like
Colorado College. Mines and Colorado College are both very appealing. Mines is a research school that goes up to PhD level, so there are likely more opportunities in Mines' specialty areas such as robotics and all types of engineering (environmental, biomedical, electrical, etc.). There are programs at Mines that allow students to take both a master's and a bachelor's degree in 5.5 years (our kids could perhaps knock off two years by going to community college first.) Students from Mines, with their training in engineering and applied sciences, are in high demand after graduation. Colorado College is smaller, perhaps more nurturing, and offers the block system. I spoke to a student at the museum who said a friend of his is at Colorado College. They're both doing geology, and the core classes are apparently identical. He did say that Colorado College has more money, so the students can do "outrageous field trips" -- even to other continents. Well, we'll see ... both look like good options.
Here are some pics from the Geology Museum:
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| Emma and Paige standing between two halves of a large geode |
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| Statue of a burro, once used to carry vast quantities of equipment, including sticks of dynamite! |
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| Piece of aquamarine |
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| Rhodochrosite: Colorado's state mineral |
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| Ancient piece of Apatosaurus bone |
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