Van Gogh: Brush with Genius

Today, I had the chance to go and see Van Gogh: Brush with Genius at the IMAX. I was really looking forward to seeing this since I have always loved art (even though I'm not very good at it!) and enjoy learning about new things. I found it to be even more engaging and interesting than I expected! Many of Van Gogh's paintings were shown throughout the film and I found it amazing to see them up on the huge IMAX screen. Some of them I had never seen before and this was the perfect first way to view them, especially considering the fact that it is extremely unlikely I'll be visiting the actual museums anytime in the near future. Viewing all of the paintings on the screen really gave me a sense of awe. This is mainly due to the fact that each painting contains numerous brush strokes, which highlights the amount of
time and effort involved in the creation of every painting. Painting was truly Van Gogh's passion and this continually comes across in the film.

Aside from viewing many of his paintings, I also learned a lot of interesting facts that I didn't know about Van Gogh beforehand. I love learning random fact of information, so I also found this part extremely interesting. Before the film, I didn't know much about Van Gogh's life, however this film allowed me to gain a better understanding of who he actually was, aside from the famous story of him cutting off his ear. It was interesting to note that Van Gogh was supported by his brother, Theo, who was an art dealer. He would pay for Van Gogh's living expenses and painting supplies, and in return, Van Gogh sent his brother all of his paintings to sell. This is what allowed Van Gogh to create the hundreds of paintings during his career. What made learning about Van Gogh's history even more interesting is the fact that the film has the narration from Van Gogh's point of view.

Overall, I learned a lot from the film and the 40 minutes just seemed to fly by. when it finished, it felt like it had just started! To have a look at the preview and gain a better understanding of what the film is about, just click on this link. I definitely think that this is a film most adults would enjoy and if anyone wants a break from the hot summer weather, you should go and check it out!

Under the Sea

Today we got to go to go see the brand new IMAX film "Under the Sea." We were all really excited about seeing this film because we had seen advertisements for it last week and it looked really interesting. It turned out to be even better than we expected! It was absolutely amazing, there are not enough positive adjectives to describe how good this show is. You can check the preview out here: Under the Sea Preview

The fact that it is 3D makes it even better. At times, you want to reach out and touch the creatures on the screen, especially when the sea lions are shown since they are so cute. The film highlights how playful they are.

The entire movie is amazing as it highlights all of the various creatures that make their home in the sea. There are so many creatures shown in their daily habitat, it is amazing. It was really informative as well since there were fish shown and described that I had never even heard of. It is really astonishing to see how many different fish and other creatures actually live in the sea and how they are all interconnected in various ways. The film also highlights how we are currently destroying the underwater world with all of the toxins that we are releasing into the air. It was sad to see how things like the coral reefs are dying because of the toxins that they are receiving. It really opened my eyes further on how everything that we do has consequences reaching farther beyond what I ever imagined.

All in all, this is a movie that everyone should see and something that I think any age group would enjoy. So go and check it out! It's playing right now at the IMAX.

Science North Visit

Yesterday, all of the summer students had the opportunity to visit Science North for the day. We were really looking forward to it since Science North is always a good time. When we arrived, the first thing that we did was go and check out the new dinosaur exhibit that is running for the summer. It was really interesting to see all of the animated creatures. All of the dinosaurs were really well done as they continually moved and made various noises. Here's some pictures of us and the dinosaurs so everyone can see what is going on.

After heading through the dinosaur exhibit, we walked into Science North and looked around the centre. First we went into the butterfly room to see all of the butterflies. There were quite a few flying around and I tried to get one to land on my arm, but luck was not on my side that day as none of landed. Though quite a few flew around me, which was cool. We also hunted for fossils in a box of stone, which was really neat as well. Here's a picture of us in action!

After the butterflies, we headed to the top two floors of Science North. We looked at all the different animals like the beavers, owls, and Rosy the skunk. They are so cute! The beaver especially, as you can see in the picture below. Everyone should definitely go and check it out.

We also looked at all of the other creatures, such as toads, snakes, and many others. There is definitely alot to see. We watched the presentation about DNA and it was really informative as I learned alot of things that I didn't know before. There were also many science exhibits we took a look at and all of them are really interesting and fun. One of which is to measure your height. That you can see in the picture below since we're standing infront of it!

After checking out Science North, we headed to the IMAX in the afternoon. There we saw the film Dinosaurs 3D. The main focus of the film was palentologists and the discovery of all sorts of new fossils. It was really interesting to see how to find out where the fossils are located and then how they remove them from the rock. Also, it did flashback to the dinosaur time occasionally to highlight the stories told. In 3D, it was really cool to see them come off the screen. All in all, it was a really fun and informative experience. After the film, we headed to the Planetarium and learned out the stars and solar system. To sit back in the comfortable chairs and watch the night sky in the Planetarium was a neat experience that everyone should check out.

That pretty much highlights our day at Science North. Everyone should definitely go and check it out at least once this summer!