Einstein Bros.

We have these two brothers who come to Library X for all of our programs and to get books every week, accompanied by their really nice parents. What is amazing about these kids is how damn smart they are. Albert (name changed) is 7 and in 2nd grade and Neal (name changed) just turned 5 on Saturday. What is so amazing about these smart kids, is that they aren't just smart, they are Jeopardy-high-school-champions-in the-making-smart; so smart that they say-things-and-make-you-feel-stupid-kinda-smart.

Anyway, we had our Star Lab this weekend--which of course the Einstein Bros. came to. Star Lab is a portable planetarium made of a huge, inflated bubble which enables the presenter to show the stars and consellations on the inside of the rounded dome. It was a very cool way to look at the night sky. The guide pointed out stars and consellations as they would appear in the night Spring sky. Then once we had a feel for the location of the consellations she showed us how the consellations were given their names (the drawn shapes that encompass the stars--the picture I found online actually demonstrates what that looked like pretty well).


When the Einstein Bros. were done with their session of the Star Lab (we did 4 hour long sessions) they joined me in the Craft Room. While they colored pictures of constellations and created star-themed magnets and book marks, older brother Albert started questioning me about what the biggest, smallest, etc., etc., etc. planet. And I was embarassed that I didn't know some of the answers (I always hated science); so he just started sputtering out all these facts about the planets and the Milky Way and different stars. It was one of those moments where I was praying that somehow the subject could be changed so we could talk about something that I knew more about than him: cooking, Harry Potter, Facebook.

I was so glad when younger brother Neal changed the subject and said, "Now my family has 4 library cards," (refering to how he got his first library card since it was his fifth birthday; and everyone in his family has their own card.

I was saved. Kids say the darndest things.

Comments

Tony Kris said…
Wow, you just totally brought me back to Elementary school. I totally remember having the Skylab come in once a year and taking over PE for one class. Wow. I haven't thought about that in years.
April 23, 2008 at 4:33 PM
Mummy Dearest said…
Oooo... Star Lab. Sounds so Star Trek. I loved planetarium field trips!

Are the Einstein Bros by any chance homeschooled? I feel like the times when I have been outsmarted by a kid it was usually a homeschooler.

Not so stereotype or anything... ;)
April 27, 2008 at 7:08 PM
Monster Librarian said…
For the record the Einstein Bros. go to PUBLIC school. Their Dad is a middle school teacher, not sure what their Mom does, but you can tell that they are VERY interested in encouraging their children. So there is hope for us Public School kids, Mummy! ;)
April 27, 2008 at 8:00 PM
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