Mommy Adventures + Wanderlust: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [Part 1]

We’ve been MIA

I can’t believe we’ve been on this side of the world for almost a year now. Boy, time is moving awfully fast, eh? I know, I know! I should have been blogging about our new life, but priorities always get in the way. I’m happy to share that we’ve been blessed to have some travel adventures in the last 10 months despite the busy schedule. They may not be as grand as Ms B’s forthcoming sabbatical in Europe in a week or so – I can’t wait for her Wanderlust posts! – but they’re also as blog-worthy.

Aaaanyway…

Fun don’t cost a thing

We all know that New York City is one of the biggest, most densely crowded cities in the world. I honestly never realized how big and crowded it really is until I first set foot on the City That Never Sleeps — and I’ve actually never been to any borough other than Manhattan! To say that Manhattan will never run out of interesting things to see and do is a gross understatement. To say that the most interesting places in Manhattan cost you an arm and a leg to experience, however, is not entirely true. You just have to do a little more than just the average Internet search.

Sony Wonder Technology Lab

Veering away from the top items in my Google search result (that are manipulated by Internet marketers with the best strategies — trust me!), I came across an article about Sony Wonder Technology Lab. After reading about the cool exhibits it houses and learning that ADMISSION IS FREE, Um and I thought it was something this geeky family of four must see!

Nestled on the less tourist-infested Midtown East neighborhood, SWTL is a multi-level learning facility that encourages creativity and innovation through the display of technological advances in an extraordinarily fun way. To limit the number of people in the facility and to, ultimately, keep their visitors more engaged in each exhibit, STWL requires interested visitors to call their office for reservations. A representative will take your name and number of people visiting, and give you a schedule and a confirmation number. Obviously, you must be able to present an identification on your visit. Tickets are then printed at the entrance.

Creating our digital profiles

Our first order of business was to create our own digital profiles — we keyed in our nicknames, had our photos taken, indicated our favorite colors and chose our favorite music genre. These profiles documented all our activities that we were able to print at the exit.

An entire wall displayed hologram images that illustrates the evolution of various Sony gadgets such as the Cybershot, Sony Ericsson cellphones (not pictured) and PlayStation Portable.

While Captain Awesome and Little HRH examined how computers, telephones, video cameras and whatnot looked like in different eras, Um and I had quite a nostalgic vibe.

Most, if not all, of us fantasize about having personal robots that will do things on our command. Captain Awesome immensely enjoyed the power to control one of these robots, albeit a small one with very limited capabilities.