Thomas Edison's Lab Complex

Today we took a tour of the newly restored Lab Complex of Thomas Edison (http://www.nps.gov/edis/planyourvisit/grand-opening.htm). We have toured his house (http://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm) in the past and learned a lot about the man. We were very excited that the lab opened to the public. It never ceases to amaze me how much he achieved. He employed thousands of people. His lab had state of the art equipment, precision power tools, a recording studio for making records, a photo lab. Walking through some of the rooms I had a sense of the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The scene when the Ark is sealed in a box and put into that giant warehouse. I wondered at what secrets were sitting in those boxes on the shelves behind the gates that kept me from them. At the time of his death he was working on a way to produce rubber without using a rubber tree. He had some success with Goldenrod. The kids love the fact that he was homeschooled. When I asked the kids what they thought of the lab their one word answer was cool.

All in all, a great way to end the week.