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I’m way behind on my blog, but I wanted to tell you about a great program that our homeschool group attended a few days ago. It’s the Quest for Knowledge at Laser Quest. Laser Quest is a company that has it’s roots in Canada and has laser tag facilities all over the country. They have two forms of business, they build the laser tag equipment and run stores everywhere and they also build ATM machines. So weird. They are such different companies.

The kids began their quest with a game of laser tag. You enter a dark room to get your mission and your equipment, there follows twenty minutes of running, shooting, dodging and conspiring. The kids came out all flushed and exhilarated.

To calm them down, the manager showed them a video that told how lasers are incorporated into our every day lives. They are in our homes; computers, dvd players and remote controls. They are in businesses, like grocery store scanners. They use them for surgery, like my varicose vein surgery. And they use them for precise cutting of stone, diamonds, and other hard materials.

They also learned about mazes. They were asked to think of mazes in everyday life, Cade (GB) said that cities were like mazes . Other kids said things like grocery stores, houses, and malls.

I learned a very nice tip during the discussion. I’ve always been terrified by corn mazes and such. But the video told us that if you put your right hand out to touch the structure and keep it touching as you move around the perimeter of the maze, you will ultimately find your way out. It might not be the fastest way, but it’ll get you there. Very comforting.

After their discussion, they went back into the maze for another twenty minutes of fun. When they came out this time, he took apart the equipment that they were all using so they could see how the lasers worked with lights, speakers, vibration, and sensors.

Cade (GB) was thrilled that he got two of the high scores for the day. He was ‘Zombie’.

That’s his current fascination. Ugh, not a fan of zombies. He’s a boy, what can I say?

At the end, the kids were all presented with a certificate to show participation. I really think it was very educational because the kids learned how extensive lasers and mazes are in our society.

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