You've probably been to the Science museum or The Works or the Bakken museum. If you are here reading this, you probably even hold membership at one or more of these great local institutions. But, how often do you end up visiting? Doesn't it take a bit of planning and at least 4-6 hrs of free time in order to squeeze in a visit? Now, how often do you have to plan for visiting your local coffee shop? See the difference? Why should it be easier to grab a cup of coffee than to engage in scientific inquiry?
Now, I'm not saying you can do drive through science but if you had a half hour and you could hop over to The Thinking Spot, browse a book or two, maybe attend a workshop, wouldn't that be fun? What if, after you drop off your older child at dance, you could pop-over with your younger child and enjoy a quick game of Flip 4 or solve a Turing Tumble problem and maybe checkout that latest book on sleep research. Wouldn't that be convenient?
Also, local business is the backbone of the economy. Studies show that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers, and farms, further strengthening the economic base of the community.
These are the various thoughts led me to dream of little Thinking Spots all over town, as ubiquitous and convenient as the coffee shops. Look for one near you, soon!