In 1880, fourteen-year-old Matthew Henson loved to hear sailors tell tales of their exciting lives at sea. The travel, the adventure, the danger, and the steady pay were all attracting young Henson. One day, he found a job as a cabin boy on a beautiful ship called the Katie Hinds. For the next five years, Henson sailed around the world. With the help of the ship's captain and other members of the crew, Henson learned mathematics, navigation, history, geography, and many other subjects. By the time he left the Katie Hinds in 1885, Henson was well educated and had become an excellent seaman.

    Unable to find work anywhere else, Henson took a job in a hat shop in Washington, D.C. One day in 1887, a man came in to buy a hat. The man, Robert Peary, asked the owner if he knew anyone with experience at sea. Peary would soon travel to South America for the U.S. government. He needed experienced men to accompany him. The shop owner knew about his young employee's skills and experience on ocean journeys, so he introduced Peary to Henson.

    Using his map-reading and sailing skills, Henson proved himself to be a worthy and smart seaman. Peary soon made Henson his assistant（助理）, and they became close friends. One day Peary told Henson about his real dream: to be the first man to stand on “the top of the world” at the North Pole. He asked Henson to help him make his dream come true. Over the next five years, the two explorers made two trips together to the Arctic. However, they were not able to reach the pole either time. The cold, wind, and ice were worse than either of them had ever imagined.

    In 1908, Peary and Henson were ready to make their final attempt at reaching the North Pole. Both men were over forty years old. The years of hardship in the arctic cold had made them suffer a lot. This would be their last chance. With four Inuit（因纽特）guides, they made a mad rush straight across the ice toward the pole. Peary's feet were injured and he had to be pulled on a dogsled. In April 1909, Henson's instruments showed they were standing at the North Pole. Together Henson and Peary planted the American flag in the snow.

    In later years, Robert Peary and Henson were greatly honored for their achievements. Today, the two friends and fellow explorers lie in heroes' graves not far apart in the Arlington National Cemetery.

    The U.S. Department of Labor statistics (统计) show that there is an oversupply of college-trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren't there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree.

    On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen.

    These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue-collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.

    The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating (灌输) their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life. Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn't matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments (入学) go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.

    One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up.

    Pacific Science Center Guide

    Visit Pacific Science Center's Store

    Don't forget to stop by Pacific Science Center's Store while you are here to pick up a wonderful science activity or souvenir to remember your visit. The store is located(位于) upstairs in Building 3 right next to the Laser Dome.

    Hungry

    Our exhibits will feed your mind, but what about your body? Our café offers a complete menu of lunch and snack options, in addition to seasonal specials. The café is located upstairs in Building 1 and is open daily until one hour before Pacific Science Center closes.

    Rental Information

    Lockers are available to store any belongings during your visit. The lockers are located in Building 1 near the Information Desk and in Building 3. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are available to rent at the Information Desk and Denny Way entrance. ID required.

    Support Pacific Science Center

    Since 1962, Pacific Science Center has been inspiring a passion(热情) for discovery and lifelong learning in science, math and technology. Today, Pacific Science Center serves more than 1.3 million people a year and brings inquiry-based science education to classrooms and community events all over Washington State. It's an amazing accomplishment and one we cannot achieve without generous support from individuals, corporations, and other social organizations. Visit pacificsciencecenter.org to find various ways you can support Pacific Science Center.

    TV, iPads, and computers are fun and sometimes educational, but many people think the technology is bad. My parents let me watch one or two shows or play a game on the iPad for an hour, but then make me find thing else to do, like read or draw a picture. They say that too much screen time won't help me become smarter.

    I think that it is okay to watch TV, but not too much. And some of my friends agree.

    "A tiny bit of screen time is okay," Mateo J., 7, said. "But too much of it is not good for your brain."

    Though my friends and I sometimes complain (抱怨), we think that it's good our parents limit our screen time.

    "Our parents should limit our technology time because otherwise you might get carried away and not even know that you've stayed inside all day watching TV," Naomi J. , 9, said.

    The American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP) used to recommend (推荐) that parents let kids have about two hours of screen time per day, but in 2016, they started recommending that parents of kids 6 and older decide for themselves how much time is okay, as long as the shows and games are appropriate. The AAP still says that kids 2-5 years old should have only about one hour of screen time per day, and kids under 2 no screen time at all. The AAP says that media you've stayed inside all day in all forms, including TV, computers, and smartphones, can affect how children feel, learn, think, and behave. However, parents are still the most important influence.

    I think TV shows like Brain Games and Cupcake Wars are inspiring. I've even learned some magic while watching Brain Games! Video games can be educational, as some TV shows are about nature, and other shows have useful messages. But some games and shows have bad things in them, like smoking.

    You can play outside instead of watching TV. Find other things to do. You don t have to be or screens all day.

    Loud cheers and applause broke out at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab on Monday, November 25, 2018, as the unmanned lander, called Insight, touched down on Mars, after nearly seven years from design to launch to landing.

    The great arrival of the spacecraft­designed to listen for quakes and shakes as a way to discover the Red Planet's inner secrets, how it formed billions of years ago and, how other planets like Earth took shape­marked the eighth successful landing on Mars in Nasa's history.

    Minutes after InSight landed on the surface of Mars, the first image was sent back, showing a wide flat area as seen through a dirty camera.

    The touchdown came after a nearly seven-month, 300 million-mile travel from Earth to Mars, during which the InSight spacecraft had to slow down from a speed of more than 12,000 mph. The spacecraft's heat shelter helped the lander survive temperatures as high as 2,700℉.

    Each step along the way was watched nervously at JPL, with updates delayed by the eight-minute light travel time between Earth and Mars. Mission controllers hugged each other with joy when the signals were received. "We are proud of everything that has gone on today," they told us reporters.

    The first picture of the surface of Mars was sent back to Earth by one of the MarCO nanosatellites (马可纳米卫星) that accompanied InSight during its travel to Mars. The dust from the landing made the view unclear. Pictures from it were expected to be clearer once the dust settled and the lens cover (镜头盖) was removed.

    Hours later, InSight's batteries were charging as expected. The InSight team also passed on another picture, taken by a different camera that's fixed on the lander's robotic arm. The view is clearer, showing the robotic arm and the seismometer, which is used to discover the actual movement of the ground.

We understand that in light of the latest government CORONAVIRUS TRAVEL ADVICE, your travel plans will be changing. To reflect this, some terms & conditions for refunding tickets or changing journeys are different to usual.

Refunds on Unused Tickets for Travel

• You can apply for refunds up to four weeks from the last day that the ticket was valid.

• Unused Anytime, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets can be refunded and a service fee applies. Advance tickets are not refundable. Alternatively, you can change your ticket io travel at a later date — See 'Changing Tickets or Requesting a Travel Voucher' below.

• PLEASE NOTE that if the train you are booked on does not ran or is canceled due to irresistible forces, refund: will be made on ALL TICKETS TYPES with no service fee.

If you are uncertain about travelling, you may wish to consider purchasing a more flexible ticket — such as Anytime or Off-Peak - for travel.

Changing Tickets or Requesting a Travel Voucher

• If you bought an Advance ticket before the National Lockdown was announced on 4^lh January and will no longer be travelling, you should apply for a travel voucher or reschedule your journey free of charge. You need to do this be lore your first train departs and pay the difference if your new ticket is more expensive. Please note you will not be entitled to a travel voucher if your Advance ticket was purchased after 4^lh Jan. Speak to the original retailer of your ticket for advice.

• Anytime, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets are more flexible and can be changed any time before you travel There is no fee to change these tickets. you will only need to pay any difference in fare.

Refunding Season Tickets

•Unexpired(未逾期的)Season Tickets can be submitted for refund at any time and train companies calculate how much is refunded by bow much value is left on your ticket, they do this by deducting (扣除)the value of any other tickets you could have travelled with in the same lime until you stopped using and return your Season Ticket Refunds can only be backdated with evidence that illness prevented you from travelling. (National Rail Conditions of Travel. Condition 40.4).

• To see how much you could get back from your Season Ticket, try the Season Ticket Refund Calculator below. For more information, including if you require a refund due to sickness that prevented you from using a Season Ticket see the link here,

• Customers can still claim refunds remotely online, minimizing contact between customers and staffs keeping everyone safer. Please see your retailer's website for details.

Travelling on Another Train Company's Service

• In areas where there is cancellation, train companies may agree acceptance of tickets routed via another company For more details, please contact your rail service provider.