by Dru Bloomfield on July 31, 2010
We visited the Arizona Science Center last weekend. It was a hot summer day, and my son picked it over a trip to the Grand Canyon. 
It had been many years since I’d visited the Science Center, so it was a good refresher. The building is currently undergoing major renovations, but there was still more than enough to see, even though we skipped the featured exhibit (The Science of Fear!), the planetarium, and the IMAX theatre.
On the first floor, the home construction exhibit, “Many Hands Make a Home”, is always a hit with both kids and adults. It is fun to see how a home is put together step by step.
Moving upstairs, we spent a bit of time on the “Music Landing” playing with sound, and then headed over to the Get Charged Up Gallery, another one of the many hands-on exhibits. In here, I laid on a bed of nails. It was prickly, but not painful at all. Actually, it felt pretty cool.
On the third floor, the “My Digital World” was new to me. Fun! I had to pull my camera out for one of the exhibits (see the show below). Still don’t know quite how the technology works on this one, but totally enjoyed watching everyone play with the light!
The Forces of Nature exhibits on this floor were interesting, too. My favorite was the short movie about weather, complete with wind, heat, and rain showers.
SRP sponsored a solar exhibit, “Solarville”, in the fourth floor hallway. Small, but definitely educational. It’s so much easier to understand a concept when you have a chance to play or get a hands-on experience.
The Arizona Science Center is located at 600 E. Washington in downtown Phoenix, just north of Chase Field. We parked in the garage just north of the Science Center, and with validation, the charge was only a buck (even though there was a Diamondbacks game going on at the same time). Exhibit hours are usually 10-5, seven days a week, but you will want to check the center’s web site to make sure.
Helpful Arizona Science Center Links:
by Dru Bloomfield on October 25, 2009
Yesterday, a client asked me if earthquakes were an issue in Scottsdale, and I told him I’d not heard of any, but suggested that further research was needed. And then coincidentally, I’m sitting at my desk this morning, taking an on-line class on disclosures to meet my real estate license requirements and reading about water, flooding, fissures, and earthquakes!
What I did discover is that Arizona does have a history of earthquakes.
As I dug a little deeper, I discovered reviewed the maps and read the article, Earthquake Hazard in Arizona. Faults do exist all over the state, but most most Arizona earthquakes have occurred in the Flagstaff area, or to the west of Yuma (in California).
The Arizona Geological Survey web site gives more detail:
Arizona Earthquakes. Large earthquakes in Arizona are rare, but not unheard of. See the attached map for the distribution of large historical earthquakes in Arizona. The Colorado Plateau of northern Arizona is particularly prone to moderate-sized earthquakes. Dave Brumbaugh of Northern Arizona University maintains a network of seismometers (a device to sense and record the ground acceleration associated with earthquakes) to monitor activity there.
Yuma, Arizona, situated in the southwestern-most corner of Arizona, is at high-risk from powerful earthquakes from the nearby San Andreas Fault and its splay faults, the Imperial and Algodones faults. In 1979, rupture along the Imperial fault produced a powerful, magnitude 6.4 event, sending surface waves (Love and Rayleigh waves) racing towards Yuma, 70 miles to the east. Observers in Yuma reported the ground rising and falling before them, in a manner similar to water wave behavior in oceans and lakes.
So, yes Arizona does have earthquakes, but when you check out the Summary of Earthquakes Causing Damage in Arizona you will see that to date, the Phoenix metropolitan area, including Scottsdale, has been exempt.
Related web sites:
by Dru Bloomfield on July 14, 2009
photo credit: Laurel Fan
My insurance agent, Rick Cocita, who I met through the Arizona Real Estate Investors Association, mails me a postcard every once in a while with sport schedules and the like. Last week he sent me a list of Arizona Farms and Orchards. Since so many people are focused on eating healthier, I thought you might enjoy.
We are at the hottest time of the year and it’s the end of one season and the beginning of the next, so I do suggest calling first to see what’s in season and what the hours are.
Maricopa County
Date Creek Ranch – Apples and peaches
Wickenburg, Arizona
July and September, 7am to 3 pm – Call first. 928-231-0704
Peaches and Summer Apples available on weekends in July, 7am to 3pm. Fall Apples (Golden and Red Delicious) in September, possibly into October. (Late frost in April, so no peaches for 2009).
They sell grass-fed beef also.
Fenway Park Orchard – Apples, peaches, blackberries
Morristown, Arizona
Open Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday, in season. 623-388-2603
(Peaches are sold out for the season.)
Mother Nature’s Farm – Pumpkins
Gilbert, Arizona
Opening October 1st. 480-892-5874
World pumpkin weigh-off first Saturday in October. Pumpkin patch, hayrides, school tours, animals, picnic area, and corn maze.
Schnepf Farms – Peaches, strawberries, and vegetables
Queen Creek, Arizona
Restaurant and Bakery Hours: Thurs. – Sunday 7:30am to 3pm. 480-987-3100
Organic garden being planted for fall now. Check back on web site for updates.
Tolmachoff Farms – Vegetables
Open Monday-Sunday 9 am- 5 pm. 623-386-1301
Pick your own produce. Call ahead to see what’s in season.
Vertuccio Farms – Peaches, vegetables, pumpkins
Open spring and fall. Re-opens October 1st. 480-650-6611
by Dru Bloomfield on November 21, 2008
The Ironman Triathalon will be in Tempe this weekend, so if you’d like to get out and watch this exciting (and grueling) event, you’ll want to know a few details.
DATE: November 23, 2008
START: 6:45 a.m. with staggered age starting 15 minutes later
LOCATION: City of Tempe, Tempe Beach Park will serve as the ‘race hub’
DISTANCES:
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2.4-mile swim – one loop of Tempe Town Lake starting to east of Mill Avenue Bridge heading east to Rural Road and back to Tempe Beach Park west of Mill Avenue Bridge
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112-mile bike – starts at Tempe Beach Park and proceeds out Beeline Highway to Shea Boulevard, before turning around and returning to Mill Avenue. This loop is completed three times.
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26.2-mile run – starts at Tempe Beach Park and proceeds in and around the lake on and between Priest Drive and Rural Road. Three loops here too.
CUTOFF TIMES: Swim Cutoff: 9:20 a.m., Bike Cutoff: 5:30 p.m., Run Cutoff: Midnight
ATHLETES: Roughly 2,100 athletes from 30 countries and 47 states as of press time
AT STAKE: 80 qualifying spots to the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii as well as a $75,000 pro prize purse
ROAD CLOSURES: Rio Salado Parkway, Mill Avenue Bridge, plus lanes of quite a few other roads in Tempe and Scottsdale, and limited access to Beeline Highway -check the Spectator Guide out for the more details. If do need to get to Tempe on Sunday, the recommended access routes are Priest Drive, the 101, the 202, or University Avenue.
Did you know that the first Ironman Triathalon was first conceived by a group of Navy Seal in 1978, to determine who was most fit?
Some of the heroes. Amazing.
by Dru Bloomfield on October 30, 2008
In almost all states in the U.S., people will be changing their clocks this weekend. I had a reader inquire about Daylight Savings Time in Arizona and in researching an answer for her, I found this
excellent resource on the State of Arizona web site. Besides giving a history of how Daylight Savings Time was first used in Arizona in 1918(!), and several other times during history, I discovered that it was legislated off the books in 1968.
Originally uploaded by Petoo
by Dru Bloomfield on April 29, 2008
Yesterday, a neighbor asked for my take on the real estate market. He’s has a strong economics background, so I knew that he’d want more than just my perspective and experience, so I shared the following three web sites with him.
If you are into historical reports, market trend, and forecasting, I think you might really enjoy them.
