Arizona Science Center/Van Gogh Alive
I was recently asked to write an article for Downtown Phoenix on the top date spots Downtown Phoenix has to offer. I did some research and feel in love all over again with so many places in Downtown that I’ve been to already, and some I really knew I needed to explore. Those I’ve never experienced are now added to our list of date plans. This was really inspiring for me, and consequently, there are going to be some date nights in Downtown over the next few weeks- stay tuned!
Remember that date we tried to go to the Arizona Science Center on First Friday and it just didn’t happen? We decided we’d try and go the next month, when our lovely friend Katie clued us into culture passes. We’d heard of them, but also heard they were impossible to get so we never gave merit to it. HOWEVER, they are so not impossible to get and you can look them up on the library catalog. If you go when it opens you’re almost guaranteed to get the one you want. We were thrilled to nab one to the Science Center, and decided to forgo the First Friday madness and visit on a less busy day instead.
We thought we would first hit up some highly recommended Downtown foodery. ZPizza came up at the top of our list.
With local, organic ingredients and some great lunch specials, it really is a winner! The taste was quite incredible. We decided we could hit an open mic night and eat pizza for a date and die happy. We’ll be back for sure.
Then it was off to get our science nerd on for one of the most fun dates we’ve had!
Some dates I feel like I get to play professor and tell Jacob all about the art or the literary references, but this was one date that this cute electrical/energy engineer told me about everything we looked at. He was like a kid in a candy store with a big smile on his face at every exhibit. He’s also the hottest tour guide I’ve ever had!
He decided to make me take a picture with this, making sure I was touching it. He couldn’t stop laughing. And I had no idea there were some valuable uses for cow dung. Now I do, with pictures to prove!
Did you know there are more bald women than women with green eyes? I’m a rare breed! (Okay, I probably learned that from a Rogaine commercial for women years ago, but it sounds like I should have learned it here…right?)
Jacob had a helper who really wanted to push the button for him. He’s such a nice guy to hand his life over to a toddler!
But one of the reasons we REALLY wanted to go, was for the special exhibit- Van Gogh Alive. I know, if you’ve been a reader for a while this won’t surprise you. If not, let me once again introduce you to my obsession with Vincent (here or here). I feel like I’ve studied him so much we’re on a first-name basis here.
The exhibit is usually $25 to get in, but with a culture pass, it’s only $11- double score on that one!
The exhibit really is quite the experience! Images are projected on every crevice of the room with classical music, quotes by Vincent, and animations from elements of paintings- all designed to help you get inside the mind of Van Gogh. (And yeah, I’ll go with the American spelling in this post, both caps!) I was sold the second his bedroom was dissected and I felt like I was sitting inside the room. If you want a taste of it, you can watch a video by clicking the video tab on this website.
If you live in AZ and want to see it you’d better get a move on, it’s only here through June 17th. Luckily for every one else- it’s touring and hopefully will show up at your state science center soon!
Even if you just choose the free option this is really one fun, academic date that I think any couple would enjoy.
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What are the passes? and how do they work? Also I was wondering how much do you put aside for date nights each week?
Great tip! We'll so go sometime! Katie I realized on Linkein that I can't believe we don't know each other! You work with Joe Mangum right? And you're a marketing enthusiast- seriously, how have we never met in real life?
We'd love to! I'm emailing you tonight 🙂
I love your blog! I blog about the same thing actually. It's always fun finding other couples who make date night a priority. I found you on Love Actually and would love to have you guest post for me sometime! If you are interested you can email me at pmwhiteley at gmail dot com
i used to work downtown!! i LOVE z pizza! oh man, bacon-onion-tomato glory. if you make it over there during lunch hours you must (MUST) go to foccacia fiorentina for some pasta. it's uh-mazing!