Every so often a story crosses my desk that makes me want to drop everything and drive to a museum. This week it's COSI in Columbus, Ohio, whose Gadgets exhibit is letting visitors actually touch science instead of just reading a plaque about it. MSN covered the exhibit this week, and I have been smiling about it ever since.

The star attractions include a vertical wind tunnel and a hands-on physics exhibit. If you have never stood in front of one of those wind tunnels, they are a delight. You step into the stream of moving air, toss in something lightweight, and watch physics happen right there in front of you. It teaches more in thirty seconds than a textbook chapter ever could, I promise you that.

What I love about exhibits like this is that they treat kids like capable learners. Nobody talks down to them. They hand over real physical principles, real gadgets, and say go ahead, figure it out. I've been watching technology my whole life, from the first Macintosh on a stage in 1984 to the phones in our pockets today, and the people who built all of that started exactly this way. Curious. Hands on. Willing to break something just to see how it worked.

My granddaughter Jess would tell you I'm the person who turns every museum visit into a lesson. She's mostly patient about it, bless her. But science centers earn that enthusiasm, because they're one of the few places left where learning feels like play instead of homework.

And that's what I keep coming back to with gadgets of any kind, museum or store shelf. Technology should work for you and teach you something, not just sit there looking shiny. A wind tunnel that shows you airflow beats a screen that merely tells you about it, every single time.

If you're anywhere near Columbus, Gadgets sounds like a perfect afternoon, especially now that fall weather is arriving. COSI has been doing interactive science for decades and clearly hasn't lost the touch.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm checking driving distances to Ohio. My family science-lecture reputation isn't going to maintain itself.