SciFri's 2017 Guide to the Scientific Wonders of North America

From geological mysteries to atomic age attractions, here are 30 geeky road trip-worthy spots recommended by SciFri staff, listeners, and the folks at Atlas Obscura.

by Science Friday

30 Places

Blythe, California

Blythe Intaglios

Ancient human, animal, and geometric figures drawn in the earth.

Added by Doctor Don

Grand Marais, Minnesota

Devil's Kettle

Half of a waterfall goes into the river while the other half seems to disappear.

Added by nursecarmen

Inyo County, California

Sailing Stones of Racetrack Playa

The rocks in this arid basin leave trails of movement behind them.

Dylan

Livermore, California

Centennial Bulb

The longest burning light bulb in the world.

mrobscurity

Added by mrobscurity

Wilmington, North Carolina

Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden

Garden dedicated to native carnivorous plants and site of huge flytrap heist.

Added by tommiallen1

New Haven, Connecticut

The Cushing Center

An archival collection of over 2,200 case studies which includes human brain specimens and tumor specimens.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

Coulee City, Washington

Dry Falls

Site of the greatest known waterfall that ever existed.

canuck

Added by canuck

Holmdel, New Jersey

Holmdel Horn Antenna

Where the embers of the Big Bang were first detected.

Trevor

Added by Trevor

Portland, Oregon

Reed College Research Reactor

World's only nuclear reactor operated by liberal arts undergraduates.

Hutchinson, Kansas

Strataca, The Kansas Underground Salt Museum

Home to Hollywood history and a very special salt crystal.

Dylan

Vulcan, Alberta

Vulcan

Live long and prosper in Vulcan, Alberta.

canuck

Added by canuck

Glace Bay, Nova Scotia

Marconi National Historic Site

Site of the first official transatlantic wireless communications.

Trevor

Added by Trevor

Chichen Itza, Mexico

El Caracol

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Mexico

Hierve El Agua

This beautifully deceptive waterfall is something far different from what it appears to be.

Alicia Bones

Added by Alicia Bones

Montreal, Québec

Redpath Museum

One of Canada's oldest museums, the beautiful Redpath has been serving up Natural History and Ethnography since 1882.

michelle

Added by michelle

Field, British Columbia

Yoho National Park

Fossils, railroads, and waterfalls!

Rebekah Otto

Added by Rebekah Otto

Shoreham, New York

Tesla's Wardenclyffe Laboratory

An unrealized dream to wirelessly electrify the entire Earth.

Trevor

Added by Trevor

West Windsor Township, New Jersey

'War of the Worlds' Monument

A bronze monument to the infamous radio broadcast in the real New Jersey town where the fictional Martians crash-landed.

ronin

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mütter Museum

America's most famous museum of medical oddities is home to the remains of Albert Einstein's brain.

Added by mbison

Pasadena, California

Mount Wilson Observatory

This former stomping grounds of the most eminent astronomers of the early 20th century.

Added by wilson

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wagner Free Institute

A rare view of a preserved Victorian science museum.

michelle

Added by michelle

Oracle, Arizona

Biosphere 2

A reproduction of earth's many biomes.

Tre

Holbrook, Arizona

Petrified Forest National Park

See massive fossils that are over 200 million years old in northeastern Arizona.

AllisonEng

Added by AllisonEng

Jadwin, Missouri

Welch Spring Hospital Ruins

Once an ambitious nature spa, these forest ruins now provide a serene monument to failure.

SamLewis

Added by SamLewis

Mammoth Lakes, California

Devils Postpile National Monument

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

Tre

Chicago, Illinois

International Museum of Surgical Science

A monument to the art of slicing people open.

Added by mbison

Green Bank, West Virginia

Green Bank: A Town for 'Wi-Fi Refugees'

This rural community has attracted both scientists and techno-refugees due to its federally-mandated lack of technology.

Mark Casey

Added by Mark Casey

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz Mystery Spot

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

Added by cjwvos

Albuquerque, New Mexico

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

The official atomic museum of the United States explores the explosive and productive history of a much maligned energy source.

Eirik Gumeny

Added by Eirik Gumeny

Experimental Breeder Reactor-I

The world's first nuclear power plant is open to visitors looking to role-play a meltdown.

Added by kondorqueen