I am one of the parents chaperoning my twin daughters’ second-grade field trip to the science department of a nearby college. Staff usher us into an expansive room where strange, and interesting artifacts and skeletons don the surfaces and walls. Children are directed to sit on the floor along the long walls that are interspersed with a few chairs for the adults. After we get settled, I watch with interest as other groups file in and do the same.

How many groups can this hold? I wonder…