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Local dad Dave Winters, 36, was forced to confront some forgotten childhood fears after revisiting Questacon with his two kids—only to realise the terrifying Free Fall exhibit hadn’t left the impression it probably should have.
Taking his children to the National Science and Technology Centre for some “educational fun,” Dave was caught off guard by the ‘Free Fall’—a two-storey vertical slide where participants grip a bar and let go, free-falling onto a padded mat below. Supposedly, it teaches kids about gravity or something.
“How the hell did I forget this?” Dave muttered, blinking up at the platform, his palms already sweaty. “This thing is terrifying. Was I okay as a kid, or…?”
Despite watching fearless school kids take the plunge without hesitation, Dave circled the mat for five minutes, muttering to himself about “muscle memory” and “peer pressure.” His children offered no sympathy, chanting “Do it, Dad!” as a growing crowd of onlookers gathered.
Eventually, Dave climbed the platform, gripping the bar with white-knuckled determination. Just as he prepared to let go, his smartwatch buzzed with a high heart rate alert, sending his anxiety through the roof.
“Okay, okay, just let go,” he whispered, as if reasoning with himself would make it easier. Taking one last breath, he released the bar.
“Ohhh shiiiiiit!” he shouted as he plummeted, his four-second descent described by Dave as ‘what could have been the final moments of his life’.
Dave was later spotted sitting quietly on a bench, trying his best not to let his kids see how scared he’d been.
