Hands-On Exhibition Repeats Popular Theme
May 2 - September 12
Presented in partnership with the JANE BROWNE PETERSEN FUND
HANDS-ON 4 repeats a popular theme—participatory science. What began as a temporary exhibition of six interactive science exhibits 25 years ago has perennially proven to be one of the most popular areas at the Museum. While
our current ensemble of science exhibits in FamilyPlace continues to maintain a loyal following, from May 2 - September 12 we'll bring back a few past exhibits as well as introduce several new exhibits to our audience.
In all, a dozen exhibits will be fabricated or renovated for display in the Museum's Alcoa Gallery. The exhibits include Static Electricity, an exhibit in which specially coated foam balls can be coaxed to roll around and jump-up-and down repeatedly with the wave of a hand, and Chaotic Pendulum, a magnet on a pendulum which resembles a torture device but in actuality is a clever demonstration of chaos theory. Another exhibit, Size and Distance, demonstrates that the perceived size and distance of an object are intimately related to one another.
Other planned exhibits will certainly encourage various forms of experimentation. Hot and Cold will offer an illusion of a tactile nature. Place your hands on this exhibit, and you will sense something entirely different from what you'd expect from the warm and cold water that course through a series of tightly wound copper pipes. Non-Round Rollers makes use of what seem to be very lopsided rollers that, when rolled on a special table, can be made to move with remarkable smoothness. Conductivity allows for experimentation with solutions containing different dissolved substances to see which liquids allow electricity to pass.
Hands-On 4 is the fourth in a series of hands-on exhibitions created in-house for our guests by the Science Staff at the Museum. Exhibits designed by the Exploratorium, a leading science and technology center located in San Francisco, were the inspiration for many of the devices.
