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exciting exhibits!
exciting exhibits!
RATS in Space! >>
Citizen Science >>
Quantum Discovery >>
What's in Yout Soil? >>
The Science of Color >>
Cellular Microbiology >>
Experience a universe of fun for all ages.
Preview our exciting exhibits!
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RATS in Space! >>
Citizen Science >>
Quantum Discovery >>
What's in Yout Soil? >>
The Science of Color >>
Cellular Microbiology >>
Preview our exciting exhibits!
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Few realize that the soil beneath us as we walk, garden, farm, or picnic is teeming with billions to hundreds of billions of microorganisms, including types of bacteria, fungi, and microarthropods. This rich diversity contributes to healthy soil, an essential component to human, animal, and plant life on Earth.
Meet the tardigrade—also known as the water bear— perhaps the most memorable of the soil microspecies. In this exciting and first-of-its kind exhibit, visitors of all ages will have the chance to explore the mysterious and busy world of soil life through the eyes of a water bear using a digitally-enhanced optical water bear mask. Virtual displays give the viewer the effect of being in a soil environment, where one may learn about fellow soil inhabitants. Also featured will be hands-on science stations with electron microscope stations to allow for real-life encounters, and samples of soil from around the world!
Meet the tardigrade—also known as the water bear— perhaps the most memorable of the soil microspecies. In this exciting and first-of-its kind exhibit, visitors of all ages will have the chance to explore the mysterious and busy world of soil life through the eyes of a water bear using a digitally-enhanced optical water bear mask. Virtual displays give the viewer the effect of being in a soil environment, where one may learn about fellow soil inhabitants. Also featured will be hands-on science stations with electron microscope stations to allow for real-life encounters, and samples of soil from around the world!
What’s in Your Soil? Meet the Water Bear.
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Stepping outdoors, even in an urban environment, one can’t help but notice and wonder about the plants, insects, birds, and animals we see and share a life on Earth with. What if we were able to gather knowledge about this life and share it with others, and access the names and facts about what we see quickly and easily? Taking a picture of a plant you see on a hike might help scientists map areas where that plant grows, or recording a sighting of a rare bird may alert a fellow bird lover of where they might go to see a the same species.
This spirit of technology-based information accumulation and sharing is behind the creation of iNaturalist, an application tool created in 2008 by UC Berkeley graduate students and now used widely by parks, conservation groups, universities, and nature lovers. Join the museum for an exclusive deep dive into the emerging world of citizen science, and learn the ways in which you can use iNaturalist to help add to the understanding of the natural world.
This spirit of technology-based information accumulation and sharing is behind the creation of iNaturalist, an application tool created in 2008 by UC Berkeley graduate students and now used widely by parks, conservation groups, universities, and nature lovers. Join the museum for an exclusive deep dive into the emerging world of citizen science, and learn the ways in which you can use iNaturalist to help add to the understanding of the natural world.
Citizen Science, Sponsored By iNaturalist
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Asteroids have long been the villains of many science fiction tales. The truth is that humans presently know relatively little about the millions of rocky and metallic bodies within our own Solar System. The first detailed photograph of an asteroid was taken in 1991, and it has only been in recent years that increasing numbers of high-quality images have been captured for study.
This year NASA decided to take a step towards lifting this veil of secrecy by dedicating its Research and Technology Studies — also known as Desert RATS — program to developing the technology necessary for human asteroid exploration.
For a limited time, the technology soon to be tested in the deserts of Arizona as part of the RATS program will be on display, including NASA’s latest high-tech space truck, its robotic rover assistant, and the Deep Space Habitat module where crew members would live and work. Hurry in before these disappear into the great unknown!
This year NASA decided to take a step towards lifting this veil of secrecy by dedicating its Research and Technology Studies — also known as Desert RATS — program to developing the technology necessary for human asteroid exploration.
For a limited time, the technology soon to be tested in the deserts of Arizona as part of the RATS program will be on display, including NASA’s latest high-tech space truck, its robotic rover assistant, and the Deep Space Habitat module where crew members would live and work. Hurry in before these disappear into the great unknown!
RATS in Space!
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Channels, pumps, active and passive transport devices, and the smallest rotary motor known in nature—the simple machines churning away at the cellular level in our bodies keep us alive and remind us of the remarkable consistency in nature when it comes to making things work.
Explore models of these molecular machines, as well as the scientific experiments that led to their identification and analysis. One such display includes the very internal, rotating rod plus catalytic knob demonstrated in 2004 by researchers to show that mechanically driven structures in our cell walls play a vital role in energy production and metabolism. Understanding these most tiny and simple machines provide keys to understanding our lives and the world around us.
Explore models of these molecular machines, as well as the scientific experiments that led to their identification and analysis. One such display includes the very internal, rotating rod plus catalytic knob demonstrated in 2004 by researchers to show that mechanically driven structures in our cell walls play a vital role in energy production and metabolism. Understanding these most tiny and simple machines provide keys to understanding our lives and the world around us.
Cellular Microbiology: Simple Machines in the Body
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Out of seeming nothingness, came all that we know and don’t know: the universe, ourselves, consciousness. How did this happen, and what are the rules of how matter functions? Does solid matter even exist, or for that matter, what about time?
Interact with quantum spectrometers, models of gravity, and discover what Heisenberg meant when he said that one cannot know both a particle’s position and momentum simultaneously. “Meet” famous quantum theorizers from across time, including Einstein, and even the Dalai Lama. Though many of these concepts mean that everything we know about the world— objects, time, and reality— dissolves, the possibilities for imagining what could be through quantum theorizing are endless.
Interact with quantum spectrometers, models of gravity, and discover what Heisenberg meant when he said that one cannot know both a particle’s position and momentum simultaneously. “Meet” famous quantum theorizers from across time, including Einstein, and even the Dalai Lama. Though many of these concepts mean that everything we know about the world— objects, time, and reality— dissolves, the possibilities for imagining what could be through quantum theorizing are endless.
Quantum Discovery: Virtual Particles, Entanglement, and Beyond
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Is color really just what we make it? How are we affected by color? What is the chemistry behind color?
There are hundreds of documented cases of writers, musicians, and mathematicians seeing words, sounds, and equations as colors. In their world, Wednesday may be green, or a D musical note dark blue. For this exhibit, experience over two-dozen stations that test perceptions of and the science behind color. Walk into a monochromatic room, test the effect of color on mood, marvel at color-based optical illusions, play with pigments, and enjoy an array of other crafts, seminars, and demonstrations.
There are hundreds of documented cases of writers, musicians, and mathematicians seeing words, sounds, and equations as colors. In their world, Wednesday may be green, or a D musical note dark blue. For this exhibit, experience over two-dozen stations that test perceptions of and the science behind color. Walk into a monochromatic room, test the effect of color on mood, marvel at color-based optical illusions, play with pigments, and enjoy an array of other crafts, seminars, and demonstrations.
The Science of Color
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