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Charles Sowers
Exhibit Developer
An artist and exhibit developer, Charles has been making thought-provoking, beautiful, and sometimes whimsical experiences for Exploratorium visitors since 1998. His work presents actual physical phenomena—often of striking visual beauty—that draw people into a careful noticing and interaction. He seeks to provoke a sense of delight and wonder and reward extended observation. Frequently this involves developing an apparatus to recreate or highlight some natural phenomenon. Charles frequently collaborates with scientists to recreate lab experiments. Through these collaborations, he has discovered a strong correlation between his process and that of the scientific experimentalist. Both build apparatuses—scientists to probe the limits of their collective understanding and Charles to probe the boundaries of beauty, delight, and wonder.
Related Exhibits
Drip Chamber
Liquid glycerin drips down, creating unique shapes and shadow patterns.
Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.
Illuminated Fog
Swirling, drifting, billowing movements of air reveal themselves in the fog.
Life in a Drop of Water
Light projected through a drop of salt water reveals an abundance of life.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Magnetic Fluid Patterns
A magnet's force gathers and disperses a magnetic fluid in dynamic patterns.
Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.
Rust Wedge
Rust is a major issue in waterfront buildings, as water enters cracks in masonry structures and rusts the underlying steel reinforcement. This exhibit shows the expansive force of rusting steel. A piece of iron placed in the cleft of a block of concrete is beginning to rust—it will expand over time and eventually fracture the block.
Where: Koret Foundation Bay Walk
Spinning Patterns
Use your hands and tools to create unexpected patterns in the sand.
Where: Ray and Dagmar Dolby Atrium
Tidal Memory
Twenty-four columns record twenty-four hours of tide water levels.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Watch Water Freeze
Ordinarily, water freezes too slowly to be appreciated. Here, polarized light and an ultra cold slab let you watch water crystalize rapidly in real time. The colorful mosaic of ice that forms is different every time.
