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Ned Kahn
Ned Kahn is an environmental artist and sculptor whose work mimics the usually invisible forces of nature and makes it visible to audiences. His main interests include fluid dynamics, optics, acoustics, and other physical phenomena. Kahn worked as an apprentice to Frank Oppenheimer, the founder of the Exploratorium, during the 1980s and designed many timeless exhibits for the institution. He has gone on to design exhibits for museums such as the Museum of Natural History in New York, Museum of Natural History in London, England, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and others. He has also completed numerous public commissions including works for the Skirball Museum and Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA and Yahoo Headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA. Kahn is a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation's genius grant.
Related Exhibits
Aeolian Landscape
Aeolian Landscape presents a swirling storm of sand inside a large chamber covered by a plexiglass top. A knob on the top of the exhibit rotates a sturdy fan set in the base of the chamber.
Braided Stream
This artwork features air bubbling up through a fine powder constrained between two glass plates tilted at a 45 degree angle. The tilting creates a continually changing landscape evocative of aerial photographs of river drainage networks on Earth and on Mars.
Chaotic Pendulum
The visitor gives an initial twist to the pendulums with a protruding knob. Intuition says that the resulting motion of this system should be, if not simple, at least predictable. Intuition, however, does not work with this device since its motion is chaotic, extremely complicated and long-lived.
Where: Ray and Dagmar Dolby Atrium
Circling Wave Umbrella
Fluttering waves whirl around the edge, creating patterns of evenly spaced ripples.
Confused Sea
Air blowing over the surface of water inside a large Plexiglas hemisphere mimics the action of the wind over the ocean by generating waves. The waves slowly change and build until the entire volume of water is circulating as one wave. Viewers can adjust the speed of the air blower and influence the building of the waves.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Fluttering
A constant stream of air forces a lightweight piece of free-flowing fabric up into the air. The normally invisible air current is suddenly transformed into a colorful visualization of the complexity of the air stream.
Tornado
Fans simulate the swirling airflow in a thunderstorm and fog machines make the pattern visible, creating a miniature tornado that you can disturb with the wave of a hand.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Turbulent Orb
The fluid in the sphere shows swirls and waves of internal fluid motions produced by the actions of the visitors. The turbulence of the fluid in the sphere is reminiscent of the turbulent flows that occur in planetary atmospheres.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Rift Zone
Rift Zone uses air bubbling up through fine sand to suggest a small-scale geothermal landscape. By turning a knob, viewers can change the pressure of the air rising up through the sand and alter the shapes and patterns of the landscape.
Settling Column
Sand falling through water creates turbulence and complex patterns.
Strange Attractor
Magnets in the pendulum and the disks transfer energy back and forth, making the pendulum swing in unpredictable ways.
Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.
Angle of Repose
1995
Sand of several different colors and densities falls over raised bumps on an aluminum plate to reveal beautiful patterns. By carefully spinning the disk, observers can create standing waves of continuously falling sand.
Infalling Cloud
1996
Fog spiraling down into a funnel creates a multilayered vortex which viewers can alter by adjusting the speed of a blower. The exhibit consists of a laminated wood frame base containing a funnel, a fog machine (ultrasonic humidifier), a blower, and an internal spot light.
Sonic Range
1991
SONIC RANGE uses sound to vibrate copper powder, creating a small-scale volcanic landscape complete with rift zones, subducting plates and eruptive fissures.
Bubble Hoops
1989
Soap Bubbles is a large tray filled with a special soap-solution and equipped with metal hoops of various sizes. With these hoops, visitors can make huge soap bubbles, occasionally big enough to fit over an entire person.
Watch Wind Work
1987
A billboard Ned Kahn designed for the Exploratorium. Small reflective disks on the billboard shimmer with the wind, creating a visual representation of wind's effects on surrounding environments.
Mesocyclone
1996
Mesocyclone is a 40-foot tall, working model of a hurricane. Powerful fans at the base of the structure create complex airflow patterns. These patterns are made visible by water vapor released from the top of the structure. Untried ever before at this scale, Mesocyclone was a major engineering and design challenge for the Turbulent Landscapes team. The exhibit continues to mesmerize museum visitors, often from quite far away!
Blue Whirlpool
1996
Water streaming into a shallow dish creates a large whirlpool. As the water drains, intricate surface waves spiral in and out of the center and the entire vortex begins to slowly oscillate, revolving around the drain. The oscillations grow with each revolution until the vortex is so unstable that it breaks away from the drain and a new vortex immediately forms.
