Exhibits

Masks and vaccinations are recommended. Plan your visit  

Visitor FAQ Buy Tickets Donate Today
  • Aeolian Landscape exhibit
  • Aeolian Landscape exhibit
  • Aeolian Landscape exhibit
  • Aeolian Landscape exhibit

Aeolian Landscape

Swirling sand evokes a desert landscape.

Where:   Bechtel Gallery 3, Wattis Studio
Exhibit Developer:   Artist Ned Kahn, 1988

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. As you turn the fan, the sand inside begins to swirl and accumulate in patterns suggestive of a desert landscape as if seen from high above.

 
Phenomena: Energy: Transformation of Energy, Patterns, Wind
Keywords: sand, weather
Collections: Turbulent Landscapes

More to explore

Science activity exploring geologic formations
Squeeze Box

Speed up geologic time with a sedimentary squeeze.

Field Trip Chaperone Guide: Changing Landscapes
Field Trip Chaperone Guide: Changing Landscapes

Based on second-grade NGSS standards; appropriate for grades 2–5.

Turbulent Landscapes
Turbulent Landscapes

An introduction to the concepts and theories that contribute to contemporary complexity research.

Finding Significance

Testing methods for encouraging meaning-making in a science museum

Related exhibits

Turbulent Orb
Turbulent Orb

Swirling turbulent patterns evoke the atmosphere of our own spinning planet.

Rift Zone
Rift Zone

Bubbling sand evokes a geothermal landscape.

Avalanche
Avalanche

Does the sand all pile up in the same way?