exploratorium

Exhibits

PHENOMENA

Motion: Rotational Motion

Downhill Race

Believe it or not, when objects roll downhill, it’s not their weight or size that determines their speed—it’s how their weight is distributed.

Where:   Crossroads: Getting Started
Flourish (Bloom)

This 3-D sculpture is animated when spun under a strobe light. The bloom’s animation effect is achieved by progressive rotations of the golden ratio, phi (ϕ), the same ratio that nature employs to generate the spiral patterns we see in pinecones and sunflowers.

Where:   Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon
Fluvial Storm

Swirling water sculpts elaborate patterns of underwater dunes.

Where:   This exhibit is not currently on view.
Spinning Blackboard

Use your hands and tools to create unexpected patterns in the sand.

Where:   Ray and Dagmar Dolby Atrium
Spinning Patterns

Use your hands and tools to create unexpected patterns in the sand.

Where:   Ray and Dagmar Dolby Atrium
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
Vortex

A twist of a knob sets water jets in motion, causing water in this giant cylindrical tank to spin. Soon, a tiny vortex appears at the surface, gradually swelling in size as it snakes downward.

Where:   Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine