Geology

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.

Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine

Avalanche

Does the sand all pile up in the same way?

Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine

Bay Sediment Cores

Sediment cores offer clues to the many histories of the Bay.

Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes

Five clear, rotating disks provide beautiful windows onto the motion of sediments in the Bay. Spin them to compare the behavior of gravel, sand, and fine silt—how the currents carry them and how they settle out of the swirling waters.

Where: Koret Foundation Bay Walk

Black Sand

At this simple but ever-popular exhibit, black sand from nearby beaches make spiky patterns that reveal the invisible magnetic field between the poles of two giant magnets.

Where: Ray and Dagmar Dolby Atrium

Braided Stream

Air—not water—erupts through fine powder to sculpt these roiling streams.

Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine

Fluvial Storm

Swirling water sculpts elaborate patterns of underwater dunes.

Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.

Geysers

The timing of the eruptions of these geysers depends on water temperature and pressure.

Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems

Library of Earth Anatomy

Library of Earth Anatomy, a collection of remarkable geological artifacts that invite and inspire us to see rocks in new ways. The Library employs unconventional classification methods to dissolve the usual boundaries between nature and culture, as well as between animal, vegetable, and mineral.

Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes