Magical fun at AMNH:
Exploratorium
by Jan Aaron
Lots of kids are passing through
the looking glass these days in a kind of wonderland at the
American Museum of Natural History. They also exchange faces
with their friends, stop tornadoes, and keep their hands
in the clouds (and their feet on earth). No, the museum is
not training a new crop of David Copperfields. In
fact, it's quite the opposite. There's no magic here: What
the museum offers is amazing range of displays to explain natural
laws to people of all ages.
The show, "Exploratorium\ AMNH" (through August
15), comprised of 35 exhibits from San Francisco's famed interactive
museum, illustrates such complex phenomenon as angular momentum,
oscillation, and optical fluid dynamics through interactive
climb on, walk through, and rotate on exhibits. "It's
a place for people play or get seriously into the forces that
shape our universe," explains Myles Gordon, the museum's
vice president for education.
However, it can look magical: For
instance, an ingenious arrangement of mirrors and lights
makes visitors "take off" and
appear in space and ducking into a mirrored hall creates the
impression of a crowd. You also can send your hands through
a mirror. (Well, not really!)
The show has four sections: Earth
Process, here activities range from sculpting sand dunes
to playing with a sea of clouds. Rotation, invites kids to
whirl on a "momentum machine" (very
popular). Mirrors and Illusion shows how you can't always believe
what you see, and Pendulums allows kids to draw complex patterns
with a colored pen at a swinging table and discover secrets
behind such things as the timekeeping tick-tock of a grandfather
clock.
Eternally patient explainers are on hand throughout the exhibition
to guide investigations and offer tips on operating the exhibits.
The exhibits are signed in English and Spanish and accessible
to people with disabilities.
Crave more? You can further explore many of the exhibition's
topics in museum's Rose Center for Earth and Space and Science
(Central Park West at 79th Street; timed entry for Exploratorium,
daily, every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tickets range
from $11-19, and include museum admission.)#
