exhibits

1912 circuits
magnetic components to make circuits boards with circuit diagrams
 * 1913 - series / parallel circuits -

=1914 / 1915 Cheshire Cat= To see and notice Ask a friend to sit on the other chair or use the poster on the wall. Using the two eye-holes on the right side of the viewer, look through the viewer with both eyes. Your left eye will be looking at your friend or the poster and the right eye will be looking at the blank white screen on the right side of the booth.

While staring straight ahead, sweep your right hand slowly across the white screen on your right, If you have trouble making your friend or the poster disappear, your left eye may be your dominant eye. Try looking through the two eye-holes on the left side of the viewer and sweep with your left hand across the left side white screen.

What is going on .. Usually your two eyes see the same view with only slight offset differences. Your brain combines them to make one three-dimensional picture. The mirror in the viewer makes your brain see two very different views; one eye sees straight ahead as it normally would; the other eye is reflected at a 90 degree angle to the white side screen and your moving hand. Your brain then tries to put these two images together in a way that makes sense, choosing parts or all of each eye to combine into the "one image" that your brain "sees".

Movement attracts your brain's attention. When you sweep your hand across the screen your brain puts more attention on that eye's image and erases parts or all of the stationary image. No one knows exactly why or how the brain does this but it is partly an instinctive safety response (movement may mean danger) to put priority on a moving image. If you focus on your friend's mouth sometimes the rest of the face will disappear leaving only the smile of your friend.

1916 Stars
Look Way Up at Black Disc Read Sign Below

Push the green button -- see the stars overhead

to do and Notice Can you spot any constellations that you recognize? The stars represent a winter sky pattern with five constellations in view - can you find them?

What is going on...? The stars overhead are bright light emitting diodes (LEDs) in true star pattern locations. Ti elp find a constellation you can press the labelled buttons ansd see the constellation you have selected wink off momentarily.

The constellations are: A. Orion (the hunter) with stars Betelgeuse and Rigel B. Canis Major (or big dog) C. Big Dipper (or great bear) D Little Dipper (or little bear with the North Star as the end of the tail E. Cassiopeia (looks like a big "W")

1917, 1918 Fingerprint Investigation
How is it really done?

On TV crime shows, it seems as easy as scanning a fingerprint into a computer, and then up pops the picture, the name and the address of the suspect. In reality, computers are only used to scan for possible matches. The computer will narrow the databse of fingerprints, and then a human technician will make the final analysis.

Fingerprints have unique features in them. A fingerprint can be classified as an arch, a loop, or a whorl.

Match examples A, B, or C to the above fingerprints. Use the red lens decoder below to find out if you are correct.

=1919, 1920 Magic Wand= Wave the Wand in the Beam

To do and notice Stand where the arrow points.

Hold the stick in your right hand and wave it rapidly up and down between the railings where the sign says "wave wand". ... What's going on The

=1921. Plasma Talk= Plasma is created by strong electromagnetic fields such as lightning and neon signs. Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, the other three being solid, liquid and gas. The most abundant form of matter is ... plasma.
 * Push the blue button to start the Plasma Ball glowing
 * Talk to one of the round side windows. These are plasma displays the respond to sounds.

=1922 Erosion and Sedimentation= Turn the knob slowly to watch and example of how erosion and sedimentation occur

Erosion is the process that breaks things down, including rocks, though the action of the rain and wind and ice. Stone is slowly broken into small particles of sand and dirt which are washed away by streams and rivers. Then small particles settle out and form types of sediment which can slowly turn into stone and rocks again.

Watch the material in the glass window erode away through the action of water and then settle out below and form the sedimentary layers. Different particles settle at different rates which cause the streaks you see.

The pictures below show examples of eroded sedimentary rocks.