Event Blog #2

Space shuttle Endeavour
Personal Photo

            For my second event, I decided to revisit the California Science Center. I had gone previously, but now knowing more about how science and art can be used together, I looked at the exhibits through a new lens. Instead of seeing them as purely educational, I looked at each exhibit through an artist’s lens and tried to envision how each exhibit was laid out and how each display was arranged in such a way so that it could be not only educational, but also aesthetically pleasing.

Me standing in front of the SR-71B
Personal Photo

            Before entering the museum building, I took a photo with an SR-71B plane that was on display outside the museum. The plane was one of the fastest in the world and was designed in a way to maximize speed. The plane was long and narrow with a pointed nose and a very flat profile. The plane was originally designed with complex calculations that ultimately culminated with the fastest jet on Earth, but the plane itself became a symbol for speed. Objects that are pointed, narrow, and sleek evoke feelings of speed and are used in many emblems and logos that companies use. The SR-71 after its conception and reveal to the public has been inextricably linked with speed and all things fast. It is interesting to note how the plane has influenced our attitude towards objects and vehicles that move fast.

A toilet used in space
Personal Photo

            I then toured the exhibit on space travel. This eventually ended with the space shuttle Endeavour. It was quite an awesome sight to enter the large hangar built to encompass the entire spaceship. This type of exhibit would be more impactful because you could physically walk underneath the space shuttle and see how large it truly was. The minute details on the space shuttle could also be seen from the burn marks on the bottom of the space shuttle to the individual tiles that composed the bottom of the ship. Because you could physically approach the space shuttle and examine it, it allows the audience to view not just the whole exhibit, but the pieces that make up the whole. This reminded me artworks are generally more impactful if you can view them up close. You not only see just the entire picture, but also how the artist uses different techniques and pieces to draw you into their artworks. In both cases, you can appreciate how much work went into each product.

Me on the "gravity bike"
Personal Photo

            The final exhibit I toured was more of an attraction than a proper exhibit. On the top floor of the museum, there is a so called “gravity bike” which is essentially a bicycle on a tightrope that balances due to a large counterweight. It was a fantastic demonstration of the concept of center of mass from physics and made an incredible exhibit. It was interactive and very beautiful as you could go out onto the rope and look down 3 stories to the ground floor from more than 50 feet up in the air. This was my favorite part of the entire visit as I could physically interact with the exhibit. By going out onto the tightrope, you could experience for yourself what we can do with physics. All in all, the it was well worth it to go again to the museum as it allowed me to view the exhibits from a different perspective and appreciate how each was aesthetically laid out to best inform and impress the audience.

References

"Center Of Mass". Hyperphysics.Phy-Astr.Gsu.Edu, http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/cm.html. Accessed 14 May 2018.

Loff, Sarah, and Brian Dunbar. "Space Shuttle". NASA, 2017, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html. Accessed 14 May 2018.

Medrano, Kastalia. "The Art Of Space Art". The Paris Review, 2017, Accessed 14 May 2018.