Louisville Science Center
Ok all you arts and science enthusiasts, have I got a cool experience to share with you!
As you know, I like to promote artists of all genres. Well, in an effort to see what the city of
Louisville, KY, had in the way of artists I spent a Saturday scoping downtown and was able to visit the Louisville Science Center thanks to the freindly and intelligent Danielle Waller. I heard that they had local art there so I was on a mission to see exactly what it was. What I
actually experienced was one of the coolest places I’ve been and not just because of the immensely spectacular Titanic Exhibit.
This four-floor building held many surprises ranging from nearly 150 learning and activity stations to a four story IMAX Theatre. I’m talking about teaching laboratories, a fun way to learn about the human body with trivia game consoles, arcade style bacteria smashing and my favorite, the x-rays. Yes, people in positions doing everyday activites with a screen that shows an X-RAY of what happens while you do it, none of which made me queezy.
This largest hands-on science center in Kentucky also had an awesome variety of interactive ways to learn about industrial technology, building your own bike, skeleton weight lifting, a huge wall screen map that told you of different places around Kentucky, wildlife, a machine that showed you pictures of what you’ll look like every couple decades, a kids zone that made me wish I was 10 again, 3 or more different educational and breathtaking movies on their IMAX screen, info on chemistry, telecommunications, physics, manufacturing, oh I could go on and on. So I will.
Their exhibit, The World Around Us, combines natural and earth sciences to create a fantastic range of interactive and multimedia activities. Three awesome ecological galleries that cover the atmosphere, terrashpere and aquasphere will excite you if you’re an environment buff.
For history fans their Discovery Gallery has natural history collections that includes cool, interactive learning experiences with the mummy, polar bears and Gemini trainer.
The World We Create is a fascinating exhibit
that introduces you to a mixture of manufacturing, transportation, chemistry, architecture, physics, engineering and communication. You can actually indulge all your senses in this fun environment and also compute and design stuff. There’s even physical science exploration. True! Here you can build with blocks, conduct chemistry experiments, design a bike, delivering high-tech packages and more. No pyromania exhibits though, thankfully. This was a lot of fun!
Another amazing exhibit was The World Within Us. According to their site, it “lets you get to know the amazing body that’s yours for life. Learn more about how your body works through hands-on exhibits that will give you a new appreciation for the parts most people take for granted. How does your voice work? Just how large is a large intestine? You’ll never see your body in the same way again!” Well, they were right. In a salute to my mother, a nurse, I would soon head to this amazing exhibit where I’ll also see how healthy and unhealthy lifestyle choices affect my body, as if the reflection in the mirror wasn’t enough. And I sure wasn’t going to miss the recommended highlights, “Out of Control: Slide behind the wheel of an orange Volkswagen and experience the difference between driving sober and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Time Machine: This photo booth takes you into the future so you can see how you might look in 20, 30 or 40 years. Amazing Beginnings: In a reverent, awe-inspiring display, eight human embryos and fetuses show how you grew from two autonomous cells.”
Before I could get into more meat and potatoes of this fine facility I had to check out their intense Titanic exhibit. If you have never seen this historic adventure you should head out to wherever it’s going next. Seeing this with my own eyes was simply awesome. Very educational, very breathtaking and it had cool, detailed touches to boot. Before entering we were told that the cases which held the artifacts were on an alarm system. I was also handed a mock boarding pass with the name of one of the passengers that actually rode on the Titanic. At the end of the exhibit I was to find the name in the list of survivors or the list of those who perished that tragic night. Sad to say, my guy and his family didn’t make it. I also have to mention that they had an actual large piece of a freshwater iceburg there as well. It was so cold. It was to let people get an idea of how cold the water was when the Titanic went down. In fact, the water was colder than that iceburg.
The exhibit walls had pictures of those on the massive boat and brief stories of others. The belongings in the cases had photos and stories of those whom they belonged to and there was even a pair of phones that had recordings of what eye witnesses who survived had described about the tragedy. Intense! There was a volunteer there as well who was stuffed full of information that the exhibit did not display. To me, it was icing on the cake. So, of course, I had to check out the four-story IMAX screening of James Cameron’s deep sea dive to explore the Titanic.
Inisde this 250 capacity theater it was difficult to find a seat but it was well worth it. The screen was in your face like a dog wanting a cookie. The way it added to the historic allure of the Titanic Exhibit was incredible. I could not imagine going there ever again without also partaking in an IMAX adventure. I even think only one kid cried. That’s impressive due to the number of families with children that were there.
This wonderful Titanic piece catered to my assistant, Stephanie in major ways. It is her favorite historical story so I let her write an article on the exhibit for you to read at the end of this article. Yes, I’m that kind.
After the movie was over I spent a lot of time in the health science section, “The World Within Us.” It was the most interactive learning experience I’ve ever witnessed (and that includes the game, Charades, and the kids game, Memory. Ha.) Huge displays in vibrant colors really grabbed my attention. Computers with Trivia about what you just saw were there as well to test your smarts factor. Devices that let you see pieces of bone construction via magnifiying glass, a machine that showed you what vision is like with several different diseases, a lot of different interactive ways to see your heart at work, and the list goes on and on. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the skeletal movements as I simulated weight lifting and enjoyed destroying bacteria via an arcade video game machine.
I witnessed the aging process of my associate, Stephanie, as she sat in front of this screen that took her picture and showed her what she would theoretically look like every 20 years until age 85. According to the machine she wouldn’t gain much weight, she would get glaucoma judging by how one of her eyes looked and that she would actually live to age 85. Theoretic flaws aside, this was unique entertainment. We also saw the KidZone where little ones could play and learn. I’ll just say that Ronald McDonald would be jealous. I also witnessed some cool nature and wildlife history of Kentucky and was in gemstone heaven in their surprisingly varied gift shop. Come on now, a gemstone vending machine? Yes! Fifty cents in, a handful of gemstones out. $2.00 later and we needed a bag for them. Those clever little vendors and that wonderful machine! Before you think I’m some dork I’ll have you know I’m a gemstone fanatic.
Finally, after so much fun, I found the only spot that had local artwork. It was hanging on the wall along the hall by the IMAX theater entrance. More than a dozen paintings decorated the wall all by the same artist, Margaret Oechsli, PHD . She uses a process called Photomicrography. As I understand it, it’s photography through a microscope. Her unique artwork includes different medicines with cool pieces such as “Dots Going For The Walk,” “Vagueness of Being” and “Almond Default” which all are priced at $1500. Amazing idea, her artwork! She crafts it very well. Sadly, that’s all they seemed to have in regards to local art. Well, it wasn’t really sad. the rest of the museum was just too cool for words.
I wish I could have stayed there longer. We spent over four hours there and didn’t even get to experience a good third of the place. Danielle Waller says that the ROBOTS exhibit starts in about two weeks, an exhibit based off the animated movie ROBOTS. How cool is that? When I go back to write on it I will partake in the rest of the adventure that is the Louisville Science Center . Next time I will focus greatly on the exhibit. This article was to let you know about this entertaining complex. Maybe one day they’ll have a mime display. It would be more acceptable than a drunk driving display. Yikes! To see for yourself all the other things this place has to offer and its rich history visit the site at www.LouisvilleScience.org and when you visit, let them know that Daniel sent ya!
So to Danielle, Josh, Kelly and the rest of the staff, thank you for your hospitality, your energy, and passion. It was one of the coolest places I’ve been. I look forward to seeing you all again very soon!
– Daniel C. Morrison
aka the Hit Man for Arts and Entertainment Connexions
Shout! Radio Services
DanielsDoorstep.com
A Walk Through The RMS Titanic Exhibit at The Louisville Science Center
Written By: Stephanie Pacey
Titanic’s story is still heard even from the dark, abysmal silence of the bottom of The Atlantic. It has been almost ninety-eight years since that fateful night that the White Star ocean liner set sail on it’s first and last journey to its watery grave. Today, the luxury ship sits over 12,500 feet below the ocean’s surface as a massive tomb for over 1,500 souls and millions of memories.
The Louisville Science Center’s exhibit on this tragic loss is beyond what you would call “informative”. Unlike most historical walks through time, not only do you learn about things you wouldn’t possibly know, you actually enjoy learning little known facts about Titanic, and are able to recall them later on. They incorporate every way of learning that is known in society into one massive place. Everyone knows the story of Titanic, even today’s middle school students know a little about the ill-fated, maiden voyage of the largest and most luxurious ocean liner ever made at the time. Whether they learned about it in school or watched the movie, they know the basics. What the exhibit in the Science Center had to offer was above and beyond.
At the beginning of the exhibit, you are told by one of the many workers donning lab coats that the artifacts actually come from excavations of the wreckage, and because of their delicate condition, they are encased in glass that will sound an alarm if it is touched. You are also told to look out for “major butt”, who ends up being a passenger from Louisville named Major Archibald Butt. So in finding the amusement of this tragically, yet humorously named man, you remember the name later on at the end of the exhibit. They give you a faux boarding pass with a name of a passenger on it, why they are travelling, who they are travelling with, and what they do for a living.
As you walk through, there are framed pictures and facts along the walls, and encased artifacts such as: American currency, bank notes, dinnerware, pots and pans, hair brushes, toothpaste containers, Gillette razor blade wrapper, a champagne bottle with liquid still in it, a marriage certificate, the list goes on and on. There is also a part in which you see a menu of what types of food was served to each class rank. There is also a fun fact stating that one ticket for first class would be around 100,000 dollars today. The most aristocratic passenger was John Jacob Astor who was a businessman in New York. Mr. Joseph Bruce Ismay was the owner of Titanic and was on the ship when it hit the iceberg. He was also the man behind how fast the ship was going and how many lifeboats were on the ship on its maiden voyage. He survived by getting on collapsable lifeboat C. Mr. Thomas Andrews was the ship’s builder, and spent his last hours telling people to get on the lifeboats and to put on a lifejacket. Sadly, he did not survive.
Near the end of the exhibit you come to an actual freshwater iceberg that you touch to feel how cold the water would have been for the 1,500+ souls that didn’t manage to get on a lifeboat because there weren’t enough to rescue everyone on board. You also get to see some AuGratin dishes found stacked neatly in the rows they were in when the ship sank. At the end, you walk to a wall that has the classes, and a list of who survived and who perished. You are to take your boarding pass and try to locate the name on it to see what happened to them that cold night on April 14th, 1912. You could also go to their IMAX Theater and see “Ghosts of the Abyss”, a short film by James Cameron, the director of Titanic starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. It takes you on an exploration of Titanic’s wreckage and stars Bill Paxton who is a guest on the quest. There is also two special guests called : Jake and Elwood, two ROV “bots” on the boat that become part of the family.
I knew a great deal about Titanic when I went to see this amazing exhibit, and I can say with confidence that it was the best learning experience about the ship and its passengers I have ever witnessed. There is nowhere else I can think of that related so much in a few hours as the Louisville Science Center did. They make learning a lot more fun and easy than, say, reading a book, or an article (just kidding..) I would love to go back to see their next exhibit on Robots that starts March 20th.
Over the past 3 years we have built some great memories and I will share some of them with you over the next few weeks.
