A recently installed exhibit in the University’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History is more colorful than a kite festival through a kaleidoscope.
Borrowed from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), the exhibit Light and Color is on campus until April 29. The exhibit is more kid-oriented than many collections featured in the museum and has been a hit since its Jan 31 opening, said the museum’s program coordinator Judi Pruitt.
“On Family Day we had over 100 people come through the exhibit,” Pruitt said, “and each one of those people had at least one to three kids in tow.”
Unlike the ancient basket weavings that sit politely within the glass displays, each and every installation within Light and Color is hands-on and interactive.
“Play with it a little bit, and then you’ll be able to get a better feel of what those kids experienced,” Pruitt said.
Incandescent light bulbs the size of giant squashes are juxtaposed against fluorescent lamps, and through participation and observation visitors learn what words like incandescent and fluorescent actually mean.
Adjunct Instructor of Art Kathleen Caprario said, “The information presented is solid, informative and engaging for adults as well. None of the scientific information has been dumbed-down or simplified; the info placards are well-written and straight forward. If one didn’t know a thing about the phenomena of color and light, you would after seeing the show.”
Gadgets include a periscope, instant lightning and a mouse multiplier (not a cloning device, but instead trickery through mirrors). Much of the exhibit educates visitors on the physics and chemistry of light and colors by focusing on the reflection of wavelengths, refraction of lights and combination of colors.
“I think it’s making some really basic science accessible to kids, and it’s a great resource for the campus community – specifically students, staff and faculty that may have children in their lives,” said the museum’s Education and Volunteer Coordinator Ann Craig.
More playful pieces are the shadow puppet guides and the wide variety of lenses, including lenses with effects that are expected when peering through two-inch-thick bifocals or the eyes of a kaleidoscope-visioned insect. Quirky holograms are also set up along with a simple test that can determine whether or not passersby have achromatopsia – complete colorblindness – or deuteranomaly – a less severe form of colorblindness.
The museum is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday except for major holidays. Admission is free for all University faculty, staff and students with ID.