The planet we live on is in a constant state of flux, and a new exhibition at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center exposes just how nature’s dynamic forces cause geysers to gush, mountains to crumble, seas to swell, and even the sky to turn blue.
Over 25 hands-on displays in Earth Exposed explore the powerful, yet sometimes subtle, roles weather patterns, seismic and volcanic activity, air and water pressures play in constantly shaping and re-shaping the world we see around us.
Certain exhibits allow visitors of all ages to physically manipulate the components that help generate such phenomena as the formation of clouds and waves, magma or spring water percolating through the ground, the impact of wind on a desert landscape, and the apparent liquefaction of soil caused by seismic vibrations.
Other exhibits demonstrate basic properties of physics in the natural world. For instance, visitors can see the unique light spectra each different type of gas emits, observe how a pendulum swings independent of a rotating base, and witness the alignment of the earth’s magnetic fields by pouring magnetic sand over a miniature globe.
Among the more spectacular exhibits is the machine that recreates the eruption of a geyser (all the way to the gallery’s ceiling!) and another that forms a tornado, which moves in reaction to air currents.
Given how dramatic and powerful just the forces that pertain to earth, air, and water can be, it’s perhaps understandable why the exhibition’s designers chose not to include any displays that examine the properties of the fourth primary element—fire.
