Permanent Collection
The Gateway | Culture and Communication | Physics
The major exhibit areas explore physical science, natural science, life science, technology, mathematics, and the links between science and the arts. The flagship exhibit that links science and the arts are Bodies in Motion: The Physics of Dance.
The Gateway
The Gateway provides an overview of the entire Science Center. It introduces the overarching theme of science through the arts, interactive experiences combine with images of art, showing how artists and scientists explore the world.
Culture and Communication
Culture and Communication showcases how our society is a rich blend of people from many cultures. Culture and Communication is about people, how we live, and the important role that culture plays in communication. Visitors hear the music of the world, discover how people around the world live and eat, discover the challenges of communicating across culture, and, as we search for intelligent life in the universe, of communicating with other species.
They can look beneath their skin to see what really happens when they smile, and try to echo sounds from languages they've never heard before.
Physics
Physics points out that to understand physical science and technology, it is necessary to understand the principles of physics. Educationally rich, The Galleries of Physics are serious fun, filled with engaging hands-on activities designed for self-paced exploration and discovery. These colorful learning playgrounds include the Gallery of Force and Motion, Simple Machines and Bodies in Motion: The Physics of Human Movement.
Forces and Motion explores the basic physics that shape the universe, including basic atomic and nuclear science and electromagnetism. It answers a very basic question: What is the world made of? Hands-on exhibits reveal the principles of basic atomic and nuclear science, gravity and electromagnetism.
Simple Machines reminds us that every machine, no matter how complex, is created from a combination of the simple machines: gears, screws, pulleys, wheels and axles, and inclined planes. Interactive exhibits invite visitors to experiment with the simple machines that helped build the pyramids and form the basis of the most modern equipment in the world.
Bodies in Motion : The Physics of Human Movement is one of the flagship exhibits at Whitaker Center, a unique expression of the relationship between science and the arts. It explores the physics that is literally embodied in human movement, especially dance, ice skating and gymnastics. Interactive exhibits connect Newton's Laws to human motion, reveal the roles of torque and rotational momentum in turns, show how dancers manipulate their center of gravity to create the illusion of floating during leaps, and how physics illuminate the differences between dance and ice skating.
