Jurassic Technology Blog #4- Makayla Gallimore

Blog #4  

Makayla Gallimore 

Woah is how I want to start off with this blog. From when I first entered the building to when I left I felt as if I had entered another realm entirely. I contemplated the entire visit as to whether or not this museum was a mix of science and art or just one over the other, or both? I do not know but all I can say was it made me feel differently inside. It made me feel a little uneasy the further I got inside the exhibit. The rooms were very dark with accents of light but hardly enough. This museum played with the optical illusion and how the eye perceives angles with the given light. Very clever idea may I add. Through the confusion and deception I realized one main technique Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were going at. This was the idea of mirrors and how our eyes see reflections. A few exhibits really stood out and spoke to me. The Art under the Microscope blew my mind. These little mini pieces of work were almost impossible to see with the naked eye but so incredible once I say them in detail under the microscope. I have never seen anything like it before. This technique was call micromosiacs and it was discovered by Henry “Harold” Dalton. This idea was very similar to the other exhibit called The Eye of the Needle. This was insane. A super tiny goofy figurine under the top of one of the needle where you would tie the string.  

Another interesting exhibit was the cat and the cradle. It was very interactive with the audience in a way that they had string in the room so we could follow along with the techniques. I could of spent hours in this room watching the tutorials of this rope game. The tutorials were in box like setting where the viewer could look through glass opticals and a random background was behind the video of the rope tangoing with the human fingers. 

Next was the “healing room”. I actually really enjoyed this room. I felt that there was a paradoxical narrative between these natural remedies that were considered healing to the body. The duck’s breath in the baby’s mouth was consider a remedy for throat infections. As I strolled further I found a rather gross and disturbing one called Mouse Cures. It was said that if one ate mice one would stop wetting the bed. The next one I say was called The sheep cure of childhood respiratory affliction. Carry a child though a flock of sheep and the morning and it will cure their respiratory affliction. 

Lastly, I saw a room that presented artifacts from Mt. Wilson such as letters Mr. Hale wrote as well as formulas that proved our solar system. After going to Mt. Wilson and seeing it in person it was very cool to see a room dedicated to the history and findings that this place gave to the world. For the final part of the museum I found interesting was the rooftop where they offered tea and cookies to all their guests while they strolled around and soaked in the ambience that the space offered. It was so calming. 

All in all this museum challenged my perception and understanding of the world around us. Things are not always as they seem. There was much play with illusion and scaling. I definitely think there was history of the sciences presented in various abnormal forms.