Introduction
In the last two classes, we had two museum visits, which I will talk about in this Blog Post. Furthermore, I found both visits quite interesting and entertaining as well and I am looking forward for today’s visit which is in Second Story Company.
Museum Of Math
The first thing that I really liked about the Museum Of Math was the fact that it interactively tried to teach us certain concepts. I also found this as the best aspect of the Museum of Math, since it made the visit quite entertaining. For example, I really liked the bicycle that had three completely unequal square wheels that were placed on a certain shaped floor that allowed it to move in a circular motion and at the same time providing the rider with quite a comfortable ride, despite the fact that the wheels were squares. Also, the other interactive exhibit that I found incredibly interesting was the first interactive possibility machine, since it is the first time I was able to see a practical application of statistics and therefore I found it quite impressive and interesting
The next thing I really liked about the Museum of Math was the exercise we did with the Fibonacci spirals, where we generated different spirals from certain angles. Initially, I found it quite a boring exercise, since I hate cutting papers with scissors, but as soon as Craig showed us how to create these different Fibonacci spirals I was quite impressed and interested. Therefore, I found this exercise quite useful as well as interesting. The other thing I really enjoyed about this exercise was the importance of the angle of 137,5 degrees in the Fibonacci spiral and sequence, since I never figured out you could do so many things with a simple angle.
One exhibit I would like to see though in the museum would be a small reference to φ, since it is a number that appears everywhere in nature and is also considered to bring the most aesthetically pleasing result, when an object’s analogies are linked to it. Furthermore, they could also provide images of famous structures as well as the human body in order to show how many times this number appears in nature.
American Natural History Museum
Next, I would like to talk about the visit to the American Natural History Museum, which is also the world’s largest private museum. It was an incredible visit as well as interesting, despite the fact that I had visited the museum in the past.
The first exhibit we watched, which was the Secret World Inside Us, was quite interesting, even if I totally hate Biology. The reason I really liked it even if I am a “Biology hater” was because we did not only see these amazing and well-crafted interactive tables, but also because we had a person who explained to us how they worked and therefore we mostly focused on the technical information of the exhibits, which was incredibly interesting since it accurately approaches what I would like to work with after I graduate.
One exhibit about Biology that would be awesome to exist would be to have a certain person in front of a projector that would show him directly on his own bodies the different types of microbes that live inside him, so it would help the guests realise how important are microbes for us and also that all humans provide microbes with the resources they need to survive and thus we provide them with the perfect living conditions for them, which also allow us the benefit as well.
Next, I would like to talk about the exhibition department we visited. I really liked the fact that we had someone to show us what happens “behind the scenes” of all these exhibits we see in the museums as well as show us how they are really made. What really surprised me though, is that they still build the exhibits by hand, which sounds quite hard and time-consuming since now 3D printers exist that could print 3D models of whatever the exhibit is. On the other hand, the fact that they still use the same techniques they used in the past is quite interesting, since its nice to know that all these exhibits are made by hand, thus giving them a different touch.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to say that both of these excursions were quite interesting and rewarding since I learned a lot of things and I am really looking forward for the next visits to come.
Thanks for reading,
Christos