PASSIONATELY CURIOUS - Sebastian Martin, PhD

SFMOMA and the Exploratorium teamed up to explore the intersection of science and art in the exhibition Take your time: Olafur Eliasson. Visitors experienced the phenomena in Eliasson’s work first hand with the Exploratorium’s science activities during SF MoMA’s “Life of light” family day.

Echoing the artist’s work, we brought lights, colors, mirrors and waves to play with for the special event. Click below to see the picture gallery.

Find out how to create “Colored Shadows” yourself, or read more about the exhibition Take your time:Olafur Eliasson at SF MoMA.

My friend Kitundu made a funky mechanical strobe using a disposable camera. We got a really good shot one night using the Golden Gate bridge as a backdrop. I also tried using it to take pictures of a soap bubble as it pops. Click on the picture to see more photos:

Strobe pictures are always interesting, and it’s much easier to set up than I thought. MakeZine has really good instructions on how to bend the circuits of a disposable camera and make a motion triggered flashlight(pdf).

It looks so cool and it’s so easy to make: The Alca Seltzer Lava Lamp.
It’s got science in it, too! Read more about the Alca Seltzer Lava Lamp

Read more: How to make Light Traces

Blinkies in the Physics Summer Institute. Click on the Photos, and the first video(!) of Light Traces or download the Hand-out .
There is also a FLICKR PICTURE GALLERY

Video of backward spinning wheel with two LEDs

Thanks for experimenting with us!

Does gravity pull equally on heavy and light objects? - A free fall experiment done with only a camera and a pulsed LED light. How to…
Find more light traces in this gallery:

Baseball is the focus of the next Exploratorium Quarterly (July 2007)! Have a look at Light Traces of Baseball featuring Dave Barker (he is the explOratorium’s baseball expert).

Read more: How to make Light Traces

It shakes, vibrates, and - yes - breaks! Watch how sound (not even very loud) shatters a wine glass:

A really fun Exploratorium snack in a new light. Balancing a stick with a weight is a challenge that requires good hand-eye coordination. Let’s explore this feedback system: Hand - Stick - Eye. Read more…

Find the activity here.

Save the Bay! A workshop that combined hands-on activities on mapping, data collection and water sheds. A lot of fun, just like the other outdoors workshops, …Click to see more.