Water, a major new exhibit on the science of water and its role in sustaining life and shaping cultures around the world, runs through April 26 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
The exhibit uses sculptural elements, computer games and quizzes, and touch-and-feel activities to inform and teach people about the importance of water in supporting life and shaping our planet, as well as the challenges we face as stewards of water.
Admission is included in regular exhibit gallery admission ($11 for adults and $8.50 for kids and seniors). Combination exhibit gallery and Omnitheater admission is also available. For museum hours and Omnitheater show times, call (651) 221-9444 or go to www.smm.org.
More information on the exhibit is available at www.smm.org/water.
Highlights of Water include:
- Visitors enter the exhibition by immersing themselves in the world of water as they step through a life-sized fog curtainwith the word “water” projected on it in many languages.
- A 68-inch globe called Science on a Sphere, which displays maps and satellite images of Earth via a state-of-the-art projection system so that it appears to be floating in the air. It provides an unforgettable look at just how much of our planet is made up of water and the ways in which ocean currents affect climate around the world.
- A walk-through water-carved slot canyon– a dramatic example of the ways in which running water physically sculpts our surroundings.
- Animals and plants – both live and preserved – with amazing adaptations that make them uniquely suited for their species’ relationship with water.
- Interactive quizzes that will test visitors’ water knowledge. How much water goes into making some of the items that we use or consume every day?
- Ancient artifacts and specimens –from a piece of 3.8 billion year-old Isua schist (metamorphic rock from Greenland) to a 5,000 year-old Sumerian water jug – that present the story of water’s origin on Earth and the ways that humans have handled it.
- A gallery devoted to Minnesota’s own “water heroes”– citizens who have made the commitment to protect and conserve water resources in Minnesota in creative and inspiring ways.
Water is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and the Science Museum of Minnesota in collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland; The Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, São Paulo, Brazil; National Museum of Australia, Canberra; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; San Diego Natural History Museum; and Singapore Science Centre with PUB Singapore.
The Freshwater Society was among companies and organizations that contributed financial support for planning the exhibit.