Colored Shadows

Stand by the wall and notice the different colors from your shadow - red, green and blue. All three make the wall look white. By blocking out different colors, or wave lengths, you can produce up to eight colors from your shadow.

 

Reaction Time!

How fast do you react to catching a falling stick? Here is your chance to test your skill by having a partner press a button, dropping the stick which you must catch. A measurement is made of the time it takes you to grab the stick. You might be surprised.

 

Hydroponics

Hydroponics is the culture of plants without soil. The plants are supported in inert media and fed a complete nutrient solution by means of gravity flow and a pump. Coupled with a light source for photosynthesis, these plants attain excellent growth and vigor in a short period of time.

Did you know? Plants "breathe" by taking in and giving off oxygen and carbon dioxide, depending on light and time of day.

 

Sound Tube

A 100-foot long tube allows two people to talk to one another from across the room as sound waves pass through the narrow tube at 1,100 feet per second.

Did you know? The speed of sound is faster as air temperature rises.

 

Spinning Tops

There are many forms and shapes of spinning tops, and they are put into motion in an interesting variety of ways as described by Newton's Laws of Rotation. Some are spun by snap-twisting a center stem with your fingers and releasing, while the top remains on the ground. Others are held by a support at the top while a cord wound around the top is pulled to spin it.  However they are spun, each type behaves in a similar fashion. If we spin a top carefully, so that it remains perfectly upright while spinning (and gravity can't exert a torque on it about its point), it will spin at a steady angular velocity almost indefinitely. For more about Newton's Laws, look here.

 

Wildwood Garden

A place to sit, relax and contemplate your place in Nature, this exhibit is dedicated to Carol Estes Mortenson who died of cancer in 2004. Carol was a botanist, gardener and lover of Nature. The purpose of this display is to increase awareness and appreciation of plants and wild flowers and will include living specimens during appropriate seasons.

 

Vacuum Tube

This exhibit is all about vacuums and atmospheric pressure.  Crank the pump, which removes air out of the long tube, causing a partial vacuum and watch the water rise in the tube as atmospheric pressure exerts its force on the water column. Take away the vacuum by turning a valve and it all returns to normal.

 

 

 

Planetary Motion

By inserting coins (a donation to HSC) this exhibit demonstrates Kepler's Law of Planetary Motion. The center hole represents the sun and the rolling coin represents a planet in motion. Gravity is represented by the downward curve of the surface.

 

Aquaculture

It looks like a huge circular hot tub, but its really a 300 gallon re-circulating tank system for raising fish. Kids from HSC's Science Club are learning about monitoring oxygen, pH, ammonia, solids, nitrites and temperature in a closed system.  The tank is being used to raise very young fish to a size that can be eaten.  

Did you know? A tilapia fish can grow to 1 lb. in 6 months

Bubble Wall

Here you make a six foot bubble and watch the constantly changing colors on the vibrating membrane. Surface tension and viscosity of the liquid combine with your creative skills to achieve a truly memorable bubble.

 

Junkasaurus

A dinosaur made entirely from junk! He is called the Duckbilled junkasaurus, and he will be the first exhibit you see at HSC. In fact, he is outside the front door waiting to be admired, wiggled and explored. See if you can name the parts! He was constructed by the artistic Al Belleveau with the help of over 30 people that helped find the pieces from local junk yards.

 

Windmill

Would you believe a full-scale windmill on the exhibit floor!? With the help of a small fan on the second floor, this remarkable, home-made contraption actually pumps water. The science is all there, waiting to be explored.

 

 

 

 

Leaves Demystified

We live in a world of many trees. Determining the correct name of a tree depends largely on the characteristics and arrangement of its leaves. This exhibit is devoted to the science of dendrology (the study of trees) and helps to understand the terminology and characteristics of the leaves of trees common to the northern Minnesota region.

 

Native Fish

Native fish are of interest to almost everyone in northern Minnesota. Bill Schweder, a retired science teacher, took on the task of catching, preparing and mounting ten fish species from local lakes. You will find these life-like mounts on the "fish wall" in the upstairs balcony of HSC.

Did you know? Fish have a sensory organ, called the lateral line, allowing them to detect vibrations and movements through the water.

Telegraphic Communications

 Here is your chance to send a message to a friend in Morse code over a real telegraph line. Thanks to a grant from Paul Bunyan Telephone and the work of HSC staff and volunteers that put it all together, you can step back in time and relive how people communicated with one another before the inventions of telephones and computers.

Did you know? Mr. Morse demonstrated the first telegraph in 1838, and it remained in use in to the 1980's

 

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