2008-2009 Home School Program comes to a close

May 12th was the final day of our 2008-2009 home school program. This program began 4 years ago. It all started when 2 home school parents inquired about making the Exploreum part of their student’s science education experience. We began by simply doing demonstrations and short lectures for the students. Now, each month, 5 different home school groups come for a special class session. Though our initial focus was on 6th -12th grade, this past year we added a 1st – 5th grade curriculum as well.
Our 6th – 12th graders have: learned about electronics using solderless prototyping breadboards, build working amplifiers, collected and analyzed data by hand and using electronic data collection equipment, measured the speed of sound, analyzed the components of sound (period, frequency, amplitude, and wavelength) and made laser sound viewers.

This has been a great program and we are thrilled to be a part of science education for everyone.

2009 ASMS Internship Presentations

The 2009 Alabama School of Math and Science internship program has officially come to a close. On Wednesday May 25th Meghan Ange and Tim Diestelkamp presented their work to an audience of ASMS students, staff and administration. Both students developed two demonstrations and two activities for our visitors to do. The theme for this year was energy conservation / going green. The activities and demonstrations produced by Tim and Meghan included biodiesel production, turning CO2 into baking soda, temperature inversion and pollution, environmentally friendly solvents, CO2 as a greenhouse gas, oil spill cleanup, water testing for metals and quantity of coal burned to run household appliances. Their activities will become a part of the Exploreum’s regular rotation of interactive, enlightening and exciting educational materials.

Exploreum celebrates Earth Day this weekend, Saturday, April 25 - see us at the Summer Fun Expo at the Eastern Shore Center and at Earth Day Mobile Bay at Pier Park in Fairhope, Alabama.

Virtual Surgery Center is a big hit

The new Debakey Virtual Surgery Center located within the My BodyWorks health gallery is a big hit! The center includes the opportunity to conduct your own virtual surgery - you choose open heart surgery or knee surgery. You get to use the scalpel to cut open the skin, the saw to cut bone and the retractor to access the heart. The patients vital signs are displayed on the screen as you attempt to complete the surgery successfully and keep your patient alive and healthy. The surgery center also includes many other opportunities - seal blook vessels with laser beam accuracy, challenge your hand-eye coordination with exhibits that mimic endoscopic surgery techniques and learn about careers in health care.

My BodyWorks Exhibit Now Open

The new exhibit, My BodyWorks, is now open. A high-tech adventure in health, the gallery uses technology to edutain about the miracle of the human body. The gallery includes hands-on interactive exhibits such as virtual surgery, augmented reality heart, I-viewer and many others.

My BodyWorks exhibit in progress

The new exhibit gallery My BodyWorks is currently being constructed at the Exploreum Science Center. The new gallery will include more than 50 interactive exhibits that highlight human health. The Exploreum has partnered with more than 11 contractors in six states to complete this exhibit. Thank you to Infirmary Health System for making this gallery a reality! We are franctically working to make this exhibit the best in America and to bring it to the people of the Gulf Coast. Check out the photos to see our progress....

Slow-Mo video Explosion

The other day we took some time out of our hard work to further investigate one of our demonstrations. One of our current chemistry demonstrations is an acetylene explosion. We decided to use our high speed camera to investigate what really happens when the reaction occurs. This video is the result. It was filmed at 600 frames per second. A normal video is filmed around 32 frames per second. The high speed allows us to slow down the action.

2008-2009 Home School Program

On Tuesday September 9th we held our first home school sessions for this school year. This year we have expanded our program to include all grades. I work with the middle/high school students. This month they spent their class sessions learning about data. The lesson covered types of variables and categories of variables. We collected data that included nominal, ordinal and numeric variables. Our home school student taught me a lot about our classroom and Hands On Hall.
Some interesting facts we all learned:
270 wooden slats on the all of the window blinds in the classroom
72 tiles per section, on the Wharf Of Wonder wall
35 goggle pegs on the wall in the classroom (one is missing)
12 parents and 14 children in the Wharf Of Wonder
27 computer or TV monitors in Hands On Hall

Next months class session will take data collect a step further. Using electronic data collection equipment; studnets will take data on things that can not be seen. The end goal of this years middle/high school class is to learn about data, data collection, graphing and the connection between science and math.

Exploreum named Attraction of the Year!

E-Cycling Weekend

The Exploreum is going green. Being that we utilize tremendous amounts of technology, we decided to go green with that as well. On August 9th and 10th we held our first ever Electronics Recycling (E-cycling) event. We collected any and all types of office and home office electronics: computers, phones, monitors, printers, cell phones and batteries.

In the beginning we did not know how to set up an e-cycling event. We contacted our local recyclers, Keep Mobile Beautiful. They put us in touch with a reputable electronics recycler. After a few calls to the recycler and a few contacts with local police and traffic engineering we were set to go.

Our first collection day started out large. We collected enough electronics to fill about ¼ of a full size Ryder truck. The afternoon went pretty slow. We had a trickle of items. It seemed that word had not spread to far yet. That afternoon all three of our local news stations came out to do pieces on our e-cycling event. That evening the pieces aired. Our second day was fast and furious. By the end of that day we went from having ¼ of the truck filled to having over ¾ filled. Most everyone we spoke with the second day said that they saw it on the news. The event turned out to be a great success. Everyone who brought their electronics was so grateful for the service. Like most of us they wanted to get rid of their electronics in a responsible way.

The added bonus was our ability to inform people about a new local electronics recycler in Mobile. Equity-E-Cycle opened about 2 months before this event. Our contracted recyclers from ERS (out of Atlanta) had no problem with us distributing information about our local recyclers. They all have the same mission at heart “be responsible and recycle your electronics.”

We had a small group of devoted volunteers who braved the heat and heavy lifting. They all did such a great job. Thank you to all of our volunteers: Tricia (My Wife), Mira, Kayla, Lynsey and Marissa (Murphy High School), Randy and Drew (University of Mobile), Ivey (Bay Keepers), William and Patrick (St. Pauls). The volunteers made all the difference.

The one thing I learned from this event is that this could be done in any city. With a little effort any community group, church, or museum could easily set up an event like this. It is a great way to do the right thing and help the community. If anyone has any questions about how we made the Exploreum event work feel free to contact me. (Tim Pula: 251-208-6858, tpula@exploreum.net )

If you have electronics to recycle in Mobile contact Equity-E-Cycle 251-415-3823.

The youth teaching us...

We've been working with a Lego NXT robotics set for the past few weeks and hadn't quite figured it all out. But then, we spoke to one of our visitors, David Hurt, age 13. David had actually worked with one of these at home and he was gracious enough to offer us some tips. He set up subroutines and custom blocks -- he even prepared our robot for a lab activity set to begin on August 5th! Come check out David's activity in the Ciba Lab!!!

This is just one of the reasons the Exploreum is so neat. Every day is an opportunity to learn, whether it's the visitors or even us, the staff!

Whisper dishes

In the courtyard, we have "whisper dishes," which are also called "conversation curves."Whisper dishes are parabolas made of metal. When sound waves hit a parabola, sound is reflected back in a straight line. That's why theaters are designed with a parabola as a backdrop -- the acoustics are better for the audience.

When you set up two parabolas facing one another, you create an ellipse and sound waves can travel back and forth easily. When you visit, be sure to step outside and have a partner stand in front of one of the whisper dishes. You should be able to talk into the dishes in hushed tones, and be able to hear one anther and people milling around in the center won't be able to distinguish your conversation.

Now that you know the science behind the fun, you'll be able to spot other places where you can test acoustics. Check out the Battle House Hotel on Royal Street, a few blocks down from the Exploreum. On the mezzanine, the arches are an ideal spot to discuss something with someone who is 25 feet away. Melissa and I tried it and we were surprised at just how clearly we could hear each other!












Be sure to check it out!

3D Ciba Lab

Recently we have finished the bulk of a 3D model of the Ciba Lab. The model is viewable using Google Sketchup. If you don't already have it, you can download Google Sketchup for FREE from http://sketchup.google.com/ and then download our 3D Ciba Lab FREE from the Google 3D warehouse http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=Exploreum&styp=m

You will be free to explore the lab and even make changes if you like.

Much Assembly Required

Changing the Ciba Lab unit each month involves a great deal of building and setup time. We are currently preparing for the August 2008 unit, Technology and Electricity. One lab station has an awesome BIOLOID robot. This thing is not some assembly required, it is MUCH ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. Versions of this kit can be found at universities as a teaching tool. This is one high end teaching toy.

Now that it is together all we have to do is make it user friendly. Assisting us with that task is Hart from Davidson High School. Through the work of Exploreum staff and our great volunteer Hart we should have this robot up and dancing shortly. If you get a chance to visit in August come by and see how we did.

Metamorphosis Hops Along

I am so happy to report that our Mossy Tree Frog neonates are progressing through the metamorphosis process at a surprising rate!

Two weeks ago, we received Mossy Tree Frog tadpoles.

Last week, a group of the tadpoles grew legs, arms and lungs. At this phase they are called froglets.

Today, a couple of froglets have almost completely absorbed their tales and are starting to act like young frogs. One of them actually jumped out of my hand and landed on a visitor's shorts!

As they get older, their skin will develop a very mossy texture and color. I'm can't wait to see what colors they will turn out to have!

Metamorphosis in Action

It’s one thing to teach “metamorphosis” at the Exploreum, but it’s quite another to hold it in your hand! Metamorphosis is the process of changing from one form to another. Amphibians go through metamorphosis when they change from tadpoles to adult frogs. In our Frogs, Beyond Green! Exhibit, we are experiencing this amazing process by raising Vietnamese Mossy Tree Frogs!

They were brought to us as tadpoles, the larval stage of the frog’s life. As tadpoles, they live entirely under water and breathe through gills. They are solid black with a long tail that they use to propel them through the water in search for food…they eat A LOT!

In the last few weeks, some of our frogs sprouted limbs and began changing color! As their arms and legs grew larger blue stripes and tiny red dots appeared on their bodies. Once they enter this stage, they are considered “neonates.”



At this phase, they do not eat food. Instead, their tale slowly disappears as it is turned into energy for the body. The coolest part about the neonate phase is that they have developed lungs so we can pick them up! Of course, we have to be careful because they are already using their back legs to hop away!

Our Mossy Tree Frog Neonates will stay in this phase for about 3 months before they completely transform into adult frogs. In that time, we’ll keep a close eye (and hand) on their progress. This is definitely a lesson in metamorphosis that won’t be forgotten!

Slow Mo Feeding Frogs

Today we decided to test the high speed video camera on frogs feeding. I shot 9 videos in order to get 3 that turned out. Melissa made sure that the frogs had fresh crickets and flies to go after so that we were able to get a few good shots. Melissa explained a bit about how some of the frogs crush thier food by retracting thier own eyes. Watch for that in the video. It shows up very well in the African Bull Frog.

Big Red Cabinet

Not all of the activity at the Exploreum is out in the open. Most of our staff is working on projects that our visitors will not see for months to come. Our Ciba Lab science guy Tim has been working on multiple projects funded by an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant. The program is FunDamental Physics. One of our exhibits will be a Van De Graff Generator. The cabinet for it arrived today. The controls for it have been designed by engineering students from the University of South Alabama. They will be by on Friday to do some work with in that area of the project. The exhibit is not quite finished yet but we hope to have it on our exhibit floor by August at the latest. Keep an eye out for more information on our IMLS projects. If you don't already have it, you can download Google Sketchup for FREE from http://sketchup.google.com/ and then download our 3D project drawings FREE from the Google 3D warehouse http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=Exploreum&styp=m
Check it out, especially if you like designing or building cool things.

Hop Behind the Scenes

Even the Exploreum staff has to go to class!

Once the frogs were settled, B. Ian Hiler, director of touring exhibits for the Aububon Nature Institute, gave our education staff a walk-through lesson about the amazing creatures that are in our charge through November 2. Take a peek behind the scenes. It's toadally cool. I know; I know, but I couldn't resist.

One of the neatest things: Ian mentions that beta blockers are based on toxins secreted by poison dart frogs. In the IMAX Film Amazon, audiences learn about the importance of the medicinal properties of plants that live in the rainforests of Amazonia. Nature holds so many remedies, secrets waiting to be discovered. That's why it's so important to do our part to protect the Amazon's flora and fauna, a rich resource of scientific knowledge.

Please pardon the blurry spots, this is the first movie I've ever shot. Tim let me use the insta-camera from the Ciba Lab and he was kind enough to edit the movie down as well. Talk about teamwork!

Homeschoolers Rock!

Check out the amps the homeschool class created today. We could hear them all the way down in the offices. How cool is that!?

Just a little imagination and practical science know-how and not only have you created something useful and personal but you've reduced your carbon footprint by reusing materials.


Marah Fenn made her amp out of an o.j. can and was listening to All Time Low cover Rihanna's Umbrella on her iPod.








Brittany Reynolds (reluctantly) showed off her amp that was created within a translucent box. What a great idea. It allows you to see all the guts and the work that was involved.








Zach Stokes used a pencil box so if he's jamming out, working on quantum physics, no one will know where the tunes are coming from.









What would you make your amp out from? I vote for an empty sunscreen bottle for beach trips -- what better way to recycle!