What immediately caught my eye was the beautiful ceiling above the exhibit called The Pendulum. The Pendulum is a instrument that illustrates that the Earth rotates on an axis. A magnet is located at the bearing to help keep the pendulum in motion. As the day passes by, the pendulum knocks over pegs every seven minutes. However, the pendulum is not moving over to hit the next peg, but rather the Earth is rotating, moving the peg so that the pendulum will knock it down. This indicates how much the earth has rotated. It looks like the pendulum is swinging in a different direction as time passes by, but in fact, the reason is that the earth is rotating which makes it look like the pendulum is swinging in a different direction. There are 42 numbers indicated because it takes roughly 42 hours for the Earth to make a full rotation in California. The ceiling "celebrates the intersection of science and mythology, earth and sky, and the man whose vision brought the Observatory into being" (Griffith Observatory 2015). This exhibit is a great representation of the intersection of art and science as not only does the artwork on the ceiling represent mythology and astronomy, but also because the pendulum itself is an artwork that teaches us about science and demonstrates that the earth rotates on an axis. This is a great exhibit that demonstrates the third culture that C.P. Snow discusses, as the intersection of art and science is very prevalent (Snow 1959). The exhibit itself is a representation of the emerging third culture.
The W.M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda above The Pendulum
The Pendulum exhibit at the Griffith Observatory
The pegs that the pendulum knocks down every seven minutes
The second exhibit that was a great representation of the intersection between art and science was the interactive periodic table, called Elements. The exhibit had the actual elements behind glass where they are located on the periodic table. The exhibit explained a lot about elements that are present in our everyday lives, elements that are created by humans, the formation of elements, and elements that reach our body (Griffith Observatory 2015). This exhibit was a perfect representation of the intersection of art and science, as the putting of the different elements into this beautiful display is art and the educational purposes and obtaining the different elements is science. Studies have shown that art is a great way to teach science, as it eliminates the fear of incorrect answers and boosts confidence (Krigman 2014). This exhibit shows that art can be used to teach science, which is a perfect exhibition of the third culture of mixing art and science.
The Elements exhibit at the Griffith Observatory
A close up of the Elements exhibit
Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Griffith Observatory. The view was gorgeous and the immense amount of exhibitions really showed me how prevalent art is in science. As a science major, I never really thought about the intersection of the two until this class. Having the opportunity to see it almost everywhere in Griffith Observatory was truly eye opening and helped me gain awareness to the prevalence of the third culture in our world today.
Proof that I was at the Griffith Observatory
A picture of me at the Griffith Observatory, where there's an awesome view of LA!
Citations:
Griffith Observatory. "Elements." Griffith Observatory. 2015. Web. 04 June 2016. <http://griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/hallofthesky_elements.html>.
Krigman, Eliza. "Gaining STEAM: Teaching Science Through Art." U.S. News. 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/02/13/gaining-steam-teaching-science-though-art>
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.
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