DESMA 9 Event 1: Discovery Cube OC

The first event I went to was Bubblefest at the Discovery Cube OC. I wasn't too wow-ed bu the Bubblefest itself, the bubbles were kind of fun(bubbles are always fun), but overall it seemed just overwhelmingly flashy and showy with underwhelming content. Although, I could just be a little disappointed because I didn't know Bubblefest was a show (reminded me of fireworks), not an interactive room full of bubbles and stuff to make bubbles and play with bubbles. I found wandering around the Cube to be more entertaining.

Me and my friends arrived early, so we had a bit of time to wander around and look at the exhibits.

 
Being one of the oldest people there not accompanying a young child, it was interesting to look at what exhibits my friends and I were attracted to versus what attracted the younger children, the target audience of the Cube. Nick, Paige, and I were drawn to all the 'doing' exhibits- where you had the ability to manipulate a force and observe the result. These would be contrasted with the more visual exhibits- such as a 'grocery store' teaching about eco-friendly shopping, where most of the information is presented in video clips. This was a trend I noticed with younger children too, with barely anyone near the oceanic area where most of the information was on murals or signs, but the Earthquake simulator, seismograph, wind tunnel, and cloud ring almost always crowded.

 Create standing waves- this was kind of funny to see since there's a physics 4AL lab analyzing these, which I did spring 2014.

Seismograph- this was fun, we had competitions with kids to see who could make the biggest spike by jumping

more photos of the exhibits are locate here:

http://www.discoverycube.org/oc/exhibits/interactive-exhibits/

Seeing the amazement and joy of the children in such a simple context as creating different sized standing waves with a spinning string made me think of another connection between art and science- the pleasure of finding things out, of learning and accomplishment. There are many different types of joy- vegging out with Netflix, helping someone, receiving a present- but, at least for me, the joy I get from finishing a CS project feels almost the same as mastering a piano piece or playing a great game of tennis. This course has shown me how art and science influence each other, but I still thought of them as completely separate entities, not really comparable. But the processes, making scientific discoveries or completing an art exhibition or collection, these are similar, and give us another means of bridging the gap between art and science. By sharing what amazes and excites us about our own favorite subjects, maybe we can spread our knowledge, creating a more knowledgeable and cohesive society. The Discovery Cube is targeted towards younger children, but it was very fun to embrace my inner child, and run around playing with all the exhibitions. I would definitely recommend it, not so much as a learning experience, but just a way to enjoy science and have fun.


Sources:

"Spinning Wire and Strobe at California Discovery Science Center Cube." YouTube. Iddyodyssey's Channel, 7 Sept. 2014. Web. 7 June 2015.

"Seismograph: Measure Your Own Tremors!" Discovery Cube OC RSS2. Discovery Cube OC RSS2. Web. 7 June 2015. 

"Bubblefest - Discovery Cube OC." Discovery Cube OC RSS2. Discovery Cube OC RSS2. Web. 7 June 2015.