Visitors view the world in 3-D at science center exhibit
At they walked toward the Illusion Room at the Carnegie Science Center, the sixth-grade students from Marshall Elementary School looked about the same size. But everything changed once the girls were inside the room. Like the heroine in “Alice in Wonderland,’ the girls appeared to alter their sizes over and over as one side of the room made them grow taller and the other side of the room made them grow smaller.
The girls – students in the Laurel Highlands School District who were visiting the Pittsburgh-based science center as part of their sixth-grade field trip – laughed and enjoyed themselves as they discovered one was suddenly taller than the other girls, and then, just as suddenly, smaller than the other girls.
This prompted them to hurry back and forth across the room, catching their appearances in the monitor while other visitors watched them on the monitor outside the room.
“I thought it was really cool,’ said Kelly Gordon as she smiled and emerged from the Illusion Room with her friends, Courtney Beal, Michelle Golden and Kimberly McDonald.
Cool, yes, but these students also understand that the Illusion Room is a part of science. Specifically, it’s a part of a new traveling exhibit at the Pittsburgh-based science center called “Adventures in 3 Dimensions.’
The exhibit, which is located on the science center’s second floor and will run through Sept. 1, shows how 3-D images are used in maps, works of art, film and illusions. It also traces the history of 3-D from the Victorian era when stereoscopes were invited to modern-day holograms.
“It’s about how your eyes and brain work together,’ said Leslie J. Vincen, manager of marketing communications for the science center. “It’s something that’s been around for a long time, like the View-Master. People have always been fascinated with it.’
According to a press release issued by the science center, “Visitors will learn that each of their eyes sees the world from a slightly different point of view. Our eyes are set slightly apart, and so they each have a different outlook on the world. By closing one eye at a time, we can see the different information each eye is collecting. The brain then combines the two images into one picture. This phenomenon, called binocular disparity, is the basic principle behind 3-D.’
In fact, the exhibit explains all this in very easy-to-understand terms through a piece called “Main Brain.’
Visitors step behind a giant head wearing 3-D glasses to view a short video called “Invent-O-Rama,’ which is a fake infomercial that showcases a new invention called “Surround-O-Vision that gives us a 3-D model of everything around you.’ The catch phrase is “2 eyes plus 1 brain equal 3-D.’
But vision can be influenced by different factors. The Illusion Room provides one example.
The Pacific Science Center in Seattle, which created the show, explained on its Web site that the room “appears to be a rectangular space inhabited by abnormally sized people. In reality, the room is not rectangular, and its planes – walls, floor and ceiling – are not set at right angles. The room is purposely constructed to fool our eyes. The illusion only works if you view the room with one eye from a specific viewpoint – a testimonial to the effectiveness of 3-D binocular vision.’
What do the girls say?
“I think it’s fun,’ Golden said.
“Really neat stuff,’ Beal added.
“It’s cool,’ McDonald said.
The students enjoyed not just the Illusion Room, but the entire 3-D exhibit.
“It’s really cool. I liked the diamond ring. I went to touch it and it was not there,’ said Mercedes Martin, another sixth-grader from Marshall.
She’s referring to an exhibit called “Floating Jewels,’ which asks the visitor to grab a diamond ring. When you try, the ring disappears.
The Pacific Science Center explained: “Careful placement of mirrors of just the right shape can create realistic 3-D illusions.’
Martin also liked the “Hologram Gallery,’ saying, “You stand in the middle of the room and the pictures come out at you.’
Dawn Williams, another sixth-grader, said, “It’s neat stuff – stuff you usually don’t see. I think it’s cool.’
This particular day the 3-D show was being enjoyed by visitors of all ages, including the Marshall students and their chaperones, who included parents Verna Martin, Jackie Workman and Sherry Slampak.
“It’s awesome,” Workman said. “The kids can touch things and participate. They don’t even know they’re learning while they’re doing it.’
“That’s the awesome thing,” Slampak added.
Even adults can learn.
Volunteer Christine Comfort calls visitors over to a piece called “Trompe L’Oeil.’ It’s a rectangular-shaped piece of art that makes a picture out of wrinkled brown paper, string and cutouts, among other things. Or does it?
Actually, it doesn’t. Comfort points out that there are no three-dimensional pieces here. It’s all a two-dimensional painting that gives the illusion of a 3-D object.
“It’s one of the things that shows you no mater how observant you are, your eyes can be fooled,’ Comfort said.
The show is filled with such treats, including:
– “Stereo Pairs,” which traces the development of a 3-D viewing device called the stereoscope that was so popular it became the television of the Victorian Era. Stereoscopic photographs were taken of the Civil War, including President Abraham Lincoln.
– “View-Masters,’ where visitors can treat themselves to looking through a variety of View-Masters, which were first introduced at the New York World’s Fair.
– “Autostereograms,’ also known as Magic Eye pictures, ask visitors to try to spot the illusions in these images.
– “Floating Sausage Finger’ asks visitors to stare at their two fingertips until they mysteriously join together in a floating sausage.
– “Moving Masks’ showcase eerie faces that seem to follow you as you walk by.
– “Floating Rings’ appear to wobble endlessly against each other, ready to fall apart at any minute.
– “Perspective Gallery’ offers a selection of fine art reproductions that show assorted perspective techniques.
It’s all very amusing. It’s also a lot of learning. Each piece in the exhibit includes placards with information that explain the science of it all.
So, visitors can learn science while being entertained.
“I really love it. I have so much fun,’ Comfort said. “We’re fooling your eyes to make you think you’re seeing something you’re not.’
The Carnegie Science Center is located on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
Parking is free. For more information on hours and admission rates, visit the Web site at www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org or call 412-237-3400.