Explora Explored — Albuquerque, New Mexico
Imagine a learning environment that is fun and extremely engaging. One that is inviting to children and adults and makes learning really fun. It’s an envi-ronment that lets visitors explore and develop ideas on their own.
Enter Explora!
It might sound like a slogan, but Explora does make learning about science fun. And having summer off might be the perfect time for you and your child(ren) to explore this scientific gem.
Explora differs from many museums in that it is very hands on. Virtually every exhibit you encounter is meant to be explored by visitors in a hands- on manner.
You can learn about gravity in the Engineering Gravity area, which is one of the first sections you encounter after entering the museum.
Experiment with balls and ramps
to slow down the secrets of gravity. How can you use friction, slope, and momentum to send a marble down a ramp on a pegboard wall?
In the Moving Air section you can experiment with air and the things it can do.
What happens when you squeeze air? What is the best way to cut a paper cup to help it fly? Is there a relationship between air speed and air pressure?
You can fly a small aircraft simulator and experience the effects of moving air firsthand. You can also have fun making paper helicopters and see how different designs work in a vertical wind tunnel.
A popular experiment is the “Paper Twirlers.” These are participant created flying machines that are tested in a clear, see-through, vertical, wind tunnel contraption with a fan located on the bottom. When a burgeoning aeronautical engineer makes a prospective flying machine, they insert it at the bottom of the wind tunnel into the airstream provided by the fan and see how successful their design is by how high, and how long, the “aircraft” stays in the air.
The flying “Paper Twirlers” are very popular. The participants cut and fold paper or paper cups, attach weight when they though they were needed, and then head to the wind tunnel.
The experiment prompted questions such as: How does the location of the paper clip (weight) affect flight? What happens when you add another paper clip to the twirler? Or change the size of the paper clip? What happens if you try to fly it without a paper clip weight? Can you design another twirler that will spin in the opposite direction?
The second part of the wind exhibit features materials that could be used to make a wind-powered vehicle: wheels, body, sails, axles... it was all there.
One young girl became totally involved with the wind experiments. She spent considerable time with the flying twirlers and then concentrated on the best design for a wind-powered vehicle.
“I’m putting paper clips on the axles to keep the wheels from rubbing against the body,” she explained quickly and then went immediately back to work.
Adjusting the wheel size and length of the axles, she finally came up with a design that scooted rapidly away from the fan on the ground and earned a large, satisfied smile from the young designer/scientist.
The “Curious Bubbles” area is one of the favorite areas for most visitors. You can experiment with shapes and sizes — like the extremely large one in the photo — find out what hap- pens when two bubbles meet (bubble dating?) and find out how small bubbles differ from large ones.
In “Shapes of Sounds,” visitors discover properties of sound and vibration. What do sounds feel like? What is the difference in the meow of a kitten and the roar of a lion? How does the mass of an object affect the way it vibrates or the sounds that it makes?
The “Light, Shadow and Color” area lets you play with various lights and lasers. You can learn how light is broken up and learn what affects how much light will bend. What makes things focused or blurry? What makes a shadow big or small? What pro- duces a yellow shadow? What can an infrared light detector see you can't?
Which brings us to a neat area in the “Light” section that is home to a thermal imaging camera, with which you can take photographs of yourself and others – high tech selfies, if you will.
If you saw the movie “Predator” star- ring Arnold Swarzanegger, you may remember the eerily colored images the predator saw of its “prey.”
The camera shows a live-feed thermogram, a picture of the heat (thermal energy) radiating from ob- jects in the camera’s view. Everything at temperatures above absolute zero radiates heat, even an ice cube, but we usually can’t see it.
Absolute zero is the lowest temperature that is theoretically possible, at which the motion of particles that constitutes heat would be minimal. It is zero on the Kelvin scale, equivalent to –273.15°C or –459.67°F.
We can’t see some of these temperatures because they are in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum instead of the visible light region.
The “heat camera” can detect infra- red radiation, and the computer turns the data from the camera’s detector into an image we can see.
In the “Water for Life; Life for Water” area you can find out about water’s unique characteristics. Is it sticky? Can it flow uphill? What patterns will water make when different objects interrupt its flow?
Even if math isn’t one of your favorite subjects, the “Math Moves!” section will make working with numbers enjoyable.
Get a feel for proportion – fractions, ratios, similarity, scaling, and percentages. Can you balance weight the same way you balance an equation? Why might a 120-tooth gear (the drawing platform) create a 5-segmented pattern when driven by a 24-tooth gear? What might the pattern be when a 36-tooth gear drives the 120? How do the locations of a weight or of pivot points change the force needed to lift a lever?
In the “Paradox Café” you can explore your perception. Are your eyes or your brain telling you the truth? How can our eyes be misled? How do black, white, shades of grey, and shadow affect our brains’ interpretations?
Explora is a blast. Just look at the photos if you need proof. And, keep this a secret, as the children experiment, they find answers to questions and find that as they explore more, more questions become evident and the fun lies in finding the answers.
It’s a great place to spend time off from school.
Essentials
Where: Explora,
1701 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque
Info: 505.224.8300
Enter Explora!
It might sound like a slogan, but Explora does make learning about science fun. And having summer off might be the perfect time for you and your child(ren) to explore this scientific gem.
Explora differs from many museums in that it is very hands on. Virtually every exhibit you encounter is meant to be explored by visitors in a hands- on manner.
You can learn about gravity in the Engineering Gravity area, which is one of the first sections you encounter after entering the museum.
Experiment with balls and ramps
to slow down the secrets of gravity. How can you use friction, slope, and momentum to send a marble down a ramp on a pegboard wall?
In the Moving Air section you can experiment with air and the things it can do.
What happens when you squeeze air? What is the best way to cut a paper cup to help it fly? Is there a relationship between air speed and air pressure?
You can fly a small aircraft simulator and experience the effects of moving air firsthand. You can also have fun making paper helicopters and see how different designs work in a vertical wind tunnel.
A popular experiment is the “Paper Twirlers.” These are participant created flying machines that are tested in a clear, see-through, vertical, wind tunnel contraption with a fan located on the bottom. When a burgeoning aeronautical engineer makes a prospective flying machine, they insert it at the bottom of the wind tunnel into the airstream provided by the fan and see how successful their design is by how high, and how long, the “aircraft” stays in the air.
The flying “Paper Twirlers” are very popular. The participants cut and fold paper or paper cups, attach weight when they though they were needed, and then head to the wind tunnel.
The experiment prompted questions such as: How does the location of the paper clip (weight) affect flight? What happens when you add another paper clip to the twirler? Or change the size of the paper clip? What happens if you try to fly it without a paper clip weight? Can you design another twirler that will spin in the opposite direction?
The second part of the wind exhibit features materials that could be used to make a wind-powered vehicle: wheels, body, sails, axles... it was all there.
One young girl became totally involved with the wind experiments. She spent considerable time with the flying twirlers and then concentrated on the best design for a wind-powered vehicle.
“I’m putting paper clips on the axles to keep the wheels from rubbing against the body,” she explained quickly and then went immediately back to work.
Adjusting the wheel size and length of the axles, she finally came up with a design that scooted rapidly away from the fan on the ground and earned a large, satisfied smile from the young designer/scientist.
The “Curious Bubbles” area is one of the favorite areas for most visitors. You can experiment with shapes and sizes — like the extremely large one in the photo — find out what hap- pens when two bubbles meet (bubble dating?) and find out how small bubbles differ from large ones.
In “Shapes of Sounds,” visitors discover properties of sound and vibration. What do sounds feel like? What is the difference in the meow of a kitten and the roar of a lion? How does the mass of an object affect the way it vibrates or the sounds that it makes?
The “Light, Shadow and Color” area lets you play with various lights and lasers. You can learn how light is broken up and learn what affects how much light will bend. What makes things focused or blurry? What makes a shadow big or small? What pro- duces a yellow shadow? What can an infrared light detector see you can't?
Which brings us to a neat area in the “Light” section that is home to a thermal imaging camera, with which you can take photographs of yourself and others – high tech selfies, if you will.
If you saw the movie “Predator” star- ring Arnold Swarzanegger, you may remember the eerily colored images the predator saw of its “prey.”
The camera shows a live-feed thermogram, a picture of the heat (thermal energy) radiating from ob- jects in the camera’s view. Everything at temperatures above absolute zero radiates heat, even an ice cube, but we usually can’t see it.
Absolute zero is the lowest temperature that is theoretically possible, at which the motion of particles that constitutes heat would be minimal. It is zero on the Kelvin scale, equivalent to –273.15°C or –459.67°F.
We can’t see some of these temperatures because they are in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum instead of the visible light region.
The “heat camera” can detect infra- red radiation, and the computer turns the data from the camera’s detector into an image we can see.
In the “Water for Life; Life for Water” area you can find out about water’s unique characteristics. Is it sticky? Can it flow uphill? What patterns will water make when different objects interrupt its flow?
Even if math isn’t one of your favorite subjects, the “Math Moves!” section will make working with numbers enjoyable.
Get a feel for proportion – fractions, ratios, similarity, scaling, and percentages. Can you balance weight the same way you balance an equation? Why might a 120-tooth gear (the drawing platform) create a 5-segmented pattern when driven by a 24-tooth gear? What might the pattern be when a 36-tooth gear drives the 120? How do the locations of a weight or of pivot points change the force needed to lift a lever?
In the “Paradox Café” you can explore your perception. Are your eyes or your brain telling you the truth? How can our eyes be misled? How do black, white, shades of grey, and shadow affect our brains’ interpretations?
Explora is a blast. Just look at the photos if you need proof. And, keep this a secret, as the children experiment, they find answers to questions and find that as they explore more, more questions become evident and the fun lies in finding the answers.
It’s a great place to spend time off from school.
Essentials
Where: Explora,
1701 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque
Info: 505.224.8300
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To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email [email protected]
or use the contact form on the About page
or use the contact form on the About page