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Cool Moves: The Artistry of Motion

Created by Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY, and Rochester Museum and Science Center, Rochester, NY

Change the twist of a tornado, swirl water into amazing patterns, create artwork and more at "Cool Moves!" This exhibition features fourteen fun, interactive exhibits that allow you to discover the beauty of motion all around us. These exhibits were tested and developed to be welcoming and accessible to all visitors.

Turbulent Orbs: Watch the four globes as pearly fluids swirl. Light them up by stepping on the floor panels.

Dancing Wall: Dance around a giant kiosk to create your own light and sound show. Your movements trigger numerous motion detectors, which activate multiple lights and sounds.

Three-wheeled Racers: Zoom! Roll cars with interchangeable rear wheels down a long ramp with an adjustable incline. Which is wackiest? Fastest? Slowest? You'll see some surprising motion as you observe how different oddly-shaped wheels affect the overall motion of the car.

Giant Pendulum: Set the pendulum swinging, and watch it move around in a crazy, bouncy path. Start it again, and you'll get another unpredictable path. The pendulum has a magnet mounted to its bottom, and swings over a metal plate with magnets that you can move and flip. Change the pattern of the magnets and swing the pendulum again.

Crazy Pendulums: Explore motion with two different types of pendulums. Start these pendulums gently, and they rock back and forth. Give them a bigger twist, and you'll see all kinds of unpredictable motion.

Touchable Tornado: Put your hand into the middle of a mini-tornado made of swirling, misty water. Then change the wind speed and see what happens to the motion of the tornado.

Wind Over Water: Make waves and fluid patterns by using air blowers over a tub full of shimmery fluid. The pearly liquid lets you see currents that arise from blowing on the water or moving different objects like toy boats through it. Change the angle of the blower and see what happens.

Animals in Motion: See animals swim, fly, jump, and crawl in the most bizarre and breathtaking ways. A computer kiosk allows you to control the speed of videos of a cheetah, dolphins, owls and other animals in high speed, or slow motion, and even backwards. This exhibit features video donated by the National Geographic Channel.

Swinging Art: Create a piece of art to take home by using two side-by-side pendulums. Like a snowflake, no two drawings are alike. One pendulum holds paper while the other holds a pen. Start the pendulums swinging; then lower the pen and watch your pattern develop on paper.

Ripple Tank: Experiment with changing the speed of the ripple in a shallow pool. Put different shapes in the tank to explore the resulting wave patterns that can be seen as shadows underneath the tank.

Visible Sound Strings: Feel the vibrations and hear the tones produced on a four-string bass. You can also "see" the vibrations of the strings using an adjustable strobe light.

Artistry of Motion Video: Watch as clouds move across the sky, the waterwheel spins around and around, the kangaroo leaps and moves forward, or the waterfall tumbles in a chaotic manner. Accompanying narration describes the different types of motion you are viewing in this beautiful 4-minute video.

Windy Wonders: Suspend a beach ball in mid-air, or try other experiments at "Windy Wonders" by using interchangeable fittings and fabric wind catchers to make different kinds of fluttering, wiggling motion. Try all six combinations!

Air Instrument: Make music out of thin air! Move your hands closer and further away from the "Air Instrument" to control the volume and pitch of these eerie sounds. This unique electronic instrument is called a Theremin.