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The Brain Show
By M.A. Boldurian
Opening January 7, 2000
Its a perfect night for a scary 1950s sci-fi movie at the drive-in.
You arrive as dusk descends to the gentle sounds of crickets and idling
car motors. Just as youre getting comfortable, “Run for the hills! The
aliens are coming!” flashes on the screen. Before you can react a brain-shaped
UFO screams off the theater screen and sucks you aboard!
Whats going on? Youve been absorbed by Gray Matters: The Brain
Show, a fun new, interactive multi-media show at the Carnegie Science
Center.
Borrowing the look and feel of those classic 1950s B movies (as well
as some actual footage), The Brain Show features rubbery-looking
aliens who have come to Earth on a quest to decipher the workings of the
human brain. You, the audience, help answer their questions, thanks to
the Buhl Planetariums state-of-the-art five button interactive system
built into the theaters armrests. As the movie progresses the audience
reacts to stimulipicture puzzles and word gamesflashing across the screen
in the way that brain neurons move. Each button you push, and how fast
you push it, gives you a sense of what happens inside the brain every moment
of our lives. On screen, Dr. Blake, a 1950s-era scientist, tells the aliens
(and us) whats going on.
“The brain is the most complex machine in the universe,” says John Radzilowicz,
director of the Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium and Observatory. “Its a daunting
topic, but this show is done in a fun, tongue-in-cheek way.” Funded by
a $1.7 million National Science Foundation grant, the film was created
as a joint effort between Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Science
Center.
Call (412) 237-3400 for showtimes.
National Engineers Week
Alka Seltzer rockets! Artificial hearts! Robot car races! Molecule models
made of gumdrops and toothpicks! Cities of the future! They are at the
Carnegie Science Center to celebrate National Engineers Week, Friday and
Saturday, February 25 and 26.
More than 300 engineers from all disciplineschemical, electrical, mechanical,
civilrepresenting more than 30 local agencies, companies, and universities
will set up tables featuring hands-on exhibits, presentations, demonstrations,
and activities on the theme of “Engineers: Turning Ideas Into Reality.”
A perfect way for youngsters to explore engineering career opportunities
and for curious adults to see how engineering touches their daily lives,
this five-year-old event also provides engineers a way to strut their stuff.
“Engineers love their profession and they want to share it with others,”
says Linda Kent, Carnegie Science Center education coordinator. Last year,
more than 6,000 visitors saw how the worlds 1.8 million engineers make
daily life healthier, easier, and more efficient through technology, math,
and science.
New this year is the “SimCity 2000 Future City Regional Competition,”
in which 27 Pittsburgh-area teams of seventh and eighth graders present
their vision of the future at Carnegie Science Center on January 15. Working
under the guidance of teachers and engineer mentors, the students develop
a scale model city of the future, complete with public transportation and
residential, commercial, and industrial areas. The projects will be displayed
during National Engineers Week at Carnegie Science Center. The winner will
proceed to the national finals in Washington, D.C.
Few Weeks Remaining to Experience Great Omnimax® Films and Exhibit
Everest and Africa: The Serengeti
In the spring of 1996, David Breashears led an expedition up the worlds
highest peak with breathtaking and tragic resultsa film of astounding
beauty that documented the loss of eight lives. Everestthe Carnegie
Science Centers most popular Omnimax moviesis back for a limited run.
If the bestseller Into Thin Air kept you spellbound, you wont want
to miss this movie.
Journey to one of the last great places on earth, Africa: The Serengeti.
This special Omnimax film takes viewers on the Great Migration of one and
a half million wildebeests, where the struggle to survive is lived each
day. Directed by three-time Academy Award nominee George Casey, the film
takes you to a world few have ever experiencedTanzanias Serengeti National
Park.
Both films are showing until March 9. Call (412) 237-3400 for show
times.
Whodunit? The Science of Solving Crime
There is more to solving a crime than a episode of “Law & Order”
leads audiences to believe. Find out what really happens behind the scenes
of an investigationfrom exploring a crime scene to the forensics that
unlock the clues to who is guiltyat the Carnegie Science Centers fun
and illuminating exhibit, Whodunit? The Science of Solving Crime,
continuing until March 23.
The Science Center Stadium Webcam Shows North Shore Traffic
and Construction
Dont let the thought of North Shore stadium construction scare you
away from the fun of Carnegie Science Center.
“People have the misconception that its difficult to get here,” says
Mark Trumbull, Carnegie Science Center Director of Marketing. “The reality
is that access to the North Shore is easy and parking is guaranteed” Trumbull
adds that traffic is always relatively mild, unless youre heading to the
North Side an hour or so before or after a football or baseball game.
You can now log-on to Carnegie Science Centers website (www.csc.clpgh.org),
and checkout the Stadium Webcam to see live photos of the construction
area and surrounding roads. These photos, taken every 20 to 60 seconds
by a camera mounted atop the Omnimax dome, provide website browsers with
a unique way to check North Shore traffic conditions BEFORE leaving home,
as well as a way to view the progress of stadium construction. What is
really cool is that webcam visitors can control the camera for two minuteszooming
in on the bulldozer or swiveling to a particular intersection.
So checkout the Stadium Webcam on Carnegie Science Center website (www.csc.clpgh.org),
and see
A Cookoff for Kids
Saturday, February 19
Could the next Julia Child or Wolfgang Puck be among the second annual
Giant Eagle/Pillsbury Kid’s Bake-Off contestants? See for yourself as 40
young chefs between the ages of 9 and 13 compete throughout the day in
the Carnegie Science Center’s Kitchen Theater. Contestants will bake dishes
of their own creation–such as Tater Tot Casserole, Roman Apple Cake, and
Chocolate Lollipop Delight–in hopes of capturing prizes such as a home
computer system or a trip to Orlando, Florida. After sampling last year’s
winning entries, (Thomas Piltoff’s Spinach Blue Cheese Foccacia and Kristin
Klein’s Apple Crunch Coffee Cake) it’s likely last year’s judges–Yvonne
Zanos, of KDKA TV; Judy Dodd, a Giant Eagle nutritionist; and Suzanne Martinson,
Pittsburgh
Post Gazette food editor–will return.
Oceans
Lecture Series
The ocean is a major topic for Carnegie Science Center in 2000. The
new Omnimax film Dolphins at Play in the Wild will premier, showing
how these remarkably intelligent mammals communicate and behave. The new
third floor exhibit Sea Scape will also open, featuring a self-contained
ocean aquarium habitat.
To kick off the year 2000 an unprecedented lecture series will focus
on the importance of our oceans and their inhabitants to mankind.
Reserve all 3 lectures for $50. Call (412) 237-3432 for reservations.
Jennifer Carter is renowned for her undersea filmmaking.
She was the first woman to dive to the Titanic, and was the leader of three
expeditions to the shipwreck. She has worked on assignment for National
Geographic on numerous occasions. Ms. Carter will discuss her underwater
filmmaking experiences and the technology involved with working and filming
in the deep sea.
Thursday, February 10 at 7 p.m .at the Carnegie Science Center, Science
Stage. Reception following the lecture is $15.
Sylvia Earl is a well-known author and lecturer on ecology
of the ocean. She has spent over 6000 hours diving, including record-breaking
descents to study ocean habitats and wildlife. Ms. Earl is explorer-in-residence
for the National Geographic Society and a research associate at the Smithsonian
Institution. She will discuss marine mammals as our link to the oceans,
with a special emphasis on dolphins and what they can teach humans.
Monday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m., in the Carnegie Science Centers
Omnimax Theater. There will be a preview of the Omnimax production Dolphins
at Play in the Wild. The cost of the reception following the preview
is $20.
Kathleen Dudzinsky is the scientist featured in the Omnimax
film, Dolphins at Play in the Wild, which opens at the Carnegie
Science Center on March 6. Ms. Dudzinsky is a leading expert on communication
and behavior of dolphins, and has an avid interest in promoting communication
and behavior among dolphins in the wild.
Monday, April 3 at 7:00 p.m., in the Carnegie Science Centers Omnimax
Theater. See Dolphins at Play in the Wild. The cost of the reception
that follows is $20.
Science and Technology Awards Special Event
Jean-Michel Cousteau will be the keynote speaker at Science
and Technology Awards, hosted by Carnegie Science Center on April 4. Mr.
Cousteau is the founder of the Jean-Michel Cousteau Institute; a non-profit
foundation dedicated to uniting the worlds people in a global effort to
halt marine devastation. He is a syndicated columnist and has produced
many television documentaries. Mr. Cousteau will discuss his unique view
of our water planet and our need to protect this treasure.
Tuesday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m., at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Dinner will be served but seating is limited. $100 per person. Call (412)
237-3432 for reservations.
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