|
The Human
Body
Rangos Omnimax Theater
October 11, 2002 to June 26,
2003
Whether
awake, asleep, in motion, or at rest, the body--from inner ear to stomach--is
continually performing a myriad of more or less routine functions that
occur without our control...and often even our notice. For
instance,
no one thinks about generating 200 billion new blood cells a day, but
that's what the body does. In that 24-hour period, the body also grows 40
yards of hair, produces two pints of saliva, and sees ten
thousand
of the brain's one trillion brain cells die. (Don't panic, evidence
indicates some of those brain cells are regenerated.)
The Human Body, premiering at Carnegie Science
Center's Rangos Omnimax Theater Oct. 11 is presented by Children’s Hospital
of Pittsburgh and reveals the daily biological processes hidden beneath the
skin and offers audiences a rare opportunity to get to know their bodies a
little better. By using innovative filmmaking methods and the latest
medical and scientific imaging technology, the film follows a "day in
the life" of the human body.
Activities
covered during a "typical" day include eating, digesting,
walking, breathing, and listening to music. Scanning electron microscopy,
endoscopy, thermal imaging, time-lapse photography, magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), X-rays, and sonography/ultrasound provide images rarely seen
outside research laboratories and shots never before attempted in large
format filming.
The Human Body, which took three years to
make, travels into the biological blender of the stomach, the pumping
chamber of the heart, arteries and veins, and the inner ear. Audiences will
also follow the progression of a pregnancy from first ultrasound scan to
birth. A
sequence
of time lapse photography allows the entire nine-month pregnancy to flash
by in about 20 steps.
The Human Body is the perfect complement to Carnegie
Science Center's new exhibit, Grossology:
The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body. While Grossology focuses on the body's "disgusting"
functions in a silly, light-hearted manner, the Human Body film takes a more serious view of the human
anatomy--but with several moments of ickiness tossed in for good measure
(pimples on a four-story screen are not a pretty sight!). By combining both
presentations, visitors will leave Carnegie Science Center with a whole new
understanding of what it means to be a human.
Surprises at …
The Miniature Railroad & Village
Opening
November 22
After a two-month hiatus for cleaning and
maintenance, Carnegie Science Center's Miniature
Railroad & Village reopens Nov. 22 with two new buildings. Or
should that be old buildings?...every model created for the village
connects to the technology, history, and the culture of southwestern Pennsylvania
between the late 1800s and the 1930s.
Debuting this year: the Indiana County Courthouse
and Hazelwood's John Woods’ home. The Modern Renaissance-styled Indiana
Courthouse, designed by architect James W. Drum and dedicated Dec. 19,1870,
stands on the corner of Philadelphia and Sixth streets in downtown Indiana.
The brick courthouse originally featured four 30-foot-high Corinthian
columns around the main entrance, stained glass windows, mansard roof with
cast iron cresting, and center cupola with a 2,480 pound bronze and silver
bell.
The Sept. 24, 1945, issue of Life magazine featured actor Jimmy Stewart, Indiana's most
famous son, posed before the courthouse. By the early 1970s, the courthouse
had fallen into disrepair and was slated for demolition. National Bank of
the Commonwealth, however, rehabilitated the courthouse to use as its
central offices.
Miniature Railroad & Village staff, including Mike
Orban, exhibit manager, and Patty Rogers, program coordinator, created the
model based on detailed measurements of the existing building and historic
blueprints, photographs, and architectural drawings. "We needed a courthouse," says
Orban. "We looked at courthouses in Somerset, Mercer and other
counties," says Orban, "but Indiana's seemed to fit...it
complements and enhances what we have. It's also very attractive."
This year Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy made the model
of the John Wood's home in Hazelwood, which was built in and 1792 and is
believed to be the oldest residence in Allegheny County. As a child Mayor Murphy took
model-building lessons at the Buhl Planetarium from Charles Bowdish, the
founder of the Miniature Railroad & Village.
The Return of the Leonids...Maybe
By John G.
Radzilowicz, Director Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium & Observatory, Carnegie
Science Center
Last November, the greatest Meteor
Storm in decades filled the sky with thousands of “shooting stars”. It was one of the best sky shows of all
time. And in Pittsburgh we were treated to the incredible sight of...fog.
These shooting stars of November
are called the Leonids – named for the constellation of Leo from which they
seem to originate. The Leonid meteor shower is caused by the Earth’s yearly
encounter with the debris left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. But every few
decades the Earth encounters some of the largest parts of the debris trail,
and things get interesting. We’ve been in one of those periods of heavy
activity for a few years now, and the big storms are just about over.
But, the Leonids may give us one
last grand performance. The Leonids
will peak early in the morning -
about 5:30 am – on Tuesday, Nov.19.
At the moment of the Leonid’s peak the Moon will be full! But while
the Full Moon will wash away many of the fainter meteors, the Leonids could
shower us with thousands of
meteors the night of Nov. 18 –19. That’s still one of the best meteor
showers most of us are likely to see.
|
