Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
February 18, 2014
During my gymnastics season, one of the team's main travel meets was to Oregon. Some of my cousins live in Portland so my entire family extended the weekend into a miniature holiday. We had the opportunity to explore and discovered OMSI, a museum that contained creative experiments and exhibits regarding a variety of science fields. There were also several tables dispersed throughout the entire building that held perplexing mind puzzles to challenge people of all ages. The information was concise and simplified, but it was interesting to review knowledge through innovative visual projects. Even though the content was easy to comprehend, this museum provided an enjoyable experience that kept us out of the pouring rain.
My Favorite Activity
Throughout the entire museum, my top-rated exhibit was one involving the human body systems and the functions of individual body regions. This exhibit included information concerning the process of digestion and how the body burns calories, along with full sized, proportional models of internal body systems, and a variety of games to involve yourself in the complex process of of your involuntary movements. I am especially looking forward to the next unit in biology that focuses on the human body. According to the lesson plan for next semester, our project is to recreate the functions of a human body system, such as the circulatory, respiratory, or skeletal system. These are just a couple of examples, but all the systems work together to assist a person in receiving the necessary nutrients and providing the essential movements.
The part of this exhibit that made it my favorite was the hands-on activities and interactions with learning new information. Several different stations required personal movement in order to use an example to demonstrate the function of your body system. One example is a machine that a person would grip a sensor bar and a rating would display depending on how much force was place on the grip. From this measurement, a chart showed the amount of energy a person was exerting depending on age, gender, and height. There was also a poster to show the amount of energy your body required in order to perform daily functions, such as walking, eating, or sleeping. Comparing these two charts, I was able to discover the amount of power I needed to convert on a daily basis. This activity also related to the models concerning digestion and consumption of calories.
Another really awesome portion of this exhibit was a massive model of the internal structure of an ear. An entire wall was carved specifically to demonstrate the function of an ear. At one end of the wall, you could push a button that sent an imaginary sound wave into the canal. This air would slowly travel through the model and point out different features along the journey with place cards to explain the process. I thought this was incredible because I was able to physically observe each section of the hearing process even though it takes place within a very short amount of time and distance in a real life situation.
I think I enjoyed this exhibit so much because I could easily relate. Each of the activities could be applied to my own self and I became aware of the constant work my body completes just to live, let alone adventure. I could personally experiment with the amount of effort exerted and relate it to my daily actions. This was wonderful because it showed that each individual has different conditions and requirements of energy.
Throughout the entire museum, my top-rated exhibit was one involving the human body systems and the functions of individual body regions. This exhibit included information concerning the process of digestion and how the body burns calories, along with full sized, proportional models of internal body systems, and a variety of games to involve yourself in the complex process of of your involuntary movements. I am especially looking forward to the next unit in biology that focuses on the human body. According to the lesson plan for next semester, our project is to recreate the functions of a human body system, such as the circulatory, respiratory, or skeletal system. These are just a couple of examples, but all the systems work together to assist a person in receiving the necessary nutrients and providing the essential movements.
The part of this exhibit that made it my favorite was the hands-on activities and interactions with learning new information. Several different stations required personal movement in order to use an example to demonstrate the function of your body system. One example is a machine that a person would grip a sensor bar and a rating would display depending on how much force was place on the grip. From this measurement, a chart showed the amount of energy a person was exerting depending on age, gender, and height. There was also a poster to show the amount of energy your body required in order to perform daily functions, such as walking, eating, or sleeping. Comparing these two charts, I was able to discover the amount of power I needed to convert on a daily basis. This activity also related to the models concerning digestion and consumption of calories.
Another really awesome portion of this exhibit was a massive model of the internal structure of an ear. An entire wall was carved specifically to demonstrate the function of an ear. At one end of the wall, you could push a button that sent an imaginary sound wave into the canal. This air would slowly travel through the model and point out different features along the journey with place cards to explain the process. I thought this was incredible because I was able to physically observe each section of the hearing process even though it takes place within a very short amount of time and distance in a real life situation.
I think I enjoyed this exhibit so much because I could easily relate. Each of the activities could be applied to my own self and I became aware of the constant work my body completes just to live, let alone adventure. I could personally experiment with the amount of effort exerted and relate it to my daily actions. This was wonderful because it showed that each individual has different conditions and requirements of energy.
Other Exhibits
Out of the entire museum, one exhibit that really stood out was one concerning the physics of skateboarding. I really enjoyed this topic because it was very relatable to our previous project-based learning task, creating a video to describe the physics behind a specific sports action. The exhibit used skateboarding as an example to explain different concepts of physics, such as momentum, friction, mechanical advantage, rotation, and energy transfers. Videos of airborne tricks played in slow motion with arrows and formulas overlaying to demonstrate techniques employed in order to maximize the efficiency of the rotations. The formulas connected the technique to the reason why the tricks worked according to physics. There were also skateboards semi-bolted into the stage for people to balance on to personally test concepts of balance and figure out why the more pressure on one side of the board creates a sharper turn. Overall, this exhibit was really interesting because I could physically interact with the projects and it was a valuable expansion of the knowledge that we previously studied during the beginning of the year in physics and engineering.
Out of the entire museum, one exhibit that really stood out was one concerning the physics of skateboarding. I really enjoyed this topic because it was very relatable to our previous project-based learning task, creating a video to describe the physics behind a specific sports action. The exhibit used skateboarding as an example to explain different concepts of physics, such as momentum, friction, mechanical advantage, rotation, and energy transfers. Videos of airborne tricks played in slow motion with arrows and formulas overlaying to demonstrate techniques employed in order to maximize the efficiency of the rotations. The formulas connected the technique to the reason why the tricks worked according to physics. There were also skateboards semi-bolted into the stage for people to balance on to personally test concepts of balance and figure out why the more pressure on one side of the board creates a sharper turn. Overall, this exhibit was really interesting because I could physically interact with the projects and it was a valuable expansion of the knowledge that we previously studied during the beginning of the year in physics and engineering.
Another really awesome portion of the museum was the life sized structures dispersed throughout the entire entrance hall. Different variations of vehicles and engines hanged from the ceiling from supportive wires. I thought this was intriguing because I never knew what the exterior frame of the car resembled or the different parts of the engine. I also found it amazing that people were able to securely balance an extremely heavy
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object from only a handful of wires. This area of the museum complimented the actual submarine that was docked outside in the river. This submarine provided tours down the river and an inside look at the dimensions of an actual underwater vehicle. Unfortunately, this attraction was closed during the time my family visited the museum, but we could still walk through a model of a submarine door to realize the lack of space inside.
*OMSI also contained exhibits concerning waves, mechanical engineering, the scientific method, movement, ecology, geology, and astronomy. (Above: Hanging vehicles, Computer projects, Engineering designs)
Last Notes
Unfortunately, I don't think I will have the opportunity to revisit this museum. It's location is too far away and my family that previously lived in Oregon recently moved to South Korea. One factor that I wished I could have changed about my visit was the viewing of the planetarium. Due to the fact my family went mid-vacation, the planetarium was not open; I always enjoy watching the solar system because it makes me feel lucky to live in such a vast world with so many new discoveries being made. It also amazes me that the world is constantly expanding and there is new research concerning possible lifeforms outside of Earth.
Unfortunately, I don't think I will have the opportunity to revisit this museum. It's location is too far away and my family that previously lived in Oregon recently moved to South Korea. One factor that I wished I could have changed about my visit was the viewing of the planetarium. Due to the fact my family went mid-vacation, the planetarium was not open; I always enjoy watching the solar system because it makes me feel lucky to live in such a vast world with so many new discoveries being made. It also amazes me that the world is constantly expanding and there is new research concerning possible lifeforms outside of Earth.