Digital Experience with Bones at the National Museum of Natural History

Kristin Reiber Harris
KristinHarrisDesign.com

National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC

With almost 7 million annual visitors, the National Museum of Natural History on the Mall in Washington, DC is the most visited natural history museum in the world. The iconic elephant in the rotunda is a familiar site to people all over the globe and one I have known since childhood.

During July I had the opportunity to spend two days in the museum. My visits focused on the Bone Hall, an historic part of the museum's collection. I was fascinated that key components of the current display date back to the original exhibition on comparative anatomy in 1881. I had invited the developers of the app Skin & Bones for the Bones Hall to speak at a meeting of the Women in Film & Video's Education & Children's Media Roundtable. I wanted to be prepared for the event.

Bone Hall, 1881     Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution Archives

Multicultural Stories: 1001 Inventions at Nat Geo

An important job we have as educators/parents is to help children get as wide a view of the world as possible to balance our natural ethnocentrism. Here in Lynchburg, VA I have been very impressed with Randolph College's commitment to "cultivating a global perspective in a liberal arts setting".  Randolph currently has an initiative to move from tolerance for diversity to "intercultural competence". These are exciting and worthy goals for any institution. Museums can and do play a major role in introducing cultural assets and explaining their significance.
   
Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), a British non-profit educational organization has created the exhibition 1001 Inventions to this end. The exhibit introduces the Golden Age of Muslim Civilization, highlighting the groundbreaking scientific and cultural achievements of the the 7th to 17th century in the Muslim world.  1001 Inventions is currently (until February 3, 2013) on view at the Washington, DC headquarters of the National Geographic.   The exhibit is geared toward children but engages all ages.


One of the most interesting objects in the exhibit is a large reproduction of the automatic clock designed by Al-Jazari 800 years ago.  Al-Jazari was an inventor, engineer, mathematician, artist and scholar. His work, including this clock were instrumental is setting the stage for both modern automation and robotics.   He is best know for The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices published in 1206.  In it he describes 100 mechanical devices and provides blue prints for their construction.

Al-Jazari's clock is run by water in an elaborate series of mechanisms that function inside and outside of the elephant. This video animates the workings of the clock.  This monumental clock is 20 feet tall. 

One of the most interactive components and one kids particularly enjoyed was a projection on a large wall. The projected image featured Abbas Ibn Firnas. Firnas is attributed to be the first man to make a scientific attempt at flying. Firnas is shown with his winged invention jumping from a tower and in "flight".  The viewer standing in front of the wall powers Firnas's flight by flapping their arms. An animated replica of the viewers motion is also projected on the wall. The longer and stronger the flapping, the more yards Firnas flies. 

I learned lots of interesting factoids.  Cat gut was first used in surgery during this time and it is still used today.  Fatima Al-Fihri founded the world’s first modern university in 859 CE.  It is still in operation today. A Muslim scientist Alhazen is considered the first to come up with a scientific description of a camera obscura or room sized pin hole camera. Knowledge of various architectural features such as arches were brought back to Europe from the Crusades. One display suggested that the shape of the Arabic numerals were devised to correspond to the appropriate number of angles, ie one had one angle in the symbol that represents one, two had two angles etc.

This pdf for middle school students is a worksheet for students to fill out at the exhibit. It provides an overview of the range of topics addressed in this stimulating, informative experience. 1001 Inventions has traveled to numerous locations around the world including the California Science Center in Los Angeles, the New York Hall of Science, the London Science Museum and the Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul.