musings – Engineering as art

The Eiffel Tower is such an iconic feat of architecture that it has taken on the aura of an art form rather than an engineering feat. However, Eiffel worked mainly as an engineer, designing bridges for French railways. It is in this regard that I first saw his work in the famous Viaduct de Garabit in the Central Massif area of the country.

Viaduct de Garabit, France photo source : Lorie Pierce

The photo looks a bit out of focus but that is due to the twinning of girders. My tour group, fresh from an interesting conference in nearby St. Flour, had a picnic lunch by the Truyere River, beneath the expanse of this eye-popping structure.

Eiffel went on to design the Tour Eiffel as the dramatic entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris.

More about Eiffel himself :

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel  15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer and architect. A graduate of the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway network, most famously the Garabit viaduct. He is best known for the world-famous Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, France. After his retirement from engineering, Eiffel concentrated his energies on research into meteorology and aerodynamics, making important contributions in both fields. source : wikipedia

Embracing sharks

After visiting the new aquarium in my city, I have a new found interest in sharks.

sharks in aquarium lagoon photo source : Lorie Pierce

So now I am taking a closer look at the fossil evidence in the museum’s permanent collection.

angel shark, squtina acanthoderma photo source : Lorie Pierce

This incredible angel shark is from the Solnhofen fauna, 148 million years ago.

The Solnhofen Plattenkalk, or Solnhofen limestone, is a JurassicKonservat-Lagerstätte that preserves a rare assemblage of fossilized organisms, including highly detailed imprints of soft bodied organisms such as sea jellies. The most familiar fossils of the Solnhofen Plattenkalk include the early birdArchaeopteryx preserved in such detail that they are among the most famous and most beautiful fossils in the world. The Solnhofen beds lie in the German state of Bavaria (Bayern), halfway between Nuremberg (Nürnberg) and Munich (München) and were originally quarried as a source of Lithographic limestone. wikipedia

And here is a baby shark in the making. A shark egg case.

About 30% of all sharks types lay egg cases rather than give birth to live young.

baby shark in egg case photo source : Lorie Pierce

 

musings – That's why the book was titled 'Jaws'

photo source : Lorie Pierce

This is a moving mechanical model of a shark bite that is installed as an educational component at the new aquarium. Look at those rows of teeth ready to spring into action when others are lost.

LEGO City – Museum Break-in

It’s bothered me for awhile that LEGO seems to always need to create some type of adversarial scenario for its playsets. Somebody or something has to be fighting someone or something else. So when the City line came out featuring airports, harbours and other types of basic infrastructure, I felt this was the opportunity for kids to play as I once did. Learning how to live in the world of adults without constant need for conflict.

So I am disheartened to find that the first museum-based set I’ve seen, focuses on crime.

photo source : LEGO.ca

In a daring midnight raid, the burglars are breaking into the LEGO® City museum through the rooftop window. Before they can escape with the valuable treasures, they trip the laser beam. Don’t let them use the rope to make a rooftop escape! Keep a close eye on them with the Elite Police helicopter’s LEGO® light brick spotlight until the Elite Police van arrives to make the arrest! Lock up the pesky burglars and take the treasures back before they escape in the getaway van!

Includes 6 minifigures: 2 burglars, and an Elite Police pilot, driver and 2 Elite Police officers with assorted accessories. Features opening rooftop window. Includes 3 vehicles: Elite Police van, Elite Police helicopter with LEGO® light brick spotlight and spinning rotors and burglar getaway van. Accessories include painting, blue diamond, sword, plate, gold nugget element, rope, handcuffs, flashlight and a walkie-talkie.

A warning to museums. Secure your open rooftop windows and lock away your painting, blue diamond, sword, plate and gold nugget. After all, prevention is better than calling the Elite mini-figure officers.

musings – people-centred perceptions

Take a look at this photo of a sponge.

sponge photo source : Mauricio Handler

Does it make you smile…or even laugh out loud ?

Does it remind you of Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster ?

As children we learn very early to identify faces. Is that why we tend to see a face in this multi-cellular animal from the Phylum Porifera? Even if we turn the image upside down?

inverted sponge photo source : Mauricio Handler

 

 

musings – aerial manouevres

Did this jet make a 90 degree turn in the sky?

photo source : Lorie Pierce

musings – Why are only some people lactose intolerant? Check the map

diagram source : nature.com

 

musings – a special celebration

Wm. G. Pierce teaching photo source : Lorie Pierce

My father announced a couple of days ago that he was marking a special milestone this weekend – the 30th anniversary of the day he retired (June 30, 1983). So today my spouse and I arrived at his door with Chinese food and we opened a bottle of wine to mark the occasion. One of many important celebrations to occur this weekend.

musings – Trying on a life

I came across this quote recently and it got me thinking about how applicable it could be to the museum experience as well.

Museums give people the chance to step into ancient cultures, rainforests and crystal caves. How do we best facilitate that experience?

musings – Less than scientific reporting

Today CNN online has a report on a palaeontological find in Wyoming of three Triceratops.

Triceratops       image source : wikipedia.com

The article begins:

(CNN) — There were three of them, one of them probably a child, and at least one met a gruesome end at the hands of a terrifying predator.

About 67 million years later, a Wyoming rancher led scientists to their remains. Now experts are digging out one of the most complete skeletons yet of a Triceratops, the three-horned, plant-eating dinosaur that was one of the last of the giant reptiles.

Now we know what the reporter was trying to get at, but the use of the phrase ‘at the hands of’ in an animal with minimal ability to use its front appendages is unfortunate.

And perhaps referring to a juvenile of this species as a ‘child’, is less than accurate as well.

At the end of the article, a tag line encourages readers that : for more Science News go to CNN LIght Years which strives to tell the stories of science research, discovery, space and education. This is your go-to place on CNN.com for today’s stories, but also for a scientific perspective on the news and everyday wonders.

Perhaps media who offer ‘Science News’ and ‘strive to show a scientific perspective’ should hold their reporting to a higher standard.