Interactive science exhibits are the core of The Leonardo on Wheels—Science. Each exhibit has a “lab bench” feeling to it that fosters experimentation and prolongs the time a student spends with an exhibit. Each exhibit is developed with three principles in mind:
A ] They are open-ended and function on many levels. Immediate reward/results are present, but there are further experiences and learning for the student that will stay with it, read the exhibit description, and think about it.
B ] Each exhibit has multiple variables which can be changed to yield multiple possible outcomes. “What would happen if...?” questions are encouraged, and the materials needed to answer those questions are provided.
C ] The outcomes and variables of the exhibits are measureable. Students should be able to not only observe differences when a variable in changed, they should also be able to associate a “how much” with that change.
What do your organs look like? Navigate your way through human anatomy (internal and external) with a computer dissection of a real cadaver. more »
Keeping your balance is not a simple process. Your ability to keep your balance involves several of your body’s sensors and feedback systems: your eyes, your inner ear, your muscles, your sense of touch, and your brain. more »
What are the odds? Probability is a measurement of the likelihood of a given result. more »
What does it feel like to make electricity? Use the Generator Bike to convert the muscle energy of your legs into electrical energy. How much electricity can your leg muscles make? more »
These computers contains a map made from satellite images of your county. Can find your house? Your school? more »
Ever wondered what your arteries look like to a portable doppler ultrasound? Now's your chance to find out. more »
Using the lenses and mirrors on this exhibit, you can bend light! The light can be focused onto a single point, spread out widely over a large area, or reflected to different locations on the table. more »
Energy in all forms is transmitted in waves. Waves have certain characteristics and properties such as how often they occur (frequency) and how strong they are (amplitude). There are rules that direct how waves interact and move. Discover some of them by experimenting. more »
Something familiar can look very foreign when viewed under a microscope. You may notice that big things are made up of lots of smaller things. You may even see things you never saw before or knew existed. more »
Seeing is believing? Think again. Optical illusions easily outwit the way your brain interprets visual stimuli causing you to 'see' something that really isn't. more »
Everyone is different. See how your height and weight compare to other students at your school. The bars on the graph create a distribution curve. more »
Rubbing dissimilar objects against each other can build up a static charge, like your shoes (rubber) on some shag carpet (wool). If the charge is great enough, it will get released (discharged) in a spark. more»
Mountain ranges and valleys of Utah create daily breezes and interact with large air masses that travel from the Pacific Ocean and Canada. In certain situations, the terrain can channel air and create tornadoes and land spouts. more »
Three balls start at the same height. All three have the same destination but take different paths and have different weights. How do these variables (path and weight) influence the time it takes for the balls to get to the bottom? more »
Your voice is a complex blend of sounds. The graph allows you to visualize those sounds, your personal voice print. more»
Two large, plastic dishes are placed opposite each other. By speaking and listening at the center of the dishes, you and a friend can talk across the room without raising your voices. more »
Are you a windbag? Everyone is actually. Mesure the capacity of your lungs with this exhibit. more »
Description is forthcoming. more »
You are surrounded every day by radiation that comes from many things in your world. You can measure and compare the radioactivity of the items in this exhibit using a Geiger counter. more »
All it takes to make electricity is a coil of wire and a magnet. That’s it. Moving a magnet through a coil causes electrons to flow through the wire. This principle is known as induction. more »
Description is forthcoming. more »
Description is forthcoming. more »
Description is forthcoming. more »
Using polarized light, you can see the forces and stresses that engineers have to figure out when they build bridges and other structures. more»
Using piezoresistive semi-conductive polymer grid sensor, you can visualize the pressure of everyday objects—and you. more»