Discovery Science Center - Event 2

On July 19^rd I went to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana for one of my events with my moms kindergarten class (she teaches at a year round school) on a field trip.  It was a really great experience and an awesome place for children.  Everything in this Science center is meant to be touched and explored.  There is so many exhibits that can be related to our class but one that really stood out to me was the computer station where you could explore and create different faces.  You are supposed to try and make your face or someone you knows face on the computer.  One of my mom’s students created probably 10 different faces.  I think this station was really cool because it incorporated both art and technology!

            Another exhibit that the children loved and is also very related to our class was the air and space section of the science center.  There was an area outside where everyone could shoot space rockets.  The kids pressed a button over and over and they would see how high their rocket would go.  This section is very much related to week 5 topic on space.  Another exhibit in the air and space section was a pretend space shuttle that the kids could all stand/sit in and they could press a button and the space shuttle would then count down for take off. 

            The Discovery Science Center is full of interesting things and is really a great place to explore art and science together! If you live close to Santa Ana I would highly recommend going especially if you have young children, siblings, cousins, etc.

Shooting off the space rockets!

Pretend Space Shuttle- Count down!

Week 5 Assingment

This weeks topics were interesting. The first topic nanotechnology was a lot harder for me to understand and really went over some things that I have never even heard of before.  One sub topic within this topic that caught my attention was the Silver Nanoparticles and how it is the most sold nanoparticle.  I had no idea it was in socks, underpants, etc.  This is why you can wear a pair of socks for a long time and they don’t smell! 

Another thing that was mentioned was the Lotus Leaf Effect. I have always wondered why some things water just runs off of and other thing soak in water.  Well this finally answered my question!  This effect has caused some researched to then make things in everyday life that have the same effect that the Lotus Leaf has towards water.  There is now self-cleaning fabric’s that you can throw ketchup on and the it just runs off.  There is also now self-cleaning glass, so water can get on the glass shower door and does not leave water spots.  I think every type of class should be self-cleaning because water spots are the worst!!!!!

       

The second topic this week has always been on of my favorite topics! I find space a topic that I do not know much about but I find it so fascinating!  I find it crazy that technology was not very advanced in 1961 but Russia and America were able to sent humans into space within the same month.  And only 8 years later the first human landed on the moon!  I have always thought it would be so cool to actually put “my foot print on the moon” (song from a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie I watched as a little girl)

 

 Lotus Effect. Digital image. Oecotextiles. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2013.

 Nanoparticles on socks. Digital image. SLS Scilifestyle. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2013.

Nssdc. Digital image. Nssdc. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2013.

Self-Cleaning Glass. Digital image. Getty Glass. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2013.

Aquarium of the Pacific- Event 1

            On July 16, 2013 I took my daughter with me to explore the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA for one of the events for this class.  I have been to the aquarium several times since it opened but this time really changed the way I saw it.  I went into the Aquarium of the Pacific with a view of science and art on my mind.

 

 

            When looking at the tanks I saw fish and sea life that live in our oceans but I also an art piece.  The tanks are designed in a way to look very appealing to the eye.  Within these fish tanks you see things that you see in paintings of the ocean.  The fish tanks are kept extremely clean for the animals but I think are also kept so clean to make the tanks look like masterpieces.  With all the technology there is today, we are able to know what deep down in the ocean really looks like.  We are able to know what type of fish live in what environment in the ocean.  I have always found ocean life and the ocean in general a very fascinating place.

           

 Another thing I was able to see was an instructor of the aquarium teaching young students on a field trip about different animals that they would see. She was teaching the students technical terms and showing them pictures but after they learned about each animal she has a kid come up and put that animals costume on an act out a little play of each animal. This was teaching the children about the ocean and animals but also doing it in a way that used performing arts.  This instructor was using both art and science to get the children to learn.

Week 4 Assignment

Both topics this week again were very interesting! I have always known that sciences use animals to test things but I have no idea about the Alba Bunny.  I am kind of on the fence about using animals as science experiments.  I do not think it is right but then again how else are we going to discover new things and test new drugs etc.  I can totally see the negative side but I see the positive side as well.  The story of the Alba Bunny really caught my attention and I began googling more about it.  I do not agree at all that these types of experiments should be done for “art” but I agree that these type of experiments should be done to learn more about genetic engineering. 

            Genetic engineering is something that blows my mind.  I find it crazy that you can take DNA from one thing and put it into another to genetically modify it. I would love to learn more about this topic.  It really is insane how things can be changed. 

            Another topic from this week that I love learning about is the brain. I believe the brain is the most fascinating part of the human body.  The fact that the human brain is pretty small and it does so much is just crazy.  The brain holds so much information from consciousness, sub-consciousness and unconsciousness.  I found on a website a good description of each:

“If you imagine you mind is like a computer …
Your conscious mind is best represented by the keyboard and monitor. Data is inputted on the keyboard and the results are thrown up on the monitor screen. That is how you conscious mind works – information is taken in via some outside (or internal) stimulus from your environment and the results are thrown up instantaneously into your consciousness.
Your subconscious is like the RAM in your computer. For those who don’t know, RAM is the place in a computer where programs and data that are currently in use are kept so they can easily be reached quickly by the computer processor. It is much faster than other types of memory, such as the hard disk or CD-ROM.
Your subconscious works in the same way. Any recent memories are stored there for quick recall when needed, such as what your telephone number is or the name of a person you just met. It also holds your current programs that you run every day, such as your current recurring thoughts, behavior patterns, habits, and feelings.
Your unconscious is like the hard disk drive in your computer. It is the long term storage place for all your memories and programs that have been installed since birth.”
      -http://www.mindset-habits.com/conscious-subconscious-unconscious-mind

            The last topic that really caught my attention was about Cocaine and LSD.  I have always been very interested in how drugs work and the history of drugs.  In 2006 my uncle died from an overdose and in 2010 my family found out my brother was an addict (He has been clean for almost 2 years).  Drugs were so accepted back in the day and like the video said LSD was used for so many different remedies. I believe that drugs were a lot cleaner back then.  Now drugs are mixed with so many chemicals and other things because drug dealers want to make more money for their products. Drugs alter ones thinking and really has a big effect on the human brain. 

Admin. "The Human Mind – How Does It All Work? Part 1." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2013.  
          <http://www.mindset-habits.com/conscious-subconscious-unconscious-mind/>. 

Genetic Engineering Picture 1. Digital image. Gentics: Dugging through Our past. N.p., n.d. Web.
         17 July 2013 
 
Hugs not Drugs. Digital image. Bipolar-planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2013.

Working Brain. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2013.

Week 3 Assignment

This week’s topic has been by far my favorite.  All the information was so interesting and I just wanted to learn more about the human body and medical technologies and how it relates to art.  I have never thought of an MRI, X-ray, CAT scan, plastic surgery etc. as art but all of it really is.  It just blew my mind when I actually started thinking about it. 

MRI

X-Ray

One thing this week that also caught my attention was the Visual Human Project.  This project gave us cross sectional photographs of the entire human body.  This gave everyone an accurate perspective on everything in the human body.  This shoed how big certain muscles were and the way every organ was shaped and where they were located exactly.  This just blows my mind! I think it is so crazy to think project happened only about twenty years ago.  Image in twenty more years what they will be able to do.  I found a really cool video on YouTube that quickly goes trough every slice of the Visual Human Protect.

           

Visual Human Project

http://youtu.be/iWP2HnPSMyo

“This movie contains over 1800 cross-section images of a male body. To obtain these images, the body of an executed murderer was embedded in gelatin, frozen, sliced crosswise into more than 1800 millimeter slices, then digitally photographed - resulting in over 15 gigabytes of data.”

           

            Another thing that I found so fascinating was that Body Worlds was started by Gunther von Hagens in the 1970’s and is still has exhibitions all over the world in major cities.  I have been to Body World’s several times and I have no idea that it has been going for so long!

           

            I could talk about this topic for hours, I find it so interesting that way back when they started exploring the human body by human dissections and we have come so far.  Human bodies are not just science but are a huge thing in the art world as well! Human bodies are just so fascinating !

Body Worlds Vital. Digital image. Sout Carolina State Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2013.

Deborah, and E. Mendoza. Fetus in the Womb. Digital image. Body Worlds Bizarre Real Human 

           Specimen Exhibit. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2013.

Horizontal MRI. Digital image. Extracting Slices from a 3-Dimensional MRI Data Set. N.p., n.d.                     Web. 11 July 2013.

Right hand x-ray. Digital image. Fizzics. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2013.

"The Visible Human Project." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2013. 

          <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWP2HnPSMyo&feature=youtu.be>.

Week 2 Assignment

I found it very interesting that people do de-geniuses people throughout life and everyone tends to listen.  Throughout school I have always struggled with test taking so all my math classes I would do horrible on the tests. After years of failing my math testes I just came to a conclusion that I was not good at math.  Now that I am older I understand it is not that I am not good at math, I just struggle with math tests.

Another interesting point was that you cannot really do art without math.  To make a perfect shape you must use math to calculate it out unless you just guess then it would not be a PERFECT shape.

Another interesting thing to me in week 2 is the fact that assembly lines were using human beings like robots and how the idea of Robots came up so long ago.  They seem like such a new invention but it is just advancing as time goes on.  As technology advanced we actually have robots now that have replaced humans with a machine!  We have tons of different types of robots now doing so many things. It is kind of crazy to thing about because we are being replaced

ASIMO (2000) at the Expo 2005, a humanoid robot

Articulated welding robots used in a factory

 Articulated welding robots. Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 July 2013.

Asmo at the Expo. Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 July 2013. 

Failed Math Test. Digital image. Bis Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 July 2013.

Geometry Through Art. Digital image. The Math Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 July 2013.