Fwd: Online science museum, emergentuniverse.org
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Fwd: Online science museum, emergentuniverse.org
 
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>From my friend David Pines. A very impressive presentation of online exhibits/information related to a highly sophisticated aspect of Complexity.
-tom =================================================== Dear All, I write to invite you to explore ICAM’s new online exhibits about emergent
phenomena, at www.emergentuniverse.org, which was launched on Oct.1,2009. This graphically designed interactive flash site is not your typical
science site. It uses a mix of art and science -- as well discussions of the
complex problems of facing our society -- to draw in visitors having a broad
range of different interests. Given your interest in, and commitment to,
increasing science literacy among non-scientists, please go to http://www.emergentuniverse.org/ to view the site for yourself. The
official Davis press release follows below. We believe emergentuniverse.org represents an important new approach to informal science education, and we hope you will agree. The initial indications (based on an analysis of the responses sent to us by a forty-plus person focus group and the google anlaytic reports on visitors to the site) suggest that it has the potential of becoming a major site of interest for the initial group we are trying to reach--savvy internet users between the ages of fourteen and thirty. You can help this along by sharing this information about the site with those you know in this age group and/or with their parents or grandparents. Suzi Tucker, our remarkably talented chief exhibit designer, is already at work on her next interactive exhibit –Superconductivity: Quantum Electron Emergence. We are now beginning planning for what will follow. Under consideration are a major series of exhibits that focus on what is perhaps the most important global scientific and educational challenge of this new century—discovering and developing the new technological approaches that will help us achieve sustainable energy while adapting to global climate change. Those on climate change would be developed in collaboration with the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, which has developed a terrific manual on the topic for teachers of middle-school students. I welcome your feedback on the appearance and content of the site and look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
David
EXPLORE THE EMERGENT UNIVERSE With topics ranging from slime molds to quantum matter to Alzheimer's Disease, a new online exhibit opening Oct. 1, The Emergent Universe (www.emergentuniverse.org), aims to encourage young people to learn about "emergence," complex behaviors that arise from the interaction of simple parts, and encourages them to develop an “emergent perspective”.
"An emergent perspective allows you to approach real world problems in a different way," said David Pines, distinguished professor of physics at UC Davis and co-director of the Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter, which sponsored the website. "You realize that there are no unique solutions -- you have to try many different things, look for organizing principles, and get a feel for what is connected to what."
Emergent Universe uses animations, art, games, music and even a manga comic book to draw viewers into exploring emergent phenomena. The exhibit is aimed at 15 to 30-year-olds, college-bound or college-educated, but not necessarily with a scientific background.
"Different activities are designed to appeal to a broad range of learning styles and interests," said designer and museum director, Suzi Tucker. "We chose to go for exploration, to let people get sucked in." "We want to convey the idea that emergence is not just about studying emergent behavior in matter – there are general principles that apply in the world at large, to climate change, to economics, to fixing our schools," Pines said. "The idea is to introduce young people to the concept of emergence and encourage them to think about it in their daily life," he said.
A major part of the exhibit explores "the Fibril Connection:" a misfolded amyloid protein that can give rise to devastating conditions like Alzheimer's Disease, yet the same proteins perform useful functions in other living systems. Visitors can zoom in on a human brain and discover the mysteries of amyloid through lab notebooks, animations and games.
In the "Unlocking the Universe" section, visitors can: *Listen to music composed to express the concepts of emergence in quantum mechanics *View a manga comic that illustrates an emergent perspective *Zoom in on a pointillist image that illustrates length scales *Play the "Game of Life," creating patterns from simple interacti "Grow Art," from repeated application of very simple rules. The developers plan to add a new section on superconductivity in the next year. The site was designed and developed by Tucker, a former chemistry professor at UC Davis, with interactive designer Stephen Hartzog and scientific input from Pines, Daniel Cox, professor of physics at UC Davis and other members of the Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter. The site was funded mainly by the Institute, a multidisciplinary research program of the University of California with 57 branches across the U.S. and globally, headquartered at UC Davis, with additional support from private foundations, the National Science Foundation, and individual donors.
On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 10:06 AM, David Pines <[hidden email]> wrote:
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