Museum of Science and Industry

007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond – Museum of Science and Industry – June 18, 2024

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It’s never too late for a new career, so why not secret agent, although, with James Bond, there never was anything secret about who he was (even repeating his last name to make sure everyone knew) or who employed him. His idea of a disguise was putting on a pair of glasses in Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Nevertheless, after gazing bleary-eyed at the massive amount of information about, and science behind, Bond’s gadgets, I tried the interactive, computerized, disguise station at the exhibit. I failed miserably, most notably in how well I would have blended into my environment (not at all).

Moving on, I killed myself multiple times attempting to recreate stunts from Goldeneye, The Man with the Golden Gun and Casino Royale (the remake).

What was left of the car from the CR stunt was present, looking exactly as battered as it appeared post stunt in the movie after rolling over seven times. Intact vehicles, however, abounded throughout the exhibit: cars, submarines, submarine cars, flying cars, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, jetpacks, etc.

My talents for a field assignment were further dashed by one look at Hang Time, which I skipped after reading the sign that said “ For your safety, do not use Hang Time if you have hand, knee, back, neck, or shoulder problems.” The only thing was missing was my picture.

I also wasn’t great at hiding listening and viewing devices, so a Q position is probably not in the offing.

Finally, I gave myself some hope with success at the decoding station. So perhaps a desk job with MI6, although I’m certainly not prepared for the British equivalent of a Three Days of the Condor adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MSI After Hours – Wired to Wear – Museum of Science and Industry – May 31, 2019

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I was hoping to see the museum’s exhibits come alive as in one of the Night at the Museum movies, but, upon second thought, the simulated tornado in the Science Storms exhibit, for example, might have brought the party to a crashing halt, and the adventure just wouldn’t be the same without Robin Williams.

The museum’s new Wired to Wear exhibit is fascinating. It’s described as “smart clothing and devices designed to extend the human body’s capabilities and make us healthier, stronger and safer.” Although I have my doubts that the dress that barks like a dog when someone gets too close to the wearer will catch on, there are a lot of interesting innovations that are likely to result in useful options for the disabled, the professional athlete, and the idle rich searching for a Halloween costume.

In addition to the new exhibit and access to all the others at the museum without having to fight off busloads of school children, this adults-only party offered microscopic veggie sliders, generous-pour bartenders, and access to a live podcast of WBEZ’s Nerdette, featuring two of the Wired to Wear inventors.

If you listen to the podcast once they post it, you’ll likely get a digitally-cleansed version, so you won’t be able to appreciate the fact that the guest tech nerds couldn’t figure out that you have to hold the microphone near your mouth when you’re talking so that the audience can hear you, and you probably won’t hear me yelling from the audience “can’t hear you”, an act that didn’t get me kicked out, brought a murmur of appreciation from a part of the audience, and caused one of the guests to use the microphone properly for two seconds, before once again holding it as far away from his mouth as humanly possible.

Perhaps clothing with a built-in amplifier would be more useful than clothing that barks like a dog.

The Science Behind Pixar – Museum of Science and Industry – October 25, 2018

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As promised, after seeing the robot exhibit in January, I came back to the museum for The Science Behind Pixar. If you go in the afternoon it’s less crowded, because the school field trips are finishing up, and, after all, your competition to get into the exhibit is children of a lesser age.

Each of the nine elements of the Pixar Production Pipeline – story and art, modeling, rigging, surfaces, sets and cameras, animation, simulation, lighting, and rendering – has its own section where you can play at the process and hear from people at Pixar who do the jobs associated with that specialty. I now want to be one of them, although I have absolutely no knowledge in any of the areas.

The company says it employs between 500 and 1000 people. That’s a little vague considering their technical expertise. Perhaps job security, except at the top of the food chain, isn’t so great. But, given that I’m already retired, that’s not a deterrent.

Their website lists, as qualifications for an internship, “enrollment in an undergraduate or graduate program, or have graduated within one year from start of internship” That might be a problem. But what if I went back to school?

The element of rendering holds some promise. In computing it’s defined as “the processing of an outline image using color and shading to make it appear solid and three-dimensional.” Apparently I’ve been rendering my personality for years, without the aid of a computer.

And there’s a current opening for Vice President, Renderman. It’s always been my understanding that vice presidents don’t have to know or do much.

While at the museum I also went through the mirror maze in the Numbers in Nature exhibit. It’s also advantageous to see this exhibit in the afternoon, as a day’s worth of fingerprints on the mirrors helps you navigate, and, if you get lost, staff probably will rescue you before closing time.

 

Museum of Science and Industry – Robots – January 3, 2018

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There was no way I was going to miss the special robot exhibit at the museum, even if it meant navigating a sea of children. I love the underground parking at the museum and though, having arrived in the early afternoon, I had to go around and around searching for a space, my downward journey led me to park on the level where the main entrance is – bizarre justice.

The robots were great, although I witnessed one draw a game of tic tac toe with a child when a winning move was there for the taking by the robot.  I’m not sure whether this was good public relations, faulty programming, or misguided mechanical parenting.

I also witnessed the robot blackjack dealer pull a card off the bottom of the deck. Okay, not literally, but all three human players were sitting on 20, when the robot came up with 21. Very suspicious.  Good thing they weren’t playing for money, although there was an extra charge to see the robot exhibit.

There was another station where you could build your own vehicle out of various colored attachable blocks, one type of which included a battery to power the vehicle. I tried in vain to manufacture a mobile unit, even enlisting the help of a young mother whose child’s work far exceeded my pitiful efforts.  She was sympathetic but unable to help, being clueless herself and unable to gain her child’s attention long enough to explain the process to us.  Tail between my legs, I moved on.

I took in some of the long-time exhibits. One can’t go to the museum without seeing the trains.  And though I didn’t intentionally go to see the submarine, I found myself, for a few minutes, wandering aimlessly through World War 2, unable to find my way out, as if trapped in a Kurt Vonnegut story.

I eventually prevailed, and, on my way out, saw the sign for the Pixar exhibit coming in May. I’ll be back!