"Energy is Water in a Desert World" is an interactive educational display similar to those in the exploratorium. The visitor makes the demonstration go by operating hand cranks, which actuate a variety of examples of the use, flow and storage of energy. This is made fun and amusing to do, so that the central concepts are better received and accepted. The basic messages are: what is energy, how does it flow, how is it stored. Examples are relevant to everyday life, and especially to life on the playa.
The display consists of three rectangular frames 6 feet wide by 6 feet tall. They have a front plane where the viewer can access cranks, switches and other controls, and where posters explain what’s going on and what it means. There is a rear plane where the mechanisms are affixed, which can be seen through the front plane. The planes are separated to prevent damage to either the mechanisms or the visitors. All displays are operated by the hand cranks, working mechanical and electrical devices. The three frames can be arranged in a triangle, straight line, or corner configurations to accommodate any desired layout.
The three display panels have three groups of experiments. One is a stake pounder. A hand crank raises a weight to a height determined by the visitor. Pulling a lever releases the weight to hammer a stake into a friction clamp, simulating the playa. The stake is driven a distance observable on a ruler. After several blows, the stake can be unclamped and returned to its original height. This illustrates potential and kinetic energy, power, force time distance, and conservation of energy.
Another display is a Rube Goldberg arrangement of different ways to convert one type of energy into another. A hand crank moves gears that operate a generator that powers a light that shines on a solar panel that runs a fan etc.. There is energy stored in batteries and heat in the system, so that one has to crank the handle for some time to see everything go, and it continues to run some seconds after cranking stops. This illustrates different forms of energy, storage of energy, and inefficiency in conversion and transmission.
The third display is mainly about electricity. A crank operates a flywheel with a generator which can be engaged. The generator powers an incandescent light, a compact fluorescent light, or a battery. The battery can be used to power the lights or other devices, such as a radio transmitter. It transmits to an adjacent receiver, which powers a sensitive meter. If a second crank is operated, the received signal (rave music) can be amplified to be heard on a loudspeaker. This illustrates kinetic or chemical energy storage, efficient vs inefficient light sources, electromagnetic energy, and amplification.
Components of the display mechanisms are commonly available parts, laid out so their interconnection is clear. The hand cranks are bicycle technology. The various parts that are powered are familiar so that they can be recognized in daily life as consuming the hand crank energy felt by the visitor. The use of visitor power is important to make the quantities of energy palpable. The visitor actually feels force, distance, power, time and energy. This makes these quantities and their relations intuitively understandable, and allows the visitor to relate this experience to others in life.
The posters will explain all this in as much detail as the visitor cares to read. There will be two levels of explanation. The first level is in large type and is terse, quickly read, and cursory, two or three sentences. The second level is in more detail, but still only two or three paragraphs. Drawings illustrate the concepts visually. A key analogy made in the explanations is with water. The law of conservation of mass is commonsense, as we intuitively know that some matter like water never completely disappears, but is distributed in various ways. The flow, transfer and storage of water serve to illustrate the same processes with energy, which is also a conserved quantity. Storage and transfer of water between containers is not a perfect process, there being spills, leaks and evaporation. Such is the case with energy which inefficiency dissipates, making it unusable heat, though not destroying it. One only has so much water in the desert, so it must be used with care. Thus, the title of the display is “energy is water in a desert world.”
The three panels are units which can be transported without extra assembly, so that the whole display can be installed and uninstalled quickly. They can be staked to the ground, though their weight will tend to keep them stable, especially in triangular or corner configurations.
I have built two previous interactive science education installations on the playa. These were about the philosophy of science as seen through light and quantum physics. This may seem like an esoteric topic, but visitors to these installations were fascinated, most of them patiently reading all the words and doing all the experiments.
The first of these was “Light, Truth and Existence” located in center camp in 2003, and in the Café in 2004. There were twelve displays, six with hands-on experiments about light, and six providing interpretations of those experiments. There were almost always several people in the tent, even at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning, when they would sometimes start to discuss philosophy with people they met there. I could see people become engaged and spend many minutes carefully doing the experiments and reading, going through the whole thing. This proved to me that it was possible to express difficult ideas in a way that was accessible and enjoyable.
The second installation was “The Explanade” built on the Esplanade. It had eight displays, again about the philosophy of science, but centered more on the philosphy side. Six of the displays had hands-on experiments, different from the previous ones. Again, people would become engaged and read and do everything, at all hours. Much of the time the tent was filled to capacity.
The Explanade provided an activity completely different from most of the camps on the Esplanade, which consist mainly of bars, lounges and rave clubs. This was welcomed by those who wrote comments in a visitors’ book near the entrance.
My earlier work in science education included making hands-on displays for the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory where I worked professionally. These were installed in the lobby of the main tourist attraction there—a giant laser—and were used to illustrate its principles. One of them went to the Lawrence Hall of Science twice for special exhibits. Another was designed in colaboration with two high school teachers, illustrating several optical principles with eqipment a visitor could manipulate electronically. I built a special experiment to explain a principle of the Lab’s research to the Secretary of the Department of Energy when they visited.
I guest lectured at elementary and high schools with experiments I built for the purpose, demonstrating principles of light and engaging the students with activities. One exercise consisted of giving each student a mirror and having them relay a laser beam from one to the next. Another activity gave each student a simple spectroscope with which they could see the detailed colors of flourescent materials. I put together a kit of such experiments for other lab employees to take to schools.
I currently work at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, where three of the displays from The Explanade were recently installed for Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Groups of children in 5th and 6th grade were able to conduct experiments illustrating the particle and wave nature of light. They enjoyed this and asked questions, never suspecting that the information they were given is supposed to be far above their heads. This proves it’s possible to engage even children in the concepts of advanced modern science by making the concepts plain and accessible and fun.