Durham
CATCH THE WIND
MUSEUM OF LIFE AND SCIENCEWe can’t see it or touch it, but we can love it when it’s cool and hate it when it’s heavy. In the second phase of the Museum of Life and Science’s BioQuest, a 12-acre, $12 million project, Catch the Wind explores the ways in which we can visualize and understand the wind. Spread throughout the trail are “telltales,” or pieces of blue ribbon that show how enormous or tiny gusts of wind can be. The bird garden is a beautiful place to better understand how different birds fly, while a 30-foot-high tower allows kids to watch the way that different seed pod shapes fall to the ground based on where the weight in the seed is. The invisible world of wind is scientifically captured through very visual and audio means (there are English and Spanish stories and poems about wind for visitors to listen to), so that people can gain a better understanding of the ways that wind affects life. Other fun parts of the exhibit are the ornithopter, which takes as many as three people and as much as 350 pounds up in the air via 12-foot flapping wings; a 5,000-square-foot sailing boat pond; and a sequin-paneled air ring cannon created by weather exhibit designer Ned Kahn for kids to see more visually the effects of wind. For more information, go to www.lifeandscience.org. Dora E. Ragin
