Event #1, Discovery Cube

Last week, I went with a friend to the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana, previously known as the Discovery Science Center (Chang). From a distance, I could already see the giant cube, begging me to discover what is inside of it.

Exterior of the Discovery Cube

http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/gallery/n9i4f5-b88141638z.120140729183346000gem3ugre.80.jpgPicture

 Me and my entrance ticket

In the lecture on MedTech + Art, Professor Vesna briefly mentioned X-Rays. While I was walking around all the exhibits, there was one that caught my eye – it was the X-Ray investigation. From that specific exhibit, I learned how X-Rays really work. The soft tissue in our bodies is composed of relatively small atoms, which do not absorb X-ray photons well (Lucas). The doctors keep the images as negative so that the areas exposed to less light appear lighter and the areas exposed to more light appear darker (“What are medical X-rays?”).

X-Ray Investigation exhibit that allows visitors to compare and contrast different X-Ray images with one another

In the lecture on Robotics + Art, Professor Vesna talked about how technology and robotics today can influence the world of art. At the Discovery Cube, there was an exhibit about the Mars Rover. It allowed visitors to operate the Mars Rover by moving a turntable to position Mars rock samples under the microscope. Through the microscope, I saw several polished and unpolished sides of hematite, a substance that is found on Mars (“Hematite”).

The Mars Rover, similar to the real Mars Rover (“Mars Exploration Rovers”).

All in all, I enjoyed my experience at the Discovery Cube. There were also other exhibits that were very much related to what we studied in class (Discovery Cube). Unfortunately, I felt that it was too crowded with young children on that day and I could not get the full experience of the science center. I will be willing to go back to the Discovery Cube once again, next time probably with my niece and nephews or my little cousins!

Works Cited

Chang, Richard. "Discovery Science Center Changes Name to Discovery Cube." The Orange County Register. 30 July 2014. Web. 5 June 2015.

"Discovery Cube - OC." Discovery Science Foundation. Web. 5 June 2015. http://www.discoverycube.org/oc/

"Hematite." NASA. Web. 5 June 2015.

Lucas, Jim. "What Are X-Rays?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 5 June 2015.

"Mars Exploration Rovers." NASA. Web. 5 June 2015.

"What Are Medical X-rays?" National Institute of Biomedial Imaging and Biomedical Engineering. Web. 5 June 2015.