CSU’s Wurlitzer Organ’s Final Performance

by Katie Bowell, Curator of Cultural Interpretation

Friday, March 11th, is your last chance to hear CSU’s Wurlitzer Organ in action. The 84 year-old organ, originally designed to provide the sound of a 40-piece orchestra for silent films, has been at the university since 1983.

Visit CSU’s Calendar of Events for full details.

On the Discovery Docket: A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Katie Bowell, Curator of Cultural Interpretation

You’re all a bunch of lovely smarty pants, so I assume most of you have already read Bill Bryson’s fantastic book A Short History of Nearly Everything. But have you read the Special Illustrated Edition?

Just when you thought that a book about naming Pluto, the Akesian laughing gas society, political cartoons, dinosaur bones and everything else you could possibly imagine couldn’t get any better, they added pictures!

And if you need a version of this book for a younger audience, try Bryson’s A Really Short History of Nearly Everything.

Rocket and Roll

by Toby Swaford, K-12 Education Coordinator

Have you ever wanted to help wake up an astronaut?

NASA is looking for the songs that will help the crew start their days on the last few remaining Space Shuttle missions.  For you musically talented folks out there, there’s an opportunity to upload an original song to be played on STS -134, scheduled to launch in February of 2011.  NASA will choose the best of the submissions to be voted on by the public starting February 8^th, with all submissions due by the 10^th of January, 2011.  So get working on your musical masterpiece to be played for the entire world to hear.

Of course, for those of us that couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, there’s also a chance to vote for one of the forty tunes that have already been used as a wake-up call for the astronauts on previous missions.  You can choose from such diverse songs as Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon, and Thomas Dolby’s She Blinded me with Science. The Beatles are the only act with two songs in the running, Here Comes the Sun, and Good Day Sunshine.  The Rolling Stones have an entrant in their hit Start me Up, while Canadian rockers Rush, are represented by the appropriately named Countdown.  There’s even competition between John William’s Theme from Star Wars and the title music from Star Trek, complete with a voice over by the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner.

For more information and the chance to submit your original composition or vote for your favorite song visit https://songcontest.nasa.gov/

Science Wednesday: Return of the Blob

by Toby J. Swaford, K-12 Education Coordinator

One of the Museum’s popular offerings at this last weekend’s New West Fest featured a non-Newtonian fluid (in the form of cornstarch dissolved in water) and an old subwoofer. While this may seem like an unlikely combination, the two work rather well together in a wacky mix of kitchen chemistry and the science of sound.

First off, this particular non-Newtonian fluid acts like a solid when pressure is applied to it; you can even roll it into a ball as long as you keep the pressure up. Think of the particles of corn starch as people on a crowded sidewalk – if you move slowly through the crowd you may be able to flow between the people and move fluidly. On the other hand, if you simply try to run straight through the crowd you will quickly meet with resistance. The same holds true when dealing with the cornstarch and water mixture, you can easily push your finger tip into it with little resistance; however, if you tried to slap your whole hand down on the surface you would discover that it acts more like a solid than a liquid. This is due to the sudden pressure that your hand applies to the substance.

Sound waves can also produce pressure, especially in the lower bass registers, with some interesting effects on our non-Newtonian fluid. Check out the video for an example of what I’m talking about.

The Indian Market is coming soon!

by Terry Burton, Digital Media Coordinator

The 2010 edition of the Fort Collins Indian Market is coming up on May 15-16. Presented by the Fort Collins Museum & Discovery Science Center, the Indian Market is two days of Native American music, arts, and crafts in Old Town Square. We are happy to once again be hosting nationally-recognized Native American artists who will offer pottery, basketry, bead work and more, with musical performances both days. The Indian Market is free and will be open both days from 10:00 am through 6:00 pm.

Start off each day with traditional drumming and dancing by Colorado State University’s own Ram Nation. Other musical guests will include singer-songwriter Kurt Humann, singer-songwriter Scotti Clifford from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Fort Collins’ own singer-songwriter Cary Morin, and the Pura Fe Trio, based out of Portland, Oregon.

Indian Market is one of the great Fort Collins weekends of the summer — please join us!