Exhibit Descriptions

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Tech City features 12 exhibits comprised of 20 activity stations and uses urban styling, including park benches and city-style banners. The exhibits present challenges that can be readily solved using an engineering approach. With hands-on activities, multi-media computers, and a video, the exhibition appeals to a wide variety of learning styles. Exhibits are designed to include activities for both younger and older museum visitors.

Entry

Welcome to Tech City. As you pass by the Tech City skyline, meet diverse engineers and discover what they have accomplished in their careers.

Separation Station

Visitors can "clean" the water with this hydraulic system using various filters to separate plastic beads that are different in size and density.

Tech City Diner

This interactive program shows how the engineering method can be applied to non-engineering tasks, such as menu design.

Catch the Wind

The air-flow visualization system uses small bubbles to allow visitors to design a landscaping environment to protect a park on a windy lake shore.

Traffic Jam

Visitors use a computer program to optimize traffic flow by adjusting the timing of traffic lights at several intersections.

Dam the Creek

Visitors prevent the creek from flooding Tech City by building a gravity dam using metal blocks.

Earthquake!!!

Visitors design and build structures, then test the results against earthquake forces on the shake table.

Build a Bridge

Visitors use an interactive program to design a bridge, then experiment with a model bridge "build and test" station. They can also walk across three 2.4 meter-long bridges with different levels of sag.

Design the Plaza

This highly visual and tactile design station allows visitors to experience the tradeoffs between cost and aesthetics while creating patterns for the Tech City plaza using geometric tiles.

Ask an Engineer Video

Narrated by youth, this fast-paced seven-minute video features diverse engineers showing several exciting ways that engineers touch our lives.

Sound Studio

Visitors experiment with sound engineering and produce their own recordings using a variety of sound effects. They can record three individual tracks and then play them back simultaneously.

Play Zone

An area for younger visitors that includes a car and track construction set.