GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The math behind video games, skate parks and roller coasters are just some of the topics in a new hands-on exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM).
Design Zone was made to highlight the importance of science and mathematical thinking in creative areas.
"The exhibit is expected to be exciting and see how people do these jobs with math, science and creativity all combined," said Christie Bender, Director of Marketing and Customer Service at GRPM.
Visitors can see visual creativity combined with math in video game design, animation, music production and theme park architecture.
"We want to show people that not only do the people who create the roller coasters make sure they are thrilling and fun, we show them that there is safety and mathematical skills that go into their job," Bender said.
Design Zone is included with general admission to the Museum; free for Museum members and will be housed at GRPM through May of 2020.
►To learn more about the exhibit click here.
The exhibit highlights the importance of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) learning. According to the museum’s website, there are three theme areas included in the exhibition:
- ART
Visitors design their own 2-D and 3-D art and explore visual creativity in the Videogame Design Lab, Architecture Studio and the Digital Design Domain. Area highlights include Drawing in Motion, where visitors use a digital pen to trace a line art masterpiece on a giant screen and create their own images, and Jump on it — similar to many classic arcade games where visitors choose a character, adjust the jump power and gravity, and land on targets to collect points. - MUSIC
Visitors explore relationships between length and pitch in musical instruments, ratios and rhythms, and visual representations of sound in On Stage!, Dance Party, and the DJ Recording Studio. Area highlights include Laser Light DJ where visitors discover how laser light show technicians create mesmerizing patterns, and Turntables, where they can practice their DJ skills by trying to seamlessly match beats per minute to the tempo of a new song. - ENGINEERING
Visitors experience the Theme Park and the Action Sports Arena where they’ll discover the math and physics behind anything that moves. Area highlights include Bike Race, where they can climb into bike stations, test gear combinations, and compete in a virtual race, and Design a Skate Park where visitors manipulate slope to create essential skate park features, test their design with a virtual skater and ride the course!
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