Caltech News Usps 085-640

Volume 17, No.5, October 1983 CALTECH NEWS USPS 085-640 Oppenheimer, "that too many peo Scientists' preliminary ple, including young people, had report: no evidence given up hope of comprehending anything about nature, or even about for neutrino mass the everyday gadgets they used, or the history and workings of the In a preliminary report on a com society in which they lived." prehensive experimental effort, an This loss of curiosity applied to international team of scientists has many of his students at the Univer reported no evidence that neutrinos sity of Colorado. "The curriculum have mass. The scientists - from was so intense," he says, "that they Caltech, the Technical University of resented digressions. They only Munich, and the Swiss Institute of wanted me to teach what they Nuclear Research - presented their needed to pass the tests." findings at the spring meeting of the To create a museum that would American Physical Society. invite digressions - and restore faith Neutrinos have been called the in the ability to understand the world ghost particles of the universe be - were among Oppenheimer's goals. cause of their ability to zip through He wanted the museum to communi solid matter as if it didn't exist. The cate a "conviction that both nature impact on physics and astronomy of and people can be understandable the discovery of neutrino had even a and full of newly discovered magic." small mass would be profound. For Oppenheimer brought to the en example, proof of a neutrino mass deavor a rich and diverse back would mean a large increase in the ground. His training, besides his PhD calculated mass of the universe, in physics from Cal tech, includes an enough to settle the debate over undergraduate degree from Johns whether the universe is "open," Hopkins and study at the Cavendish expanding forever, or "closed," mas Laboratory in England. In addition sive enough to eventually reverse its to work at Los Alamos, and univer expansion and collapse back on itself. sity and teaching posts, his life expe The scientists' neutrino studies riences include, during a politically sought to establish that neutrinos difficult post-World War II period, a undergo osci1lations from one form career as a cattle rancher and presi of neutrino to another. According to Frar,k Oppenheimer, founder and director of the Exploratorium - and one of tl1e young in spirit dent of the local cattle 'ranchers' well-established physical theories, who find it deligl1tful. association, and work as a high only particles with mass undergo school teacher in Colorado. such oscillations. He is the recipient of many awards "We believe our results show - among them, the Mi1likan Award conclusively that neutrinos do not The Exploratorl um: from the American Association of undergo oscillation and thus are not Physics Teachers, two Guggenheim mixed states in a quantum mechani a playful museum Fellowships, a Caltech Distinguished cal sense," said Felix Boehm, Caltech delights children of all ages Alumni Award, the Distinguished professor of physics and a member of Service Award from the University of the research team. "As a conse Colorado, and the American Asso quence, we can give tight limits on It is 10 a.m. on a Wednesday Someone said that "discovering the ciation of Museums' Award for neutrino mass parameters." The morning, and several hundred young Exploratorium is like stumbling into Distinguished Service to Museums. In researchers' experiments encompassed people and teachers are visiting the the belly of a giant whale where some 1981 he was the subject of a NOVA Continued on page 6 Exploratorium in San Francisco's mad scientist has found a home." The program. Palace of Fine Arts. Almost as far as man who made that statement was Continued on page 2 one can see, exhibits that twinkle, Frank Oppenheimer (PhD '39), crea beep, wail, pound, flash, and bounce tor of the Exploratorium, and one light are being examined from every who, by the twinkle in his eye when angle by the most excited, enthusias he talks of it, finds the museum just tic, happy group of kids to be en as delightful as do the kids of all ages countered since Christmas morning. who come there. _ Oppenheimer's dream of creating a science museum began when he was teaching physics in the 1960s at the University of Colorado. "It seemed to me then, and it is still true," says 2 Along with his scientific creden that good science museums can play tials, he brought a strong apprecia an important role in science tion for art - and for what it should education. contribute to a museum. His mother "If people are going to learn about had been an art teacher in New York science through books," he says, with her own studio. His family "they have to be supported by intui collected art, and as a young scientist tion-building experiences. They have in Florence, he delved deeply into the to learn to think: 'I wonder what offerings available to him there. A would happen if I tried this?' " talented flutist as a young man, he The Exploratorium is an environ still plays the instrument. ment where people of all ages can ask He also brought to the effort a this question. And if they come back prodigious energy and determination. several times, they come to under One colleague described him as a stand at least several of the exhibits. person who "has an insatiable curios Two young "If we realize that we can under ity about all things and a strong visitors learn - stand a group of things, then we compulsion for investigation. Fo through experience - become hooked on understanding," cused by a deep conceptual sense, about the he says. "We-think, 'Yes, I could directed by a lean, hard mind, and Bernoulli effect . understand these other things if I accompanied by an awesome capac tried .' This is different than feeling ity for work, that compulsion makes we can 't understand them. him extremely productive." "If we feel we can't understand our In his decision to create the Ex environment, we go on to feel that ploratorium, Oppenheimer worked we can't understand television, com with his wife, Jackie, who died in puters, homosexuality, criminal 1980. Together they built on a behavior, city government .... This shoestring. attitude leaves people with a sense of Initial funding came through a impotence and crankiness and with $50,000 grant from the San Francisco no hope for making the world a little Foundation when the museum leased better." 90,000 square feet in the Palace of One concrete example of the Fine Arts in 1969. The Exploratorium success of Oppenheimer's goal: A today is supported by grants and woman who had visited the museum donations and continues to operate wrote him saying that she had gone on a lean budget that invites ingenu home and, for the first time, changed ity and resourcefulness. More than over a dozen exhibit pieces on binoc the cord in a lamp. Nothing in the half a million people visit the mu ular vision and size distance judg museum had taught her how to do seum annually. Many are students, ments. By layering the exhibits, this. She had simply gained confi some of whom become "explainers" visitors absorb what they might miss dence that it was possible. or teachers; they constitute about a through one example alone. In creating the Exploratorium, third of the museum's more than 100 "We're continually adding exhibits, full-time and part-time staff. and I hope we will be able to do Inside the museum - a large open so for years to come," says area that looks a bit like an enor Oppenheimer. mous warehouse filled with an in Among those who find the mu credible sound and light show - the seum most enjoyable are scientists - visitors see more than 500 exhibits on including some of Oppenheimer's sensory perception, light and optics, friends at Cal tech. 'They like it," he sound, resonance and wave motion, says, 'because they learn something, electricity, rotation and angular and because the things they know momentum, exponentials, patterns of about are shown in an ingenious and motion and rhythm, the nature of open way." heat and temperature, the behavior Students of all levels of mental of gasses and liquids, nerve encoding, capacity have found the museum a marine animal behavior, simple rich experience - from the gifted to engines, and a modest collection of the retarded or sensory deprived. A visitor miscellany that exists because it Because many of the exhibits involve samples the bicycle intrigues one or another member of aspects of illusion, a school for the wheel gyro exhibit. the staff. sensory deprived has had parents and A common thread connects each staff come to the museum for work topic with the starting point: human shops so they can experience how perception. 'The Exploratorium is frustrating and confusing things can about nature, and one of the major become for children when their accomplishments of science has been senses don't work right. to demonstrate that there is a unity In planning the Exploratorium, to the diversity of nature," says Oppenheimer had come to realize Oppenheimer. "We hope that visitors how few good science museums there can sense this connectedness." were in the country, and he believed- To aid comprehension, the mu seum displays multiple examples of expecially interesting or important phenomena. For example, there are Oppenheimer has made playfulness a Caltech graduates' salary offers: prime ingredient - along with get ting visitors involved with hands as $2,500 higher than the national norm well as minds, and using art and aesthetics as an essential part of the Caltech students graduating in June professional appearance.

Load more