HALL OF IDEAS
The Hall of Ideas is a permanent interactive exhibition comprised of three levels of colorful and engaging exhibitry. Alden Dow said, "Over all it is a source of ideas to stimulate all ages to create and appreciate the facts and feelings of life." It is a graphic story of the evolution of the ground on which the Center stands. It traces the spiraling evolution of civilization of this area.

Hours & Admission

Level 1: Restless Earth, Groundworks, Glaciers, Greening
and a Life-size Mastodon
The "big blue marble" earth turning on its axis in the blackness of space greets visitors. Michigan’s geological formation and resources are presented using joystick activated interactive programs, hands-on samples, computer interactive exhibits and photomurals. Fossils of a Mastodon molar, giant beaver skull and a trilobite help visitors visualize Michigan thousands of years ago. A giant American Mastodon skeletal replica dominates the first level of the Hall of Ideas.

Level 2: Trailblazers, Waterways, Lumberjacks, Farmers, Miners and Chemists
Visitors are introduced to the early people who inhabited mid-Michigan, including Native Americans, and how they created a life from woodland resources. Forest smells, touchable artifact replicas, a waterfall, and maps present the information. A "cast from life" Native American figure plants corn in front of a forest mural. Visitors can try their luck at handling a log using a "peavey," sit in the cab of a combine at harvest time, and enter a mineshaft to assist two "powder monkeys" in setting off a blast. A larger-than-life periodic table provides a hands-on consideration of the most commonly used system for the classification of chemical elements.

Level 3: The Individual, Balance, Look, Listen, Build, and Envision
These exhibits enhance the philosophy of Alden B. Dow. Mr. Dow, architect of the Center for the Arts, believed that science and art are inseparable; that feelings must be combined with facts before anything new can be created. A Rainbow Dazzler Arch, a 13-seat replica of the Frolic Theater, Nature’s Gallery, and various displays showing how music is created are all part of Level 3.

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VIEWSPACE

Winner Of the 2003 Muse Award, ViewSpace brings the wonders of the journey of celestial exploration to the Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art as a permanent addition to the Hall of Ideas and Museum Galleries. This multimedia exhibit program comes from the Space Telescope Science Institute of Baltimore and brings the most recent photographs from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, as well as other programs.

Purchased with funds from the Todd Gunkler Memorial Fund and with a recent grant from the Alden B. and Vada B. Dow Family Foundations, ViewSpace entices and mesmerizes visitors with beautiful, high resolution images, digital movies and animations, interpretive captions and evocative space music.

ViewSpace directly feeds via the Internet to feature
numerous programs such as:
Celestial Tours
Featuring the breathtaking Hubble photographs.

Hubble Update
Providing the latest images and discoveries from the telescope as they are released.

Celestial Update
Featuring news from the frontiers of astronomy with emphasis on the latest
from the NASA Great Observatories.

Astronomy Picture of the Day
Each day a new "astronomically-themed" image with interpretive text.

Mars Exploration Rover Update
Stay informed on the Mars Exploration rovers as they explore Mars.

Cassini-Huygens Update
Reports from the Saturn orbiter and the Titan Entry Probe
now en route to the ringed planet.

Skylines
Beautifully illustrated introductions to the constellations, planets, deep sky objects and special astronomical events of the night sky updated monthly.

Science as Art
Because there’s more to life than science, we feature visualizations
of astronomically-inspired and –informed poetry.

New programs are continually added by the Space Telescope Science Institute of Baltimore. ViewSpace runs continuously and is included in regular museum admissions, Members of ABDM and Friends of the Center are free.

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