The Cook Museum of Natural Science is an amazing museum in North Alabama. We worked in cooperation with them to design and install the first version of HoloSands in the World.
It is the most popular exhibit at the Cook Museum!
The exhibit combines a large sandbox with a special sensor and a projector. The sensor, mounted above the sandbox, reads the shape of the sand as visitors move it and sculpt it. The software we wrote generates images matching the sand and projects them down on the sandbox.
The exhibit combines a large sandbox with a special sensor and a projector. The sensor, mounted above the sandbox, reads the shape of the sand as visitors move it and sculpt it. The software we wrote generates images matching the sand and projects them down on the sandbox.
The result is a sandbox full of living sand! As you sculpt mountains, you see them change into snow capped peaks. Dig deep enough and you reach down to the ocean, with beautiful waves and the sound of surf breaking on the beach. Grab one of the rain sticks and hold it over the box, and a thunderstorm will erupt, with torrents of rain falling on the surface. The water flows downhill, forming rivers, ponds and lakes as it flows towards the sea. You can even make volcanoes! Just build a conical shaped mound and dig a hole in the center. Soon you will see a volcanic eruption with lava spilling out and flowing downhill.
The sandbox is more than just a fun exhibit. It introduces visitors to one of core concepts of the museum: biomes. It is situated between the Looking Up exhibit hall, and halls dedicated to the plants and animals that live in different biomes. The sandbox serves to tie these exhibit spaces together.
For Cook Museum, we created six virtual biomes, and set them up to cycle one after another every two minutes. This keeps visitors intrigued and lets them compare and contrast the characteristics of the environments. For example, in the desert you get massive cloud bursts, but it does not do any good, because the water dries up almost immediately. In comparison, the same amount of rain in the Alabama Forest biome will flood the fertile valley farmlands.
The exhibit is so entrancing, you may have to drag your kids away!
