The Lawrence Hall of Science is a public science center in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

that offers hands-on science exhibits, designs curriculum, aids professional development, and offers after school science resources to students of all ages. The Hall was established in 1968 in honor of physicist Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901–1958), the University of California's first Nobel laureate. The Hall is located in the hills above the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

campus, less than a mile uphill from the University's

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

Permanent exhibits

File:Science on a Sphere exhibit at Lawrence Hall of Science.JPG, Science on a Sphere File:Shifting Earth exhibit at Lawrence Hall of Science.JPG, Shifting Earth * Science on a Sphere – interactive globe displaying real scientific data from Earth. Scientific data displayed on the globe includes Earth's weather patterns, ocean temperatures and currents,

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, day and night views of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

and

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

patterns. Science on a Sphere was developed by researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). * Forces That Shape the Bay – outdoor science park, which explores the seismological forces that created and still affect the entire

San Francisco Bay area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. * Sunstones – an 18-foot granite astronomical sculpture, created by David Cudaback and Richard O'Hanlon and installed outside the Hall in 1979. Sight lines in the piece allow visitors to view northern- and southernmost setting of the sun at the solstices and many other important astronomical events. * Nano – an exhibit examining the field of nanotechnology. The Nanozone introduces nanotechnology researchers from

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

and across the country, the latest consumer products made with nanotechnology, and computer games and hands-on activity stations that demonstrate how things work at the

nanoscale The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...

. * KidsLab – a multi-sensory play area for children in kindergarten and younger. Activities include large blocks and shapes to stack and build, a crawl-through kaleidoscope, the Gravity Wall, a puppet theater, and a reading area. *Ernest O. Lawrence Memorial – devoted to the life and research of Ernest O. Lawrence. This exhibit features a biographical film on Lawrence's life and a pair of "Dee" electrodes from one of the first

cyclotrons A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Janu ...

. *Insect Zoo – See hermit crabs, Indian walking sticks, a tarantula, and hissing cockroaches. *The Animal Discovery Room – where children learn about animals. Many homeschool and other classes are held in the Animal Discovery Room and provide the opportunity for children to observe and interact with animals. * Ingenuity Lab – This engineering lab offers a different challenge each month that allows kids to think critically and explore real world engineering problems. * Math Around the World – an exhibit featuring math games played around the world. Popular games include Hex,

Kalah Kalah is a modern variation in the ancient Mancala family of games, the oldest known version having been found carved into a stone tablet in the 16th-century BCE pyramid of Cheops. The Kalah variation was developed in the United States by Willia ...

, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks. * Pheena the Fin Whale – a life sized model of a juvenile

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ce ...

residing on the plaza. * An eight hundred million-to-one scale model of a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecule on the plaza is another favorite place for young visitors to play. This sculpture was designed by Michael Jantzen of Valencia, California. It was put in place in the spring of 1992.

Traveling exhibits

Exhibit hall at Lawrence Hall of Science 1

In addition to its permanent exhibits, the Lawrence Hall of Science features a constant rotation of traveling exhibits. Past traveling exhibits include: Tony Hawk Rad Science, Dinosaurs Unearthed, Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters, RACE: Are We So Different?, Facing Mars, Animal Grossology, Waterworks, Engineer It, Speed, Wild Music: Songs and Sounds of Life, Circus! Science at the Big Top, Grossology, My Home, Planet Earth, Big Dinos Return, Candy Unwrapped, and Math Midway.

Nobel Prize display

In 2003, following the death of Lawrence's widow, Molly Lawrence, the Lawrence family chose the Lawrence Hall of Science to house his 1939

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

. The medal was placed in a display case in the E.O Lawrence Memorial room, a permanent exhibit which displayed artifacts of his life and work for nearly forty years. On March 1, 2007 a member of the Lawrence Hall of Science Exhibits staff reported that the Nobel Prize medal was missing from its locked display case. The UC Police Department was notified immediately and began an investigation on the medal's theft. A $2,500 award was offered in exchange for the medal's recovery and information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. The medal is made from 23 karat gold and worth approximately $4,000. Lawrence's medal was the first

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

awarded to the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

and the first Nobel prize won by an American

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

. The prize was recovered and a student was arrested on suspicion of

grand theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. A replica of the Ernest Lawrence Nobel Prize now resides in the museum display case.

Planetarium

File:Exhibit hall at Lawrence Hall of Science 2.JPG, An exhibit hall and the planetarium File:LHS sunstones.jpg, Hall visitors observe the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter ...

using the Sunstones II The Lawrence Hall of Science develops interactive planetarium shows for its own planetarium and other small planetariums. The planetarium was built in 1973 and directed by Alan Friedman. The Holt Planetarium's programs have focused on audience participation, an innovation that has changed the way small planetariums around the world present astronomy to the public. In 2000 the Holt Planetarium was deemed "The Best Planetarium in the Whole World" by The Planetarian, Journal of the International Planetarium Society. The Hall's William Knox Holt Planetarium presents live, interactive shows (approximately 25 minutes long), following the hands-on philosophy of science education. Three different public planetarium shows are offered every day throughout the summer, and also on weekends and holidays during the school year. The Holt Planetarium has a strong interactive approach to astronomy education. Their programs actively engage audience members in activities such as finding constellations, searching for exoplanets, and so forth. The planetarium at Pacific Science Center in Seattle (originally called Star Lab, now called the Willard Smith Planetarium) was directly modeled on the Holt. Dennis Schatz was hired in 1977 from Lawrence Hall of Science as the opening director of the

Pacific Science Center Pacific Science Center is an independent, non-profit science center in Seattle with a mission to ignite curiosity and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking. Pacific Science Center serves more than 1 million people e ...

planetarium.

Publications and curriculum

File:LHS view.jpg, The view of the San Francisco Bay as seen from the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, California File:View from terrace of Lawrence Hall of Science.JPG, View from terrace Curriculum and publications developed by the Lawrence Hall of Science programs such as EQUALS/FAMILY MATH, Full Option Science System (FOSS), Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS), Marine Activities and Resources in Education (MARE), PEACHES—a program for early childhood educators, and Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) reach many students nationwide and around the world. New programs are frequently developed and expanded at the Hall, such as Global Systems Science (GSS), Hands-On Universe (HOU), and Seeds of Science – Roots of Reading.

Education

The Hall has an extensive education division, offering year-round youth and family classes and day camps on-site. Classes focus on a wide range of subjects, including biology, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, robotics and art. In addition to on-site classes, residential summer camps are held in various locations in California. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Hall offered gifted teenagers free computer systems access through a program called The Friday Project, or FRID. This was important at the time because computers weren't readily available in homes so that access to computers was otherwise only at school. To become a "FRID kid", one had to submit a project proposal and be accepted by its leaders. Computer systems available included Hewlett-Packard's 2000B,

Data General Data General Corporation was one of the first minicomputer firms of the late 1960s. Three of the four founders were former employees of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Their first product, 1969's Data General Nova, was a 16-bit minicompute ...

's Nova and Eclipse, and Control Data Corporation's

PLATO Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

internet-like system that pioneered key on-line concepts such as forums, message boards, online testing, e-mail, chat rooms, picture languages, instant messaging, remote screen sharing, and multi-player games.

Professional development

The Lawrence Hall of Science offers many workshops and other professional development opportunities for teachers. Online courses for the Lawrence Hall of Science curriculum are also available.

Discovery Store

The Discovery store offers many science and math products for visitors of all ages. Popular items include science kits, educational posters, plush toys and astronaut ice cream.

University of California, Berkeley

The Lawrence Hall of Science is the public science center of the

. Hall staff collaborate with University scientific experts from many fields to develop exhibits such as Big Dinos Return, Forces That Shape the Bay and Nanozone, as well as educational materials for teachers and families.

In film

In the 1970s, several science fiction films utilized the Lawrence Hall of Science: * The 1970 film '' Colossus: The Forbin Project'' used this location as the fictional Colossus command center. Actually filmed in 1969. * Scenes from the 1971 movie '' THX 1138'' were filmed at the Lawrence Hall of Science. * A flyover shot of the Lawrence Hall of Science is briefly featured as a location shot in the opening of the pilot episode of ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel ''Cyborg'' by Martin Caidin, starring Lindsay Wagner that aired from January 14, 1976, to May 13, 1978. ' ...

'' (1976).

References

External links

*
Live webcam view from the Lawrence Hall of Science

Lawrence Hall of Science Discovery Corner Store

Nanozone: Lawrence Hall of Science Online Nanotechnology Exhibit

University of California at Berkeley official site
* Lawrence Hall of Science is a member of NISE Net, and participates i
NanoDays
{{authority control University of California, Berkeley buildings Museums in Berkeley, California Science museums in California University museums in California Berkeley Hills Tourist attractions in Berkeley, California Science and technology in the San Francisco Bay Area Association of Science-Technology Centers member institutions Museums established in 1968 1968 establishments in California 1960s architecture in the United States Anshen and Allen buildings