WonderLab celebrates 10 years of science

The WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology will celebrate 10 years of serving the Bloomington community today through a fund-raising event, Science Night Out. The two-story, 15,000-square foot building is located in downtown Bloomington and serves as a museum and learning center to encourage people of all ages to experience science through hands-on exhibits and programs.\nScience Night Out is an adults-only benefit held at the Bloomington Convention Center from 6 to 9:30 p.m. However, children in grades K through 6 whose parents attend Science Night Out are eligible to register for Science Night Out Kids Camp.\nScience Night Out will feature science entertainment, dinner and silent auctions. George Hegeman, IU professor emeritus of microbiology, will be part of the entertainment at Friday's event. Hegeman, a WonderLab volunteer, will put his beekeeping hobby to practice. He will bring a "demonstration hive" -- a glass-walled hive containing a frame of bees -- to the Convention Center. He will also point out the kinds of bees, the organization of the hive and the life cycle of bees to guests.\nRick Van Kooten, long time advocate of Wonderlab and IU physics professor, will be part of the entertainment as well. Van Kooten will perform a physics demonstration of breaking a concrete block on the chest of the Monroe County Community School Corporation superintendent while he lies on a bed of nails to demonstrate the concept of inertia.\nAlso, Van Kooten collaborated with Cathy Olmer to get funding from NASA to build one of the exhibits at the museum, called "Cosmic Dance." He also supervised IU undergraduates who worked on all aspects of the project and exhibit -- design, prototype, fabrication, installation and commissioning. \nVan Kooten recalled an incident that happened about six months ago.\n"I received a frantic phone call that the floor was flashing much too often," he said. "Sure enough, it was detecting the cosmic rays induced by one of the largest solar storms in about 60 years."\nThis fund-raising event will display the wonders of science as well as raise money. WonderLab relies entirely on earned revenue and charitable donations and does not receive ongoing support from the government.\n-- Contact staff writer Jill Brooks at jimbrook@indiana.edu.