New WonderLab exhibit opened Friday

As children now enter WonderLab, they will discover that the majority of the first floor has been turned into a brand-new exhibit full of color and patterns from nature.\nNature’s Numbers, a traveling exhibit, is open to the public until May 18 and contains 20 interactive exhibits.\n“The purpose of Nature’s Numbers is to increase awareness of all the patterns in nature,” said Aerin Sentgeorge, gallery operation manager for WonderLab. “The graphics in the exhibit are magnificent. It’s neat to stop and look at the beauty around you.”\nThe exhibits are all centered on patterns in nature. Children can look through a microscope and notice a snowflake that usually looks like a normal hexagon is actually made of one shape that repeats itself over and over again.\n“Some of the simple things are actually very complex,” Sentgeorge said. “I think it will be really great for people to realize how complex objects in nature are.”\nThe 20 exhibits are split up into three groups, each geared toward a different age group. Children can examine the patterns in honeycombs, leaves and butterfly wings. Kaleidoscopes are available to look through and logarithmic spirals and the balancing act of airplanes are examined.\n“It’s good for people of all ages,” Sentgeorge said. “Our main audience is children, but adults have a good time, too.”\nSome of the WonderLab’s current exhibits, such as the hot air balloon, have been taken out to make room for the exhibit. WonderLab expects to hear some complaints about the removal of some of these exhibits, but they will be put back at the end of May.\n“The kids get really excited sometimes,” said sophomore Laura Davidson, a volunteer at WonderLab. “Everything is so interesting to them. To us, it’s just usual. I get so excited when they get excited. It’s like I’m discovering for the first time, too.”\nNature’s Numbers was originally stationed at the Children’s Museum in Port Smith, Va., Sentgeorge said.\n“We went to Virginia to see it,” she said. “At that point, we already knew we wanted it. We wanted to familiarize ourselves with it so we could create other activities that relate to Nature’s Numbers.”\nLast year, the traveling exhibit was Team Up, focusing on physics and its use in sports.\n“We always like to try a traveling exhibit every spring,” Sentgeorge said. “It keeps things fresh and interesting. It generates interest in the public that we have something new.”\nWonderLab is run by 15 full-time employees, she said. About 800 volunteers helped out last year providing about 1,500 hours worth of volunteer time.\n“Its nice for the kids to have somebody older to say ‘this is cool,’” Davidson said. “It’s just a really fun atmosphere for kids to come and play and have fun with science.”\nMany children will visit Nature’s Numbers on field trips in the next few months. March through May is the most popular time for teachers to bring their students to WonderLab for field trips.\nThere is a lot of activity with other kids, said Bob Weaver, one of 1,200 members of WonderLab.\nThere are so many things for them to touch, feel and manipulate, he said. The exhibit is a little bit larger scale than the classroom and less structured. They see this as play not learning, he said.