Life as we know it here on Earth depends on water. Without water, nothing would survive. The water in our bodies is essential to sustaining our life's processes. It is so vital, that all search for life beyond Earth begins with the search for water. A series of stations invite visitors to think about the crucial role it plays on our planet and in our lives.
This evocative sculptural work, developed by Shawn Lani, uses crushed shards of dry ice injected onto the surface of a shallow pool of water where they careen around to provide visitors with a glimpse of what it might be like when frozen ice balls collide with one another in space.
Using a Spin-Browser©, visitors can move through a poetic collection of videos that highlight the beauty of water on Earth, as well as the many forms it takes and the life it sustains. Visitors can spin slowly through the video, watching glaciers shift and snowflakes forming.
The human body is more than 60% water. We think of our muscles and tissues as being solid, but we are composed out of liquid more than anything else. But that can be difficult for people to visualize. At this station, visitors are invited to step onto a scale where a computer will provide an idea of how many gallons of water are in you while a large tube in front of you slowly fills with that amount. Then, visitors can compare their bodily water ratio to other species, including a spider and a mushroom, by examining the preserved specimen located near the water tube.