Museum of Idaho unveils new interactive exhibit highlighting the life and works of Galileo

IDAHO FALLS — Community members are invited this Saturday to learn about the life, experiments and controversy of the father of modern science as the Museum of Idaho unveils its newest interactive exhibit.

The Galileo exhibit, a traveling exhibit by the Artisans of Florence, will run from Oct. 3 until Jan. 10, giving museum visitors the chance to learn about Galileo Galilei's life and experience science in action.

Rod Hansen, the museum's director of exhibitions, told East Idaho News that the exhibit focuses on Galileo's life while highlighting his contributions to our understanding of science.

Many experiments will give community members a chance to learn about motion, mathematics, gravity and ballistics. These range from improving simple pulley systems to lift heavier objects with less force to his contribution to the telescope.

Other notable works on display are Galileo's work on timekeeping, which shows various clocks involving water and sand.

"During this period of time, time was not exact," Hansen said. "Trying to hone that to where it was exact, because a lot of his experimentation required some exact timing."

Along with the interactive exhibits, another feature of the Galileo exhibit is artificial intelligence that allows an AI version of Galileo to explain his experiments.

Hansen said many of the interactive experiments at the exhibit are also common today, and he hopes families can take some of those ideas home and try them. These can be playing with marbles or building tracks for Hot Wheels toys.

One of the most eye-catching displays is a giant moon hanging overhead, along with a planetarium showing the planets orbiting the sun.

Camille Farac, director of marketing, said it challenged contemporary beliefs and was revolutionary, changing how people viewed the solar system.

Hansen said that through his experiments with the telescope, Galileo explored the night sky, which led him to question and challenge theology's view of space.

"What's beautiful about this exhibit represents the dawn of modern science as we know it today," Farac said. "His ideas really changed the way we view the world, which I think is really incredible."

For more information about the exhibit or to purchase tickets, visit museumofidaho.org.

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