THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610190045
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 82 lines
THIRD-GRADER Leuvina Kingsbury stands on the bridge of her imaginary ship, trying to take a quadrant reading of the North Star to determine her location.
Someone has pushed a button, and the square patch of deck under her feet is pitching back and forth, showing her how much harder it would be to navigate at sea.
Nearby, fifth-grader Michael Qualls clicks through a computer journey of Christopher Columbus' adventure - from the initial idea to his landing on what he mistakenly named the West Indies.
Columbus reached America in 1492. But it has taken another five centuries for him to sail into Hampton Roads.
Now the 15th century explorer is the star of a new exhibition at the Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth. ``Two Worlds of Science'' is helping a new generation discover what life and science was like when the Old World first met the New World.
Geared to all ages, the exhibition weaves history with the science and knowledge of Columbus' time and how it influenced the explorer's ideas and navigional skills.
Still at his computer, 10-year-old Michael is prompted to select three ships for his journey. He interviews captains and stocks his ships.
He looks at a day-by-day map of Columbus' voyage. He clicks on the first day and learns that one of the three ships lost a rudder that day.
``Two Worlds of Science'' was developed by the University of California at Berkley in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage, according to Tony Earles, curator of the Children's Museum.
The exhibit has been all over the country, but this is the first showing in Hampton Roads, he said. The exhibit will remain at the Children's Museum of Virginia through Jan. 19.
Young people are sure to love the exhibition area representing the ship's bridge.
They will have an opportunity to try out a lodestone, the naturally magnetic rock that, as the exhibit explains, a ship's captain always had on hand to keep his compass needle magnified.
At the ship's mast, youngsters will learn how it was a ship boy's job to watch the clock. They also can try out the bell the young crew member would ring every time he flipped an hourglass.
They will read about how the captain used a pin on his compass needle whenever moisture or human failure caused the clock to need resetting.
There's a section on the cartographer's world that gives youngsters a chance to make their own map and a look at 125 years of changes in world maps. The maps show how 15th and 16th century discoveries slowly etched in the first coastal outlines of America.
Just as important, they'll see exhibit areas on the people and ideas that Columbus and other explorers encountered in the New World.
On Wednesday, a group of students stood around the area of the exhibit called the Native American Medicine Chest, turning a wooden wheel to dial up a wide range of maladies, then matching them with the natural plants that Indians used to combat them, such as sassafras for congestion and the juice of soap root for dandruff.
Children are encouraged to take rubbings of hieroglyphics off a stone and practice writing their age using dots and bars in an exhibit area that focuses on the advanced knowledge of the Mayans in mathematics and astronomy.
Earles said the educational exhibitions in the changing gallery are designed to keep repeat visitors coming back.
The exhibits change every three to four months and focus on the arts, science and the humanities. They are chosen to appeal to a varied age group.
``The younger kids tend to like the ship, and the older kids tend to like the computers,'' Earles said. ``I know one thing. The kids don't want to leave.'' ILLUSTRATION: WANT TO GO?
The ``Two Worlds of Science'' exhibition will run through Jan. 19
at the Children's Museum of Virginia, 221 High St., Portsmouth.
Viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays
and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. The museum is closed on Mondays except for
Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
In conjunction with the current exhibition, the planetarium next
month will feature a 25-minute show, ``Where on Earth Is Christopher
Columbus?'' which covers navigational techniques from insects and
birds to modern systems such as LORAN. The museum did not have an
exact date for the planetarium show but is aiming for early
November, says Tony Earles, curator of the Children's Museum.
Admission to the museum is $4 per person. Children under the age
of 2 are admitted free. For more information, call 393-8393. by CNB