SAILING SCIENCE CENTER EXHIBITS
Structures and Materials
It's Rigged
DESCRIPTION
Three model sailing rigs (mast and sail) are staged on a wooden board with a fan that can be slid along a track to blow into the sails, one at at time. The different rigs (unstayed, stayed without spreaders, and stayed with spreaders) illustrate the support that stays and spreaders provide to sailing rigs.
PURPOSE
This exhibit is a fun, interactive exhibit that explains why sailboat rigs are built the way they are. It invites conversations about structural design, tension, compression, bending, stability, and buckling.
Waves, Hull Resistance, and Stability
Making Waves
DESCRIPTION
A 5-foot-long water-filled tank with a plunger at one end and a configurable LEGO "beach" at the other end allows participants to create waves and see their effects, both on the beach and on the bottom. The wave tank is consistently one of our most popular exhibits, both with kids and adults.
PURPOSE
This exhibit can be used to explore properties such as wave length, period, height, speed and regularity. It also demonstrates undertow, shows how waves undulate without mass transport, and provides fun opportunities to build structures and experiment with water play.
Airflow, Sails, and Sailing
Land Yachts
DESCRIPTION
A table with fans at one end and electronic timing gates lets young scientists experiment with how boats sail upwind and downwind, and what factors impact their speed.
PURPOSE
The Land Yacht Table demonstrates the aerodynamic concepts of lift and drag, showing how boats can miraculously sail upwind. Advanced concepts include vector analysis, balance, stability, and the concept of velocity made good (VMG).
Mechanical Advantage and Human Factors
The Grinder
DESCRIPTION
A platform supports a simulation of a pedestal winch like that which might be found on larger sailboats, such as on an America's Cup boat. Participants are challenged to raise a miniature sail, as their performance is being timed by a large mechanical timer. The activity can be performed by either single or double competitors.
PURPOSE
The Grinder lets people experience mechanical advantage through its two-speed winch and highlights the importance of human performance in sailing outcomes. It invites conversations about time, speed, energy measurement, physiology, ergonomics, mechanical advantage, and other factors.
Knots and Anchoring
Anchors Aweigh!
DESCRIPTION
Model anchors are set in a small sandbox, with rollers at different heights to vary the angle of pull on their chains. Spring scales are used to measure their weights and holding ability.
PURPOSE
The Anchors Aweigh! exhibit highlights two important points in anchoring: first, that most modern anchors achieve their holding force by their shape and not their weight; second, that the angle of pull, a result of anchoring "scope" (how long the chain is) is paramount, and that pulling horizontally helps set the anchor, while pulling vertically causes it to trip, or release. Advanced concepts can include soil mechanics and shear strength.
Airflow, Sails, and Sailing
Balancing Ball
DESCRIPTION
This fun exhibit uses a blow dryer and a small ball, challenging participants to navigate the ball through an obstacle course made of wire hoops mounted on a wooden bar.
PURPOSE
The Balancing Ball exhibit demonstrates how low-pressure areas are created by air flowing over/around curved surfaces. This principle (the Bernoulli principle) explains both how the ball stays in the blow dryer's stream and how sailboats are able to sail upwind.
Weather and Oceanography
Coriolis Globe
DESCRIPTION
A hand-cranked globe in a plastic case uses streams of water to show how the streams' trajectories change as the globe is spun. Paddlewheels in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres spin in opposite directions, as they are struck by streams flowing toward and away from the equator.
PURPOSE
This effective exhibit is the best demonstration we have seen of the Coriolis effect and why it causes low pressure systems to rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Its interactive nature allows participants to see what happens when the globe stops rotating or when the rotation is reversed. In addition to the Coriolis effect, it can be used to connect with conversations about Newton's 1st law, which is ultimately behind the effect.
Waves, Hull Resistance, and Stability
Density Drop
DESCRIPTION
Two water columns, pre-formed shapes, and modeling clay provide the opportunity to see which shapes travel fastest through water, which shapes have more resistance, and which shapes are most stable.
PURPOSE
The Density Drop shows how shape, resistance (“drag”), weight, and density, determine sinking rates. The experience stimulates thinking about what shapes of hulls, rudders, and keels produce the fastest sailboats and which factors slow them down. The exhibit invites conversations about weight, density, buoyancy, friction, and turbulence.