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I've always found the concept (reality!) of geologic time hard to
convey.  There are all sorts of analogies such as "if the history of the
earth (4.5 billion years) was a day man shows up at ~11:59" or "if it
was from your nose to the tip of your outstretched fingers we are the
last bit of finger nail," etc.  Issues such as global warming, erosion
of barrier islands, earthquakes would maybe mean more to people if they
had a better concept of how long the earth has been around and how long
it will continue to be around long after we are gone. 

A few of my favorite exhibits that have dealt with large and small
numbers are:

Sciencenter's million turn "odometer" that kids turn and it eventually
breaks a wine goblet.  I hosted it at two museums and it required about
2-1/2 to 3 months each time to get a million turns.  Visitors came back
and noted the progress over time.

Strobe light exhibits (various places?) that image objects in motion at
very high speeds such as falling water or spinning discs.  I was in a
shop once when by an odd fluke a fluorescent lamp with a bad ballast and
a table saw combined to produce the effect of the table saw blade
appearing to stand still, or only slightly creep forward.  It was very
cool and very scarry! You could hear the Unisaw screaming but the blade
just "stood still."  Once we pushed a piece of wood into it the effect
was gone and never returned.

There is also a fun web site called the Mega Penny Project that goes
into large numbers by using pennies.  They have a sub site called the
Mega Cow Project which is also quite funny.

Erich Rose
Exhibit Manager
Austin Children's Museum
201 Colorado Street
Austin, TX 78701
512-472-2499 x207, fax 512-472-2495
[log in to unmask], www.austinkids.org
 

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