Have you ever wanted to know how much you weigh in chickens? Or what about how tall you are in water bottles? At the MOXI, your wildest sizing questions can be answered by its latest exhibit Measurement Rules. Measurement Rules is a fun and interactive display of tools that help you gauge quantifications and teach you the different uses and units of volume, time, weight, and length. From a 3D imaging screen that displays your volume in building blocks to a treadmill that tracks how many yards its visitors have walked, Measurement Rules features an array of playful activities giving kids an education in all things shapes and sizes.
Along with the permanent installation of the Muzzy Family Speed Track, the space on the second story of the MOXI is primarily used for the display of traveling exhibits such as Measurement Rules, which opened earlier this month. Designed by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, this twenty year old display introduces children to the basics of how to ascertain, identify, and use different measurements through the interaction with large-scale, Disneyland-like models and stations created to engage through play.
The MOXI Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation largely offers exhibits that stir curiosity in mechanics, technology, our senses, and creativity, although not as many that involve a focus on mathematics like how Measurement Rules does.
“We didn’t really have anything that was math specific. And so when we saw this kind of traveling exhibit, we were like, ‘Wow, this could kind of fit that niche,’” said Digital Content Manager Melody Westergren. She added that the exhibit targets an audience in the 3-11 age group, which is obvious from the cartoonish sizes of some contraptions, as well as its units of measurement. The use of pennies for height and the aforementioned chickens for weight are perfect for this age group, as they generate lessons involving practical metrics substituted through the guise of amusing yet non-deceptive alternatives.
The leading attractions of the entire exhibit would be the ball gauges and the bead pit, two stations that encourage you to grab and make use of its items, which also makes them some of the most interactive stations as well. At the ball gauges, visitors are presented with a few instruments of measurement like calipers, rulers, and (of course) gauges. Visitors are instructed to calculate a ball’s size using these tools before slotting them through their assigned positions on the track. If your measurements are correct, the ball will fit and slide down a track. The bead pit, on the other hand, is a bit more straightforward. By using cups, visitors are to scoop up and pour beads into animal shaped containers to determine their volumes. This also happens to be the messiest station. As you walk around it, you may find yourself walking on some beads that have spilled onto the carpet, which hasn’t been fun for the staff.
Measurement Rules, which is sponsored by the Ann Jackson Family Foundation, will be on view at MOXI through September 22. See moxi.org.
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