The fine new “Numbers in Nature: A Mirror Maze” exhibition serves two purposes for the Museum of Science and Industry.
It gives the museum a permanent exhibit that covers, in its way, mathematics, filling a gap in the extensive offerings of the South Side tourism temple.
And it replaces the old, vigorously outdated “Petroleum Planet” exhibition, which used to boast that — hooray! — “The average American uses approximately 1,000 gallons of crude oil EVERY year!”
“Numbers in Nature” is much more contemporary in its thinking, aiming to make us see the world around us through new eyes. Rich with unforced interactivity, it spotlights some of the ways mathematical patterns recur in nature.
To wit: Dragonfly wings and the foam in caffe lattes share the same structure, known as a Voronoi pattern. So do honeycombs and corn on the cob. (Food samples, alas, are not part of the exhibition.)
Spirals are natural in seashells, in sunflower seed arrangement, in hurricanes and in galaxies. Fractal branching unites our circulatory systems and those of trees with fire ant tunnels.
Since working on “Numbers in Nature,” said John Beckman, the museum’s director of exhibit design, he can’t go to a farmers market without looking at a fruit or vegetable and thinking, “Oh, a Voronoi pattern,” he said.
But for all of the exploration of these and other concepts that “Numbers in Nature” offers, the centerpiece of the exhibition is there in the subtitle, “A Mirror Maze.” And that one, although it demonstrates geometrical concepts, is more playroom than math class.
In the middle, roughly, of the exhibit’s elongated, 7,000-square-foot space is the maze, a room that is not recommended for the easily confused or for those having epic bad hair days.
You’ll have to look at yourself over and over as you cautiously wend your way through 1,800 square feet stuffed with pathways made up of adjacent equilateral triangles on the floor and bordered vertically by floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
Nifty set and lighting design — tree branches framing the mirrors, and colors that mimic the seasons — make it all exist in a forest metaphor.
My tips for getting through this glass woodland without a broken nose or bruised ego: Keep hands outstretched, not pathetically, but just enough for safety; go slowly; and whenever you see yourself getting larger, turn.
So I made it out in a not-embarrassing amount of time. But I missed the “Easter eggs” hidden inside, a concept borrowed from video games that shows pop-up information panels when you stand in a certain place.
I also missed, the first time through, the secret room, which other maze builders might call a dead end. The MSI makes its a destination with more Easter eggs and artifacts, such as Native American pottery, that demonstrate recurring patterns.
With its hints of the infinite and references to fun-house disorientation, the maze could become a highlight of kids’ visits. The museum is expecting it to be popular enough that “Numbers in Nature,” although included with general admission, requires a timed entry ticket to control the crowds.
Overall, “Numbers in Nature” introduces its concepts slowly and then adds complexity to the discussion. As senior exhibit designer Olivia Castellini put it, euphemistically, “We buy you a drink first, yes.”
After an introductory hallway lined with vivid photographs, there’s a video, on a broad, curved screen, that introduces the concepts.
In the next room, a screen that you have to spin to get to deliver information — a nice change from the standard touch screen — gives a little more detail. Then comes the maze and, for the more timid, a pathway to bypass the maze.
The final room brings it all home in much greater detail. Suddenly, for instance, the “golden ratio,” delivering eye-pleasing symmetry and seen in works of nature and man, is more thoroughly explained: The ratio is 1.618:1, and you can approximate it visually by combining two equal squares side-by-side, then topping that rectangle with another square whose sides are as long as the long side of the rectangle. The new rectangle, at 1.5:1, is almost in the golden ratio.
That, however, is about as complex as the math here gets. Not wanting to overload the visitor, it’s more about mathematical concepts than actual hard numbers. Scratch paper and No. 2 pencils are not required.
“This one is about math,” said Beckman, “not necessarily hitting you over the head with equations and stuff.”
The exhibit design may or may not be in the golden ratio, but it is soothing and friendly, with lots of pictures of natural things to illustrate and, in effect, soften the ideas.
And now, in place of the petroleum exhibition that showed humans pillaging the planet, there’s one that demonstrates a more harmonious coexistence.
Twitter @StevenKJohnson
‘Numbers in Nature: A Mirror Maze’
When: Open run
Where: Museum of Science and Industry, 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive
Tickets: Included in general admission with a timed-entry ticket; 773-684-1414 or msichicago.org
