Round Museum

No classroom would be complete without a spherical world atlas at students' disposal. Dating back to around 150 B.C., globes have been valuable scientific tools for over 2,000 years. It is perhaps the most universally and frequently used symbol of knowledge and education.

02.16.18

This movie is a real rollercoaster, and we haven't even gotten into the theater yet! Looking up from the ground floor at the ticket counter, this strip of film rolls up through the second floor atrium and into the Round abyss. Quite the plot twist.

02.13.18

Bottles, bottles everywhere but not a drop to drink. The water cooler conversations are going to be a bit dry today if these bottles don't get replaced soon.

02.12.18

If you've ever walked beneath a Sweet Gum tree in your bare feet, you probably never have again. You have to look where you step. The dried spike ball fruits fall from the tree and become notorious foot impaling weapons right out of Game of Thrones. This little space bug has met its match, though. You're safe.

02.11.18

From Copernicus to Contact, the wheels-within-wheels geometry of the gyroscope demonstrates the physics of motion, equilibrium and precision. It is a model of Earth and planetary rotations – envisioned by Copernicus, investigated and proven by Galileo, Newton and Foucault – that now drives navigational systems, machinery of all sorts, and... signage.

02.10.18

Sunlight sifts through the oculus of the Franklin Institute rotunda. The oculus, or eye in Latin, looks down on a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin Institute
Philadelphia, PA

02.09.18

This 1950s Fleetwood model 1201A radio is encased in molded plastic called polyoxybenzylmethyleneglycolanhydride, or the more marketable name, Bakelite, after its inventor, chemist Leo Baekeland. It was the world's first plastic made from synthetic components phenol and formaldehyde in 1907.

Science History Institute
Philadelphia, PA

02.08.18

Components of compression in a round of continuous tension, the tensegrity of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome set the stage for the Expo 67, the World's Fair held in Montreal, Canada.

02.07.18

Good morning, Philadelphia Eagles fans. Bask in the glory! After an intensely exciting Super Bowl victory with prolific offense, trick plays, gutsy calls, and defensive stops in the last minute, you can relax now. Were you out late on Broad Street or at Frankford and Cottman? Get any sleep last night? Here's your green sparkly donut post-victory hangover cure!

02.05.18

Hey, here's a thing: go out to the store and get yourself a bag full of rainbow-colored bouncy polymer beads and then dump them in your bathtub. Run a little water in there, close the shower curtain and then wait for the hilarity to ensue. The tub will be overflowing with gum ball sized orbs. Really! These tiny little hydrogels are super absorbent and each one can hold from 150 to 300 times its weight in water. When grandma comes in to take a bath, SURPRISE!! Hilarious.

02.01.18