Biology

Colors

Design elements

Seeing

Senses

Technology and design

Color Contrast

A colored object may look different against different-colored backgrounds. In this investigation, you'll discover how colors seem to change when you place them…

"Delta Phi"

Optical phenomenon: caustics. The surface of this object resembles that of moving water. Illuminated from above, it reflects incoming light rays in various…

3D-Shadows

Shadows gain depth. Illuminated with red and green light, a tetrahedron casts a red and a green shadow on the screen. Viewed through glasses with red and…

A sense of optimism

Salt crayfish follow the light and thus their food. By pressing a button on the exhibit, the viewer changes colours between two light sources, whereupon the…

A Table with loose Legs

Three, two, one – stable. How many supports do we need to stabilize a tabletop? Without screws, without glue, of course. Sharp-minded (and experimental)…

Additive Color Mixing

Mixing light colors. Play with red, green, and blue light, and with their brightness. When overlapped and adjusted optimally, red, green, and blue produce…

After Image

Seeing the void. A powerful flash of light triggers a photochemical process on our retina. This process lasts longer than the brief light flash that…

Air cushion

Inventive talent is called for here! Use scissors and tape to build objects out of paper that float on the wide air cushion. While testing and optimising, you…

Alike and unalike

The illusion of inequality. Two identical wooden arcs lie side by side. The inner one appears larger, but it isn’t. For circular arcs, the outer edge is…

Ambiguous Figures

Clearly ambiguous. One object, two forms: “Necker cubes” belong to the category of ambiguously perceivable objects. Perceiving spatial dimensions and depth:…

Ants

Observe the bustling activity of ants as they move through a large enclosure performing various tasks. This is made of transparent material so that visitors…

Aurora

A different kind of reflection. Colored filters in a mirror: why don’t we simply see their exact image? The surface of the mirror is rough. Restless,…

Bakterien als Künstler - Damen

Creative Microorganisms A narrow aquarium is filled with sediment from an old pond. In its various layers and under different aerobic and anaerobic…

Bakterien als Künstler - Herren

Creative Microorganisms A narrow aquarium is filled with sediment from an old pond. In its various layers and under different aerobic and anaerobic…

Ball sorting machine

Playful tidying up. Yellow. Red. Blue. This machine sorts the small, medium, and large balls among Pierre Andrès' “Machines Singulières” in a playful manner.…

Banana

If you place a blue filter exactly on the yellow banana, the banana appears green - logical, isn't it? A larger blue filter that also covers the white…

Beam Bridge

The simplest form, but not the most stable. This bridge demonstrates the forces acting on a straight beam when it is loaded and supported only at its two…

Benham's Disc

Benham’s disks: seeing colors where there are none. The disks display patterns with black and white shapes. When these disks rotate, we perceive colors. When…

Blind Spot

Wasn’t there an orange? Stare at the apple with one eye and slowly bring it closer to your face. At a certain distance, the orange beside the apple seems to…

Blood Vessels of the Eye

Recognizing what we normally never see. In front of (not behind) the retina of our eye, there is a network of blood vessels. We don’t see it. Our brain…

Bridge the Gap

Building bridges is not so easy - especially when you are not allowed to use nails, screws or glue! Here you only have nine identical wooden blocks at your…

Cartesian Diver

Sinks / Doesn’t Sink Sometimes called a “Cartesian diver,” this hollow body is partially filled with water and air. Depending on the pressure in the liquid,…

Caught quickly

React quickly and catch the sticks! Measure your reaction time on two falling sticks: Catch them as soon as they fall. The markings show you your reaction…

Changing Sides

A wire cube rotates in front of a mirror. If you squint one eye and fix a front corner of the wire cube, you see a certain direction of rotation. If you now…

Chaotic Pendulum

Momentum and Joint A long, light pendulum connected to a small but heavy pendulum. A push on the knob sets the entire system in motion. The effect on the…