Floating Rings

Magical: Three rings floating in perfect balance.

That they appear to balance like spinning coins is an illusion. The rings are firmly connected to one another.

Our brain is particularly good at this: "Constructing meaning in the world." Yet it does so based on plausible assumptions that don’t always lead to the correct conclusion.

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10431 00 Balancierende Ringe DEFI

00 Balancierende Ringe (10431)

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Biology

Design elements

Points, lines, shapes, space

Seeing

Senses

Technology and design

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11374 Haupt

"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…

11798 Detail II

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…

10442 Haupt

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)…

10006 Detail

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…

10297 Haupt

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…

11634 Haupt

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…

11747 Detail

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…

11762 Detail

Ambiguous Figures

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

11940 Haupt

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…

10030 Haupt

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

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…

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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…

11364 1

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.…

10037 Haupt

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…

10034 Haupt

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…

10301 Haupt

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…

10046 Detail

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…

10049 Detail

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…

10032 Haupt

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…

11090 Haupt I

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,…

11269 Schnell gefangen Haupt

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…

11763 11813 Detail I

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…

10054 Haupt

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…

10055 detail

Chaotic Pendulum II

Momentum and Reversal Three smaller pendulums attached to a large rotating arm. A push on the knob sets the entire system in motion. The effect on the three…