Re: My childhood rushes back... Mathematica alive in Boston! -- Share your memories of the California Museum of Science & Industry

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Date Posted: 20:30:24 09/06/05 Tue
Author: William
Subject: Re: My childhood rushes back... Mathematica alive in Boston!
In reply to: David 's message, "My childhood rushes back... Mathematica alive in Boston!" on 20:04:29 09/06/05 Tue

David -

Thanks very much for finding my website and taking the time to leave such a thoughtful message!

Glad to hear Mathematica is still alive and well in Boston! I do believe it is a traveling version of the exhibit, as the original made its final appearance here at the California Science Center in 2002. It was then put up for sale as the museum (who still owned the exhibit) decided to get rid of it. All those original, one-of-a-kind Eames pieces! I do hope it found a worthy home. (Did you see the Eames Office link to a Quicktime VR file of Mathematica? It's here: http://eamesoffice.org/pages/qtvr.html )

Indeed, there was a Mathematica book. I have it and have been meaning to scan it onto my website. You've given me the motivation, however, so I will try to get to that this week. There was also an "illusion disk" (which I also have), which was a cardboard circle about the size of a CD. When examined straight-on, it appeared to be a random pattern of lines -- kind of like a Spirograph pattern. When held at an angle, though, the words "Mathematica - A World of Number and Beyond" become visible. I'm not sure I can effectively reproduce that effect on the site, but can try.

Best,
William

>I grew up in Culver City, just a stones's throw from
>the MSI, took summer science workshop classes there in
>the late 60's (I was born the same year as
>Mathematica) and when I moved to the San Francisco Bay
>Area in 1980 the MSI just became another fading
>memory.
>
>Until today. Took the kids to the Museum of Science
>here in Boston and had an eerie sensation as I
>approaced this exhibit called ... Mathematica. Was
>it... could it be? Yes! With the same layouts, the
>same diplay boards (showing a bit of their age) it
>seemed smaller and research told me it was the
>traveling version of the exhibition. My girls loved
>it as much as I did when I was their ages and now I'm
>trying to reconcile a flood of memories about
>Mathematica, the MSI and the whole design feel of the
>60's and how uniquely distint it still is -- as
>opposed to how no one's really going to look back and
>say "Wow, that has a really early 2000's feel to it."
>
>Aside from the brochure, was there ever a Mathematica
>book proiduced? I'm having a fuzzy memory about that
>but I'm coming up short.
>
>Now if I could only have the Helms Bakery truck rool
>into my neighborhood just like it used to before it
>was parked in the lower level, just below where my
>third place-winning entry for the Dental Health
>Association poster contest entry was displayed
>("Operation Applebrush!")
>
>Thanks for holding the MSI memory alive.

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