Hands-on activities, artifacts and video footage in 'Powers of Nature'

Activities

Tornado shelter—Climb into a basement shelter to hear and feel a tornado roll overhead.

Protection game—Learn how to find protection during a storm.

P-3 Orion cockpit—Sit inside the actual-size cockpit of the signature aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, used to study hurricanes and other severe storms. A short film takes you into the eye of a hurricane and explores the special features that enable this plane to withstand such turbulent journeys.

Follow four hurricanes—Trace the paths of hurricanes Hugo, Claudette, Gabrielle and Andrew and learn more about the imperfect science of predicting hurricanes.

Wind curving dome—This globe-shaped device contains fluid that shows how winds curve around Earth as it spins, affecting global weather patterns.

Measuring hurricanes—Use the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale-which incorporates barometric pressure, wind speed and storm surge-to examine photographs of hurricanes Andrew and Gilbert and rank their severity.

Earthquake table—Use blocks to try to build an earthquake-proof house, then see how it withstands a simulated quake on a table that vibrates at three different speeds.

Create an earthquake—Jump on a target to create shock waves and register your own earthquake on a seismograph. Then compare the results to real earthquakes.

Global puzzle—Learn about Earth's plate tectonics.

Crustal plate collision—Crank a knob to see how the Pacific, North American and Atlantic plates collide and learn how these collisions cause cracks in Earth.

Tornado power demonstration—See a pencil shoot through block of wood, driven only by a blast of "wind."

Giant plasma tube—Touch a large glass tube and watch blue bolts of electricity appear, demonstrating how lightning is attracted to humans.

Weather map—Make your own weather map with magnetic symbols that represent fronts, pressures, precipitation and other weather conditions.

Forecasting computer game—Satellite, radar and lightning data are incorporated into this interactive game. Visitors may make recommendations to a weather person, who responds with tips to improve their forecasting ability.

Lava lamp—See how heat causes fluids to rise and fall in a giant lava lamp.

Winds and snowdrifts—Adjust a moveable fan in a case filled with sand to see how changes in wind direction create snowdrifts.

Touch and take snowflake—Make crayon rubbings of etchings in the shapes of different snowflake crystals.

Heat rises—Push a button to turn on heating lamps in a case. This causes model birds to rise as the air expands.

Temperature probe—Learn how deserts, forests, oceans and polar ice caps absorb and reflect sunlight in different ways while panels of steel, painted wood, terra cotta, aluminum, plywood and enamel tile are heated and then measured using a temperature probe.

Air pressure—Use a hand pump to inflate and increase the air pressure inside a balloon. Then deflate the balloon until the pressure is equalized.

Artifacts

Believe it or not!—See a telephone pole that was pierced by a plastic straw during the fierce winds of a tornado.

Storm-proofed house—Examine a model house developed by the Wind Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University. The design illustrates how to structure houses to withstand severe storms and wind.

Damaged car hood—See the damage inflicted to the hood of a car by a golf-ball-sized hailstones during a violent storm near Fort Worth, Texas.

Broken tree trunk—Bent at a 90-degree angle, this tree trunk is just one illustration of the power of hurricanes like Hugo, which hit South Carolina and the Bahamas in September 1989.

Fulgurites—Lightning bolts produce these gritty glass tubes when they hit patches of sand and travel through them.

Girl and dog buried in volcanic ash—Casts based on actual forms found near Mount Vesuvius depict the horror on that fateful day of August 24, A.D. 79, when the volcano erupted and buried the city of Pompeii under a cloud of volcanic ash and poisonous gas.

Video Footage

Thunderstorms and tornadoes—Brief videos highlight the tornado that ripped across the Great Plains in 1995. They include lessons on the science of tornadoes, the use of radar imaging, survivor stories and information on flash floods.

Earthquakes—Listen and learn about the science of earthquakes and hear survivors' stories. Also, learn about the earthquake that rocked Northridge, Calif., in January 1994.

Volcanoes—Watch the dramatic May 1981 eruption of Mount Saint Helens. You'll also hear about the science of volcanoes, the aftermath of volcanoes and true stories from those who experienced volcanic eruptions. You can also learn about a volatile volcano, Mount Rainier. It erupts every 500 to 1000 years and has the residents of Seattle's southeast horizon anxious about another eruption.

Snowstorms and blizzards—See how a blizzard covered the entire northeastern United States in January 1996. An audio presentation discusses the science of blizzards, satellite imaging, blizzards' aftermath and survivors' stories.

Weather and geology video monitors

• Radar data—Witness live movements of clouds, rail, snow and hail affecting the United States.
• Satellite data—View live satellite data that is received from Earth-orbiting weather satellites around the world. You may see cloud coverage, cloud temperatures and humidity in the atmosphere.
• Lightning data—See lightning strikes as they occur, in data from the National Lightning Detection Network.
• Weather imaging device—Use a map of North and South America to learn why Earth's geography is a breeding ground for a variety of storms.
• Weather monitors—See up-to-the-minute local and national weather conditions.

Back to Powers of Nature Press Kit

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.

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