If you’ve ever wondered how a piranha’s bite compares to a human’s, how woodpeckers avoid brain damage or how blood manages to get up to a giraffe’s head, the exhibit “The Machine Inside: Biomechanics” at Bishop Museum explains it all and so much more.
The traveling exhibit, created by the Field Museum in Chicago, uses real specimens, lifelike models, video footage and interactive displays to teach visitors about the inner workings of animals and plants, how they survive and how they move.
“What brings out my sense of wonder are the interactive displays,” said Jim Boone, who serves as the lead collections manager and senior entomology collections manager of Bishop Museum.
“There’s a display where you can compare your grip with that of a chimpanzee.”
Boone was the collections manager of insects at the Field Museum when the Biomechanics exhibit was being developed. As a content specialist for the exhibit, he helped select the insects seen in the display.
“Some interesting things that I learned from the ‘Biomechanics’ exhibit is that the inventor of the chainsaw actually got the idea from watching wood-boring beetle larva chew through wood,” Boone said.
Another tidbit that he enjoyed was that Velcro was designed by Swiss engineer George de Mestral after he examined the plant burrs that clung to his dog after a hike in the Alps.
‘THE MACHINE INSIDE: BIOMECHANICS’
>> Exhibit dates: Through Sept. 4
>> Where: Bishop Museum, Castle Memorial Building, first floor
>> Cost: $22.95; $14.95 youth 4-12; $19.95 for seniors over 65. Hawaii residents and military: $14.95, $10.95 and $12.95, respectively. Parking is $5.
>> What it’s about: The exhibit explores the wonders of the natural world, including analysis of a cheetah’s sprint, a flea’s jump, a crocodile’s chomp and an owl’s hearing.
>> Age recommendation: In-depth displays and scientific concepts make the exhibit most appropriate for middle-school-age children to adults.
>> Kid-friendly aspects: The life-sized replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton is mesmerizing. The replica of Sue the T-rex, the world’s largest and most complete T-rex skeleton, is 40 feet long and 12 feet high. It is set up in the entryway of the exhibit.
>> Hands-on features: There’s a station where you can test two different wing models to see how they compare in flight. See the effort required for a giraffe to pump blood 6 to 7 feet up from its heart to its brain at an interactive model.
>> Parents will like: It’s a great way for families to learn some new things together. Moms and dads may be interested by more advanced concepts, such as how bats’ echolocation technology is being used to create tools to help the blind.
>> Estimated time to tour: A couple of hours.
>> Bishop Museum’s director of exhibits and production says: “It’s really good for nerdy people who love science or those just wanting to be a kid again,” said Brad Evans. “The exhibit draws you in and you just want to play with everything.”
>> User review: Pearl City resident Liz Lytle was in awe as she was greeted by Sue the T-rex. “It was amazing,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting that.” Her 6-year-old son Joshua said he enjoyed flying like a bird as he flapped a hand-held wing that caused his chair to rotate. His 7-year-old brother Jacob enjoyed spinning the wheel at another display activating a cheetah on a video screen, which moved in slow motion so visitors could see how the animal’s spine acts like a spring. A taxidermy cheetah from the Field Museum’s collections shows the animal’s fur coat on one side and skeleton on the other. Reciting back information he read at the exhibit, Jacob said, beaming from ear to ear: “He’s so fast. He was going 68 miles per hour.”
>> Info: 847-3511; bishopmuseum.org
