The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) is part of the Houston Museum District Association, comprised of 20 museums within a nine-square-mile area of Houston. In February 2024, HMNS announced its opening of Welch Hall: Matter & Motion, an exhibition combining modern and historical elements of physics and chemistry.
The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation presented an exhibit that challenges the notion that physics and chemistry are separate fields. Instead, the exhibition shows that chemistry and physics work together on a continuum of matter and motion in the universe, hence the title Matter & Motion. Furthermore, the exhibition asks viewers to consider everything they already know and use it as a foundation for exploring theories about the nature of the universe.
The exhibit contains 13 highly immersive galleries. These galleries use the latest in media production technology and techniques, including touch-free exhibit experiences. In addition, the exhibit creators combined sound, lighting, state of the art projection, and LED video wall technology to offer museum visitors an immersive experience. The exhibit covers a wide area of the museum, comparable to an Olympic-size pool.
Those visiting the exhibit can tour galleries like the Houston Connection. This display demonstrates through interactive murals how chemistry and physics are vital to Houston, including their uses in petrochemicals, the freeway system, space exploration, and the city’s culinary scene. In addition, the Quantum Computing gallery is a full-size copy of experimental computing equipment now in development. This display demonstrates the science of quantum computing and its ability to significantly increase the speed of solving intricate problems. The interactive Human Hamster Wheel gallery allows visitors to climb into a human-size hamster wheel and spin to learn more about energy transfer, physiological energy, and rotational energy. In the History of the Universe gallery, viewers learn about the universe’s origins and the formation of the stars and galaxies through an interactive video wall. Finally, the Black Hole Whirlpool shows viewers what happens when a black hole consumes two stars and completely disappears into the void.
The exhibit’s chemistry-focused galleries include the Periodic Table Floor, which allows visitors to learn about the elements by walking on LED lighting representing chemicals on the chart of the elements. Another gallery, Alchemy Hall, takes viewers back to a 16th-century alchemist’s laboratory to see the odd vessels they used and the mysterious experiments they conducted, which became the precursor of modern chemistry. At The Chemis-Tree, visitors learn about the different manifestations of chemistry through a display containing branches with animal and plant cells, mineral crystals, and complex circuit boards.
Additionally, viewers can observe how the brain functions by visiting the Walk-In Brain, which features an oversized cerebrum showing the chemical reactions and electrical impulses that play a role in consciousness. Finally, the Great Graphene gallery gives those touring the exhibit a glimpse of how humans use carbon by walking into a giga-size nanotube.
Joel A. Bartsch, HMNS president and CEO, expressed his excitement about presenting the exhibit to the public. He sees it as a celebration of the magic and majesty of nature and science, with the potential to inspire a new generation of scientists to become creative problem solvers. Bartsch believes that the exhibit, with its innovative approach to physics and chemistry, will rival the experience of the popular Weiss Hall 3.0 exhibition, marking a significant milestone for HMNS in a changing world.
The above are just some of galleries one can visit while touring Welch Hall: Matter & Motion. The exhibition opened to museum members on March 8, 2024, and has been open to the public since March 9. For more information on this exhibit, please visit www.hmns.org/about/.
