Numbers in Nature: Museum of Science & Industry

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

While in Chicago a couple weeks ago, I visited the Museum of Science and Industry.  It was a spectacular place that could not be experienced in a single day – repeat visits are definitely encouraged and required if you want to experience everything.  Multiple floors of science-based and technology-infused exhibitions (their website claims 400,000 square feet of hands-on exhibits and I don’t doubt it) guaranteed that there would be something for everyone, including this particular wandering art historian.  I had the time of my life!

One of my favorite exhibits, titled Numbers in Nature, explored the varied connections between mathematics and nature.  Honestly, I don’t care too much for mathematics, but the connections made between significant numbers found throughout nature was not lost on me.  To enter the exhibit, one had to navigate a mirror maze made to look like a magical forest.  Bumping into certain walls produced illuminated displays with mathematical facts and scientific trivia.

At the end of the mirror maze was a room that continued the exploration of mathematics in nature.  Interactive displays that were just as much fun as educational encouraged continued learning of patterns, geometry, scale and proportion, symmetry and even The Golden Ratio, all with their roots in nature.  Honestly, this exhibit was just as much about ART as it was science!

For more information on this particular exhibition, please visit…

https://www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/numbers-in-nature/

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.