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Event One: Meteorite Gallery


For my first event, I went to the UCLA Meteorite Gallery. This gallery is home to the largest meteorite collection on the West Coast and fifth largest in the United States. I really enjoyed my experience at this event. I thought that it was very interesting to look at meteorites as well as learn about them both in scientific aspects such as where these meteorites came from as well as the history of them such as where they were found and who found them. I also thought that the gallery was a great way of understanding how science can be displayed and understood as art.
I think that this event can show topics or concepts in our class. There is the clear science aspect by looking at the physical composition of the meteorites as well as the terrestrial age projections or cosmic-ray-exposure-age distributions. But something that can be overlooked is the simple display of the meteorites. It is done in a way that suggests the meteorites are not something that are scientific discoveries, artifacts, or anything of that nature but rather art pieces. They are displayed in these big clear cases as you would expect to see valuable pieces of art. They have bright lights shining on them with descriptions of them as well. On these cards with the descriptions is the scientific information but with the way they are displayed it still has an artistic feeling to it. 

I think that this experience can be very beneficial to me when writing my midterm of final project because it gives me a clear visual representation of how science can be art at the same time. Whether I write my midterm or final on art’s relation to math or robotics or medicine, this is one actual experience I have had where I can see it. 

This event is something that every student at UCLA should visit at least once in my opinion. I am a senior and I never even knew that this exhibit existed, however it is something that is very interesting and so convenient being on campus in the Geology Building. This event is also something that I would recommend to other students for their second or third event. I think that this gallery is a great representation of how math and science can connect with art and how there are many similarities between them. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 29, 2019 at 12:02 PM

    Emma,

    Thank you for sharing about your experience at the Meteorite Gallery. I too never knew that the exhibit existed and think it would be a good idea to visit in order to continue my learning regarding the relationship between art and science. Your description about how the exhibit displays the meteorites by incorporating their scientific information in an artistic manner further alludes to the relationship between the two cultures. Great job!

    -Sophie Bendetti

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