Above, the Groovik's Cube, a 1 1/2-story-high version of the Rubik's Cube that hangs in the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. Below, a robot tries its luck solving the puzzle, and a wooden prototype of the cube.
EXHIBIT
WHAT: Beyond Rubik's Cube.
WHERE: Liberty Science Center, Liberty State Park, 222 Jersey City Blvd., 201-200-1000.
WHEN: Today through November.
HOW MUCH: Free with general admission to Liberty Science Center, $19.75 for ages 13 and older, $14.75 for 2-12.
FOR MORE INFO: lsc.org
For Erno Rubik, his iconic creation, the Rubik's Cube, is like a child who grew up to do more than he could ever imagine.
The toy became not only a geometric puzzle that thrilled mathematicians and engineers but an inspiration for symphonies and poetry and art.
It is all on display, along with some pretty cool robotics, at Beyond Rubik's Cube, a new exhibit that opens today at Liberty Science Center to celebrate the 40th anniversary of invention.
"The Rubik's Cube is the intersection of math, engineering and design," said Liberty Science Center President and CEO Paul Hoffman, who was the creative director for this exhibit before he took his current job 2 1/2 years ago. "That is what the entire modern world is all about. We're trying to get that across in a playful way."
The exhibit, like everything at the science center, is heavily hands-on and interactive — in ways that most could never imagine using the Rubik's Cube.
There is, of course, a station of computers that shows visitors how to solve the puzzle, but there are also two cubes that can be manipulated to create music, one that allows someone to write a poem and the ability to contribute to a giant Rubik's Cube mosaic that will eventually form the Statue of Liberty.
"I'm hoping that this wonderful exhibition will finally answer the question of why," said Rubik. "Why has the cube connected with hundreds of millions of people everywhere on Earth?"
The answer seems to be that the "toy" is actually more than a bunch of brightly colored cubes and more than even the inventor dreamed. It is different things to different people: the muse for symphonies and murals, an engineering feat or a complex puzzle to be solved.
A quick look at Rubik's four-cube, wooden prototype shows the modest beginnings.
A robot — reprogrammed from its original duty of painting cars on an assembly line — solving the jumbled puzzle then doing a victory dance is a look at some of what it has become.
One of the exhibit's highlights is the Groovik's Cube, a 1.5-story-high version of the original, that hangs in the middle of LSC. During museum hours, visitors can use a computer to try to solve it. When the center is closed, people can go online to try to solve it.
This exhibit has something for everyone, including those who tossed the Rubik's Cube away in frustration decades ago and have avoided geometry and engineering ever since.
"I love the idea of taking an iconic object, a brand, and using it to subversively teach people math and engineering through play," said Hoffman, who wants people to see the creative possibilities of math.
"I hope people will come out and be inspired."
Email: yoriok@northjersey.com
Source : http://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/entertainment-news/new-exhibit-at-liberty-science-center-highlight-s-rubik-s-cube-1.1003647
