New AMSE exhibits focus on microscopic images, robots

photo courtesy of Nikon Small World Albert Tousson of the High Resolution Imaging Facility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham took this prize-winning shot of plant tissue cell walls and starch granules of a Lily of the Valley plant.

photo courtesy of Nikon Small World Albert Tousson of the High Resolution Imaging Facility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham took this prize-winning shot of plant tissue cell walls and starch granules of a Lily of the Valley plant.

Microscopic, beautiful and unusual photographs and the world of robots are the themes of two new exhibits at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The museum in Oak Ridge (300 S. Tulane Ave.) hosts its annual exhibit of photomicrographs in the 2008 Nikon Small World exhibit opening today. The 20 images will be at the museum through Aug. 9 and they offer viewers a different and highly magnified examination of often unusual and interesting objects.

This year’s images in the exhibition include a very close-up and artistic views of objects from slugs to paper fibers. One photo uses plant tissue cell walls and starch granules of a Lily of the Valley plant. In another, small marine diatoms look more like red, blue, green and orange feathers on a black background.

A photomicrograph of recrystallized vitamin C looks like a rainbow-colored mountain landscape. Another shows the details of a compact disc with a multi-colored background.

The Nikon Small World competition was begun in 1974 to recognize excellence in photography through the light microscope. The 2008 competition is the 34th year for the contest and received almost 2,000 entries.

The museum’s other exhibit opens Saturday, June 6, and is on display through Sept. 6. Entitled simply y “Robotics,” the exhibit from the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh looks at what robots are, how they work and how they can change the future.

Museum-goers can visit 14 different stations in the exhibit to complete activities and compare themselves to robots. Visitors are invited to build and program robots and use robotic mechanical arms in two of the activities.

The American Museum of Science and Energy is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens ages 65 and older, $3 for children ages 6 to 17, free for children ages 5 and younger.

photo courtesy of Nikon Small World

Albert Tousson of the High Resolution Imaging Facility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham took this prize-winning shot of plant tissue cell walls and starch granules of a Lily of the Valley plant.

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