A dynamic exhibition, it captures the richness and variety of human navigation through 17 new interactive exhibits, cultural and historical maps, and video footage of three non-western cultures' wayfinding traditions. Each section addresses a range of topics in human navigation, such as orientation, intuitive wayfinding, celestial navigation, navigational technology, and mapmaking techniques. Silage Beach places visitors in the center of a circular space whose wall rotates, creating the sensory illusion that visitors themselves and the floor are revolving. Your Way , visitors explore the visual cues we use to judge distance and direction. Size and Distance reveals the relationship between an object's physical size and the distance of the object from the observer's eye when the visitor attempts to differentiate between two apparently identical ships.
Further exploration reveals that one ship is closer to the observer and the other larger.
Celestial bodies have been used for centuries to aid travelers in finding their way. Navigating by the Stars enables visitors to experiment with tools used, then and now, in celestial navigation. The oversized Body Sextant uses a sextant-like system of mirrors to measure the angular distance between two people by optically placing the image of a friend's head onto the body of such notables as James Dean, Albert Einstein, and Marilyn Monroe. Navigating With Tools takes the visitor one step further, introducing the tools used to find your way when there are no landmarks to serve as a guide. Your Direction illustrates how the difference in timing between received radio signals indicates the receiver's compass orientation in relation to the beacon.