"Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changes the World," a new permanent exhibit at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, will open on November 1. The exhibit of books, manuscripts, illustrations, and scientific instruments will be divided into four galleries assembled by theme—astronomy, natural history, medicine, and light—and will showcase some of science's greatest achievements from such famous figures as Ptolemy, Copernicus, Newton, and Einstein. The focus of the Dibner Hall of the History of Science will be on the changing role of science over time and its influence on culture (the exhibit displays 250 copies of On the Origin of Species, for example, to convey the influence of Darwin's famous book), and it will highlight many of the discoveries that broadened our imaginations (such as those that caused us to rethink Earth's place in the heavens or how to understand the evolution of species). According to senior curator Daniel Lewis, the goal is to get people to think about "the beauty of science in an historical context—the elegant breakthroughs, the remarkable discoveries, and the amazing people and stories behind them." —Michele Calandra
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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Hi -I'm the curator of this exhibit. A few details got mangled in the course of editing down our press release. The exhibit has about 100 items (not 67,000). That larger number is the size of a very important history of science and technology collection we received two years ago. This permanent exhibit draws partially from that new acquisition, and partially from our existing strong holdings in the history of science and technology.
Daniel Lewis, Ph.D.
Dibner Senior Curator of the History of Science & Technology
The Huntington Library
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