Amy Spivey and Amy Fisher
October 30, 2014
The “Sparking Imaginations” exhibit in Collins Memorial Library runs from October 27, 2014, through January 15, 2015. “Sparking Imaginations” begins with Benjamin Franklin and the discovery and measurement of voltage and current in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and ends with contemporary debates over how to best produce and distribute electricity. This presentation will serve as an introduction to the exhibit, which aims to increase awareness of the past, present, and future of electrical science and power generation. The exhibit features primary source materials from the Collins Memorial Library, instruments from the University of Puget Sound’s Physics Department (including a replica of an eighteenth-century friction machine, a nineteenth-century galvanometer, and a modern dissectible transformer), and historic photographs and power meters provided by Tacoma Public Utilities. This talk will explain the motivation behind the exhibit and will highlight some specific parts of the exhibit.
An opening reception for the exhibit will follow the seminar from 5-6:30 pm in Collins LIbrary.