New Scientist vol 160 issue 2159
- 07 November 1998, page 61The Tech Museum of Innovation South Market Street, San Jose, California
IF you wanted to explore the future, how would you start? You'd have to find a way of test-driving the cutting-edge technologies that will change our lives. Perhaps you could put them in a museum for every one to try.
Maybe it would be fun to have a machine that captures a three-dimensional model of your head which you could then play around with on a computer nearby? After scanning your head, you might enjoy commanding a tiny submarine or learning the intricacies of getting a good performance out of a Mars rover. And what about designing your own roller coaster, and then taking a virtual white-knuckle ride?
Imagine taking another kind of ride: a virtual tour inside the body using a computer model created by slicing up and digitising a corpse. And what about real bodies? Because they're fragile, perhaps you could look at how new materials are being used to enhance and protect them. Then you could show off your strength: imagine wearing ice-hockey body armour and parrying blows from hockey pucks as they are being fired at you. You could even leave a few body enhancements lying around for people to play with. What about pacemakers? Chin implants?
From enhancing the body, perhaps your next target should be polishing up your life style. In the future, everybody will still be using PCs but to manipulate sound messages, videos, still images and even animations. Why not show off right now with a digital studio? Here you can create a short film, animations and soundtracks as easily as you write an e-mail today.
Sounds far-fetched? Not really. Years before these ideas will reach the consumer, a museum has got its hands on the future. Head down to San Jose for a slice of 21st-century living. The Tech Museum of Innovation opened its doors this week. The museum gives not just a glimpse of the future, but a powerful demonstration of the way technology will change our lives. And if you can't make your way to San Jose, explore the site online for a taste of what you're missing. Either way, you'll have great fun.
Justin Mullins
FURTHER READING
Where to find the future: The Tech Museum of Innovation is at 201 South Market Street, San Jose, CA 95113-2014 or sample it at www.thetech.org Tel:1 408 795 6100. Tickets cost $13.50 ($10 for under 13s) for IMAX theatre and galleries; $8 ($6) for the IMAX or galleries alone
All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, and for the general purpose of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, research and / or educational purposes only. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use this material for purposes other than provided by law. You must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/index.html,