Spaces Made for Success
No longer do we create spaces that are merely areas focused on fitting as many people as possible. Instead, those buildings and spaces must now be built to optimize faculty success in teaching and multi-disciplinary research. At times that may mean size is important, but more often the focus is on how people interact, moving from station to station with access to the resources necessary to get the job done.
A Voice for Advancements
We’ve led innovation in science education since opening in 1949. As a beacon for STEM research and outreach, we continue to educate Carolina students and the public about the critical role the sciences play in our lives. Our new interactive exhibit space, “Breakthrough Hub: A Lab to Life Exhibit,” is designed to give the public insight into how research progresses from abstract ideas first tested in a laboratory to innovations that go on to be integral to everyday life – and often, to save lives. Focusing on cutting-edge work from Carolina researchers, this space offers a hands-on introduction to the science behind the invention. One of our first exhibits is “Evryscope” For Everyone. What if something important happens in the universe when—or where—we aren’t looking? Astronomers at UNC are working to lessen that likelihood with Evryscope. Designed by Nicholas Law and his team in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Evryscope takes images of the night sky every two minutes, offering scientists the ability to detect astronomical events, distant planets and other new discoveries. Visitors to the Evryscope exhibit can zoom through our cosmic neighborhood with images made possible by the “wide-seeing” scope, using simple hand gestures to take a guided tour or explore on their own. And their experience advances our research—each exploration is added to a citizen-science database shared with Carolina astronomers.
