Exhibitions
Locomotion: Railroads in the Early Age of Steam
October 2, 2008 - March 28, 2009
The development of the steam locomotive in the first part of the nineteenth century was a dramatic and radical change in transportation technology. The steam locomotives used on early railway networks were the first practical form of mechanized land transportation. Their use required new designs for stronger, longer bridges and tunnels, while construction of the lines themselves represented huge civil engineering projects. Railway networks permanently changed the land, and the way that people and goods traveled over it.
This exhibition from the Linda Hall Library's collections highlights the engineering and technological developments in steam engines, railway design and practice, locomotive engineering, and some of the major landmarks in the early history of railroads through the 1860s.
The Grandeur of Life: A Celebration of Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species.
Opening October 1, 2009
The year 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species. Charles Darwin was not the first naturalist to wonder where species came from, and how species are related to each other. Earlier students of nature, looking for “the order of things,” called their books “The History of Animals,” “The Botanic Garden,” “The Animal Kingdom,” “The Temple of Flora,” “Zoological Philosophy,” and “The System of Nature”.
Although the importance of these books lies in their attempts to identify and classify living things, many have the added attraction of being quite beautiful, with exquisite and often hand-colored images of animals, plants, and fossils.
In celebration of the Darwin anniversaries, the Linda Hall Library will display fifty of the most significant and the most visually impressive of these books, culminating with a first edition of Charles Darwin's on the Origin of Species.
Online Exhibitions
Ice: A Victorian Romance (NEW!)
Napoleon and the Scientific Expedition to Egypt
Women's Work: Portraits of 12 Scientific Illustrators from the 17th to the 21st Century
Vulcan's Forge and Fingal's Cave
Voyages: Scientific Circumnavigations 1679-1859
Centuries of Civil Engineering
The Year 1000: A Legacy of Science and Technology
Out of this World: The Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas
The Face of the Moon: Galileo to Apollo
William N. Deramus III Cosmology Theater
ViewSpace
The William N. Deramus III Cosmology Theater features ViewSpace, a program of the Space Telescope Science Institute, on a 114-inch display screen with a 1080i High Definition projection system.The theater currently features the ViewSpace program of the Space Telescope Science Institute. ViewSpace presents a series of educational features on topics related to space and space-based research. Most presentations are of ten minutes duration.
Other segments showcase scientific discoveries related to our planet and its environment. These show spectacular views of Earth events such as hurricanes, floods, and forest fires. Also available are segments which provide information on where to look in the night sky to see planets, constellations, meteor showers and other events visible during the current month.
Regular coverage is given to the latest discoveries made with the Hubble Space Telescope and other astronomical resources from around and above the world. ViewSpace presents a series of educational and inspiring short features (most ten minutes or less)