The Tunnel of Science is visiting Costa Rica and offering a new view of the world. This traveling museum is a concept of the Max Planck Institute of Germany and its many research centers.
It will be at the Villa Olympica in Desamparados until Dec. 10.
The tunnel is made up of eight modules on the Universe, Basic Material, Life, Complexity, the Brain, Health, Energy and Society, each with an explanation of the latest discoveries and knowledge. University students from the various fields of science and medicine guide visitors along the route through the modules. A final maze shows how Costa Rica too has produced advances in the sciences through its five public universities. Written explanations are in English and Spanish.
For those of us who studied in school a generation ago the displays may seem scary while whole classes of uniformed school kids breeze through. But it is a learning process for us to see how climate change, new medicines, new techniques, new energy sources, and globalization have brought changes into our lives. Or how studies of the brain can lead to better artificial limbs. Or how cutting down trees along the Amazon river affects causes changes in clouds which will affect the weather for all of us. Or how we may go back to living in small towns created to provide a healthier lifestyle.
A tour through the tunnel takes about an hour and a half. Each module has its own student guide with a background in the field.
The Science Tunnel travels around the world and changes as new data and discoveries are available. The museum is open to the public, free, Wednesdays to Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Villa Olympia is located in the Dos Cercas sector of Desamparados.
