\n\tC.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia has enchanted children and adults for decades. The success of the recent movie series introduced a new generation to the wonders of Narnia, and reignited a love of reading the fantasy novels.
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\n\tThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition is currently at the Louisville Science Center in Kentucky through September 18, 2011, and at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland through September 25, 2011. I recently checked out the exhibition at the Louisville Science Center. You enter the exhibit through the wardrobe.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tVisitors glimpse the world of Narnia through the large wardrobe.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tThe traveling exhibit begins with a look at author C.S. Lewis’s office items. During the 1939 evacuation of 827,000 British school children, Lewis housed several children from London in his country home — just as the Pevensie children were evacuated to the country in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tSome of the items Lewis kept on his writing desk.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tAs children, Lewis and his brother created an imaginary world. “Boxen” bears a striking resemblance to Narnia. Lewis drew this ship, which is similar to The Dawn Treader, to accompany a Boxen story.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tFirst editions of Prince Caspian
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tMany of the items are replicas, but Prince Caspian’s battle armor is a costume from the movie.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tLeave it to the Louisville Science Center to create fun, educational programming that highlights the real science behind any imaginary setting. Special programming for the Narnia exhibit includes Winter in July and intriguing science experiments. When you’re there, be sure to check out the blubber glove experiment. Put your hand in icy water, then put on a specially designed glove filled with cooking lard. The water isn’t nearly so cold with the blubber glove protecting your hand.
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\n\tThe exhibition itself offers many looks at the real science behind Narnia. Sure, there probably isn’t an enchanted land hiding in the back of your closet (go ahead and clean it out while you’re back there checking), but consider the ways the Narnians had to adapt to endless winter. Habitat change happens in Narnia and on Earth.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tEnjoy dinner with the Beavers (or at least check out these movie props from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe).
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tThe enchanting Mr. and Mrs. Beaver
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tVisitors may consider their own icy hearts while sitting in this replica ice thrown. Science tie-in: real ice palaces do exist. Russian Empress Anna Ivanovna had the first ice palace built in St Petersburg, Russia in the winter of 1739.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tThough Jadis (the White Witch) used magic to turn her enemies to stone, nature works it’s own magic by making fossils. Visitors may touch this real, fossilized cave bear tooth.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tOf course, Jadis’s magic makes a better stone fossil than nature.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tThe magic of the Narnia movies is the amount of detail necessary to bring Lewis’s land to life. This is the make-up bust of the Centaur Glenstorm.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tMake-up artists use these busts to get every detail right.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tThis image doesn’t do justice to the level of detail and the sheer size of the Centaurian guards.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tLooking up at a Centaur
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tPrince Caspian must fight King Miraz to reclaim the throne. Miraz’s armor is a real movie costume from Prince Caspian.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tThis Telmarine Lords’ chair features intricate engraving.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
\n\tPerhaps the most fun and engaging part of the exhibit is the working catapult. The Louisville Science Center has staff and volunteers trained to set it up and give brief lessons on catapults, castles, and the history of war.
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\n\tPhoto by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic
Nicole Bremer Nash is Director of Content and Social Media for HuTerra, where she uses SEO and social media to promote charitable organizations in their community-building and fundraising efforts. She enjoys volunteering, arts and crafts, and conducting science experiments at home. Nicole has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Transylvania University, and has experience in copywriting for education, print, business, and the web. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter via @HuTerra.
