Silk Industry in Lyon

Out of the two sites we visited in Lyon, my favorite was the silk factory. I was fascinated by the technique, detail, and patience these workers put into each piece of tapestry they would make. Watching the tour guide actually stitch several centimeters was my favorite part of the tour. If you didnt memorize the color pattern correctly or you put the wrong color through it took extra time to fix your mistakes.

Silk Industry

I really enjoyed the silk industry museum and workshop.  I knew that silk was expensive, but I never realized that there was so much work and effort put into making the silk fabric and designs.  It was interesting and crazy that it takes 8 hours to make a 35cm piece of designed fabric, and 3 days to make that fabric 1 meter.  This is a lot of work and effort, but thanks to the technology behind the loom, it made it simpler for weavers to accomplish their work.

The Wonderful World of Film

In Lyon, we went to the Lumière Institute. The institute showed almost all of the films that the brothers had shown. This films were captivating to watch. It was a shock to see what people thought was entertaining in that day and age. This pictures are so much different than what we watch today. There is no action, no drama, no sound. These videos were just people going about their everyday life.

Lumiere museum

Much of the tour of the Lumiere museum covered what we had already learned in the assigned reading, but it was exciting to see the original projectors and other instruments. I really loved the blue plate photographs because of how their colors blended in with one another to give an almost paint-like quality. Today we have to use filters to achieve that effect, but I don't think any filter I've seen compares to the original blue plate quality.

Silk Factory

On our day trip to Lyon, we visited an old silk factory. Despite the fact it was as many degrees in Celsius, as I would have liked it to have been in Fahrenheit, I really enjoyed the visit. The guide first brought us to the production room with the loom. I was excited to see them in person since I had read about them for my paper. They were larger and more intricate than I thought! I was very impressed by the amount of skill and focus it takes to so even a strand of a silk product.

I wonder who built the original loom, why they decided to use that model, and how much it costs. It does not seem as though the average joe could afford to be in this business. Overall, very neat process!

Silk Factory

On our day trip to Lyon we toured a silk factory. Our tour guide shared some interesting facts about how silk is made. The fact that intrigued me the mist was it takes 8 hours to make only 35cm of silk. For one meter of this silk it would cost $2000. The part of the silk tour that I enjoyed the most though was when our tour guide demonstrated the technique of making silk. From watching this demonstration I learned how much precise you have to be to make sure that the colors match the template.

Lumiere

The Lumiere museum was a good example of how the crowning achievement of some individuals overshadow their other accomplishments. The Lumiere brothers had many more inventions and patents then just their cinematographe that cross multiple fields of use. The invention of the blue photo plate allowed for instant photography and helped bring back their family business from the brink of bankruptcy. Other inventions included a non-stick bandage (tulle gras), a prosthetic arm, and a paper diaphragm for record players. The achievements of the brothers also included the invention of the chromagraph, the first form of color photographic plates.

Silk

During the trip to Lyon we toured the silk district.  What was interesting to learn was what silk came from.  I always knew that the silk was produced by the silk work in the past but I had no idea that it is still what is used to produce silk.  I learned about how their were factories in Asia and Brazil that have mechanicalized the process of getting the silk from the worm.  Another thing that I found interesting was that it takes four cacoons worth if silk to get one thread of silk when woven together.

The Discovery of Silk

I thought that both sites we visited in Lyon, France were very interesting.  I did particularly like learning how silk was discovered.  Before going to the Madison des Canuts, I never would have guessed that a princess discovered how to make a strand of silk fiber, after a silk worm cocoon fell into her tea cup. This was a fun story to listen to and even more exciting to learn that the process of making silk fibers was kept secret, until spies were sent in to steal the secret.  What made the story so entertaining was that the spies were monks.  Overall, the silk workshop was very interesting and one of my favorite stops on the trip.

Beginning of film

At the Lumiere house, I was really excited to see the way film started and it what ways was it filmed. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had interactive screens there that allowed me to watch some of the early movies. Getting the chance to see the films up close, gave me a better understanding of what made the audiences so excited to see these short movies. As I watched them, I found myself mesmerized by the blocking and stories to them. I can't even begin to imagine what it would've been like for someone like me during that time. Film was new and different which is why everyone packed into theatres to see them. It was a great expierence for me to see how film first began.

"Acting" Unaware

At the Lumiere Brothers Museum, I learned that in some of their first films, the brothers didn't hire professional actors to play roles. Instead, they asked local factory workers to be in the movie. They were told to ignore the camera for their "role." This example shows how having hands-on experience with a topic can help ensure trust in experts. If the listener has a bit of knowledge about a topic previously, the expert's findings, reports, and opinions can more easily be trusted.

Silk factory

We visited the silk factory and it was a neat experience. I knew that silk was made out of silk worm, but I did not know what they looked like. The bug is very creepy. I thought it was very interesting that they got the silk from the caccoons of the bug and that they killed the bugs while they were in the caccoons before they can take the silk from the caccoon. I also really liked watching here do the hand threading on making the fabric and how they work the machines. Lastly, I think it is neat they could improve the machine to an electric loom so they can make items for ships and computers. The technology has really improved, but even though the workers had long hours I think it would still be neat to say that would made something by hand.

Silk Production

Today we traveled to Lyon and we toured Tour of Maison des Canuts which produces silk and the part of the tour that intrigued me the most was how long it took to make and how expensive silk actually is. It takes about 8 hours to make only a 35cm square and about 3 days to produce a meter. The price of the meter long product was around $2000. The price can also depend on the color and if it was made with felt or not. In addition to the felt, when they made it, they made tiny loops with the material and then had to cut each loop with a blade. Weaving is very time consuming and I can now understand why it is incredibly expensive. 

A Brutal Fight

Both Hook and Huygens  wanted to claim that they made the first balance spring watch. The problem was only one of them could have that priveledge. The balance spring watch would be used by fishermen  to tell time out at see. Huygens  claimed the invention was his but Hook thoroughly upset, declared to the Royal Society. After a while, the Royal Society declared Huygens the sole owner but that was not okay with Hook. Hook went to the King and declared the invention and offered a sample of the watch itself. In the end Hook may have won the fight but he ended up stealing one of Huygens ideas.

A People's History of Science

I really enjoyed reading A People's History of Science by Clifford Conner because it went through how they navigated the sea,  the problem that was encountered with longitude, and finally the magnetic compass. I thought it was interesting to learn that sailor's determined their speed by spitting in the water. Athough this method didn't use any technology I still think it was an efficient way to determine the speed at which the sailors were traveling. I also enjoyed reading how mermaids were proven to be a myth.

Sailors and Astronomy

I never knew or even thought about before Copernicus, Ptolemy, and even Aristotle astronomy was shaped by mariners; although it does makes sense because they were never stationary so they had the best views of the night sky, and they were able to identify and changes. It was also interesting to read that historians had trouble discovering this due to the mariners ever writing anything down. Everything was learned by word of mouth or actual hands on experience in those sailing situations.

Sea of Blood

Navigating and charting the seas took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Although it was a lot of other people's blood that was spilt. When Vasco de Gama sailed to India he came upon a ship full of Muslims, de Gama stole all the goods on boards and burnt the ship and all the people on it. Not only did he commit this act, but in an act of intimidation he would capture fishermen, cut them into pieces, and send the pieces to the local rulers. These acts were sponsored by the state! Now de Gama was not the only one to spill blood, even Magellan did as well. Magellan was used to using his artillery to frighten natives into submission. Although when he tried this at Mactan, the natives fought back. Magellan was hacked to pieces, instead of the natives.

Planes, Trains, and Boats..... Oh My

The technical museum in Berlin housed a wide variety of exhibits; textiles, computers, jewelry making. Although my favorite exhibits were the trains, planes, and boats. It was really interesting to see how the trains progressed along with the city. It was also interesting to see one of the train cars that took holocaust victims to the camps. It really tied in with our trip to Auschwitz. The planes were cool to see the different models and prototypes that were created. There was the plane that was only made of wings. It was also cool to see some of the planes that had crashed or been shot down. My favorite part of the museum was the boats. There was a boat that I was able to climb aboard and look in the kitchen and under the deck. There was also mini replicas of a lot of ships that I found cool. Some of these replicas were made from jade or ivory.

Navigation

Navigation had been a special subject throughout history.  Many new technologies and ideas were created to make navigation easier.  However first what needs to be mentioned is the myth that is prominent about early navigation.  That myth is that the earth was flat.  However Renassance people knew that the earth was found and that myth was created to discredit people and make them look foolish.  The biggest discover was the magnetic piles that allowed for people to tell what direction they are facing.  This discovery and other numerous ones made navigation easier and safer.

Sailing

In the reading "A People's History of Science" it was really interesting to learn about sailors and how they used their knowledge of ocean currents to navigate the water. For me, I think it's really interesting to read about people and actually applying it to real world actions. This shows how science can be applied in the real world, which is pretty interesting. When it comes to science and math, it seems like people always feel that these two subjects aren't important and can't have an impact on anything in "real" life. I was glad that this article gave a fantastic example of it being applied.

Duty Over Freedom

The technology museum in Berlin was a very interesting and eye opening experience.  The best part of the museum was the area about the network and that was because we had the greatest guide in the world and his magnificent name was Tim.  What made Tim special was that he was completely artificially.  He knew a plethora of information about anything from a cuneiform tablet which was the oldest object they had in the museum to a can of spam that represents the worst part of the web spam.  Tim had the ability to move around the museum with the ability to show us where the objects were and what they where about.  My favorite quote of his was "hurry up" and "is everyone still here."  These quotes helped us understand Tim personality and in the process he captured our hearts.  Tim is a great achievement in science because technology has advanced far enough that a robot was the tour guide in the museum.  My only regret is that when we were leaving the section of the museum Tim choose to stay behind because he chose duty over freedom.

Ship's speed

One thing that stood out to me in reading excerpts from Clifford Connor's A People's History of Science: Miners, Midwives, and "Low Mechanicks" was Connor's description of how sailors determined how fast they were traveling. Sailors did this by spitting in the water and timing the rate of the spit moving, which was timed by reciting Hail Mary's. This seemed to be the height of technology at the time, until more advanced techniques were created and/or discovered. This demonstrates how scientific inventions may not always be fast tracked, but that they can sometimes make the way of life easier when they are implemented.

The issues of navigation reading

Exploration has always engrossed the imagination of human being, whether it be the desire to search for a new route around the world or the first adventures into outer space. This seemingly primal fascination has run into quite a number of technical issues, both ideologically and physically. The notion that the world was a sphere was accepted fairly early on in the age of exploration, contrary to the tales that people were scared of falling off the world, it was supply logistics that scared many.
Several discoveries allowed for more certainty and confidence in this new age of discovery. The discovery of regular ocean and air currents allowed for better course plotting than was previously allowed for, even allowing for more efficient routes. This was followed with the discovery of accurate measurements of longitude, allowing for 2D geolocation and more accurate measurements of distance. The discovery of magnetic poles and declination allowed for accurate, on-the-fly measurements to be done on an unstable ship. All of these have effected many aspects of modern navigation, even allowing for all participants of this trip to cross the Atlantic Ocean and land at a specific airport from cruising at 30,000 feet in the air.

People's History of Science

In the excerpt of A People's History of Science, the author repeatedly mentioned some of the lower-class workers who would do grunt work for scientists: sailors who gathered data for research about astronomy and navigational sciences, and miners who assisted with Gilbert's investigations regarding magnets. It's easy to overlook these workers when considering the scientists who analyzed the data, but recent discussions about who deserves credit in science has left me somewhat torn about whether these workers were just as important. Without them, the work may not have gotten done, but without the scientists, the data may never have been anaylzed​ or even asked for. I'm still inclined to think that the scientist is more important, but scientific history could have been much different without workers ready to carry out these tasks.

Aerospace in the DT Museum

The upper stories of the Deutches Technikmuseum told a very interesting story about the history of aerospace engineering. The mix of incredibly rare artifacts and the story that they tell was a very informative addition to my experience. Many different innovations in the aerospace industry were visible, but not talked directly about.
The inclusion of three particular engines was of great value, those of a Me-262 "Schwalbe", He-162 "Salamander", and Me-163 "Komet". These were three influential fighter planes used at the end of WWII by Nazi Germany and were the first operational jet fighters, and the 163 is still considered the only operational rocket fighter. The turbojet engines of the 262 and 162 are closely related to those used in modern fighters, whereas the hydrogen peroxide powered 163 provided a tested for the Bell X-1, the first plane to break the sound barrier in straight and level flight.
Some of the other innovations viewable included motors from A-4/V-2 rockets, a full-scale V-1 cruise missile, and ample examples of rotary radial and inline engines, variations on airfoil design including leading edge and fowler flaps, as well as avionics and relics from a variety of famous German pilots and aircraft.

Movie Sanctuary

On the 3rd or 4th floor of the pink building ( I can't remember which one), we got a glimpse into the beginning of movie productions. I was able to watch a full short film without using a television or words. It was hundreds of small photos that you had to spin with a wheel and circulated the many photos in a specific order. I'm not 100% positive, but I believe it was about a group of men robbing a bank. Another part of the movie production that interested me, was the circular wheel you had to turn and you could see a a bird flying or a clown moving. I feel that the beginning of movie productions was very similar to the production of movies made with clay, today.

Photography and Film

I thought the photography and film exhibit at the technology museum was very interesting. I thought it was crazy how technology with cameras and film can change so fast, and how cameras went from being more stationary to more mobile and accessible.  I enjoyed the different hands-on activities they had within this exhibit, including looking into an old stationary camera to see what it was like. The capability of having hands-on activities makes understanding the science within the cameras and film more feasible.

Deutsches Technik museum - German Elements

When I was exploring the Deutschestechnik museum, I noticed that some elements are named differently in German. Two that stood out to me were Hydrogen and Oxygen, respectively named Wasserstoff and Sauerstoff. I was intrigued by this because of the words wasser (water) and sauer (acid) that indicate what the elements are typically involved in. Chemists now know that Hydrogen does much more than generate water and that Oxygen is not the only contributor to acidity, but when Lavoisier named these two elements he believed these were their main effects, representing that in their Latin names. Hydrogen translates to water-generating and Oxygen translates to acid-generating. While the Latin and German names mean the same thing, the usage of each in the US and Germany could have different impacts. Because most Americans don't speak Latin, they wouldn't be confused by Hydrogen having more abilities than to generate water, and similar for oxygen, but Germans may have a predisposition before taking chemistry classes that the elements have limited effects due to their names. It's interesting to think about how scientists' work from the 1700s could still impact our thought processes today.

Lost at Sea (map)

I very much enjoyed the map article. It is strange that people used to think the world was flat and feared falling off the edge of it while sailing. The article also brought up that sailors did not know where they were going and therefore did not know how much food they would need. How many people died stuck on the ocean because they ran out of provisions and couldn't find the shore? I never considered that discovery could be so unknown!

Do the Locomotion (museum)

At the museum in Berlin, I especially enjoyed the train portion. Not only because it was such a large moment in history, but because I have personally worked at a train museum for 3 years.

Working at a train museum I gained a substantial amount of knowledge about American trains and have personally seen many around the same age, if not older than those in the Berlin museum. For that reason I was amazed at the differences. The European trains were smaller but much more beautifully decorated. The colors of the interior European trains are much more vibrant than those of American trains. I wish I had been able to read the signs so I know the names of them to compare to American Lines. Overall, it was a very neat experience!

Deutsches Technikmuseum (Science Center Spectrum)

During my free time at the Deutsches Technikmuseum I visited the Science Center Spectrum. I personally enjoyed the Science Center Spectrum because all the exhibits were hands on. Also it allowed me to apply the information I learned in my physics and engineering classes in each exhibit in this building. One exhibit that that I applied my physics knowledge to was the concave mirror experiment. When I stood far away from the concave mirror my image was inverted or upside down. As I walked towards the concave mirror my image became virtual and upright.

Minors, midwives, and low mechanicks

The first part of this article mostly talks about how to a navigate through the sea. The winds helped make up the different trade routes. The current of the Atlantic winds is called a gyre which was then first used by a man by the man of Vasco da Gama. It was said he set a ship on fire one time with a bunch of people on it that we're going to Mecca. The second part of this article was about the longitude problem, which was that by looking at the stars sailors could tell where on the north south meridian they were, but not how east or west they were. It then shown that there was a way to measure the longitude, but it was not accurate because of the variability in temperature and humidity.

Knowledge of Stars and Compasses

Many of times we take knowledge for granted.  We are told at a young age that if we look into the sky we can see stars and similarly, if we want to know which way we are going we should use a compass.  What we don't always think of is how we got these ideas.  Throughout these readings I appreciated that we learned how we figured out how to sail across the ocean accurately and how those trips changed from using the stars as a guide, as well as the technology that was invented throughout history.  I thought it was also important that the author pointed out that these discoveries also told us what isn't true.  Things like mermaids, the equator being boiling hot and the ideas of magnetic islands were all proven to be myths and now are just stories today.  Additionally, I believe the author did a very good job at pointing out we need to understand that not only one ship crew made these discoveries. Often we only look at the people who were successful and not those who lost their lives trying to find he world answers.  Overall, I enjoyed these readings and getting to know a little more about stars and compasses.

Tim: the robot, the myth, the legend

When I arrived at the technology museum, I needed something to catch my interest. Nothing seemed to have that spark. That all changed when I met my best friend. Tim. Not only did Tim have a heart of gold, but he was programmed with an unlimited amount of information. He even had his own sense of humor which made him that unique. All you had to do was click on the screen and the simple saying of "Hi, my name is Tim" pulled me in. Whatever you wanted to learn about, Tim would glide across the ground like butter and tell you all there was to know about a particular object. Whether it was a computer game or even Spam. Tim gave a lot of background info on those objects which taught me more and made it interesting. Overall, Tim really showed me a lot about technology and how certain things became so popular. He also changed me as a person and a human being.

Deutsches Tecnikmuseum: Photography

At the museum I spent a lot of my free time in the photography part of the museum. Although, a lot of the explanations or labels on the cameras was mainly in German, it still intrigued me to see the different styles of photography and different cameras used. My favorite part was seeing all the individual types of photography that is used, such as, macro lenses, sports, underwater, spy cameras, travel, portraits, etc. In a lot of these areas you would need a seperate camera in order to do a specific type of photography, but now you can just change a lense and do multiple types. Also, it was really interesting to see how large the cameras were when they were first invented compared to now. Seeing all of this gave me a better appreciation for photography.

Museum Favorite: Bottle Tops

Throughout Wisconsin we have many breweries.  Some are decades old, while others are newer as micro-brewing becomes popular.  Regardless of how old the brewery is or what types of brews they want to make, ingredients for beer are the same. All you need are three simple ingredients: malt, water and hops.  The process is the same, but the end product will very.  One of the variation I had never seen before was of the bottles in the brewery.  In all of the breweries I have toured bottles are capped with metal caps. These are some times twist off or can require removal with a bottle opener.  The bottling process at the museum brewery was slightly different.  I would describe the bottle tops at the museum similar to corks. This was neat to see and I enjoyed being able to see such a small brewery with all of the equipment used back home.

The Brewery

While we had free time I took some time to go see the brewery attached to the Museum. It was very neat because it looks like any other brewery but I guess I did not realize that so much goes into making the beer and preparing everything. They had this cool bottle washer where you just put the bottles in this brisle machine and it cleans them inside and out and next to it was a bottle holder that lets the bottles dry. You could fit at least 20 bottles in there. I know it's not super exciting but I really enjoyed this exhibit. Brewing is not an easy process but it was cool to see that the process is still the same as now a days.

Stain Glass

I know this sounds kind-of cheesy but the only time I've seen people working on stained glass windows   was in the movie the Last Song. The one with Miley Cyrus and Liam Hensworth. When I saw them actually working on the stained glass windows I was surprised how much time and effort they put into each and every detail. The color has to be perfect for each piece and let me tell you adding those hooks onto the stained glass was the hardest thing I did.

Stained glass

At the stained glass museum, I wasn't really sure as to what to expect. I have always enjoyed stained glass for its beauty and detail, but never knew what went into making it. While the guided tour was fun and interesting, actually getting to make some stain glass was a great experience. I was pretty nervous at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun. Doing this activity helped me learn about the creativity that went into making it. It also showed me just how much time it takes as messing up can force you to restart. Overall, I thought it was a interesting and informative tour that gave me a lot of information.

"Sailing" is Believing (Conner reading)

In Clifford Conner's article, "A People's History of Science," he writes about sailors and their knowledge of ocean currents and astronomy. He says that these topics are known by the sailors because rely on that knowledge​ daily. This example also ties into the discussion on whom to trust and why. This knowledge can be passed on to fellow sailors, and these ideas can be easily demonstrated to them. These techniques are crucial for gaining trust and remembering​ the information. It is easy to trust someone who has clearly shown his or her ideas and how those ideas affect our lives. Professional sailors are experts in their "field" (although it's water, not a grassy field!), so they can certainly be trusted to know the best techniques and advice for sailing.

Bittersweet Taste of Sugar (Berlin Technology Museum)

In the Berlin Technology Museum, I learned about the process of making beat sugar. It was really fascinating to read about how it's made, but then I learned about how the harvesting and creation of sugar came about. When it was discovered that sugar can be created from beats, a fierce industry grew up around it, and the technology associated with sugar creation brought about huge negative consequences. First, harvesting the beats for the sugar is a great deal of work, so many businesses relied on slave labor to do the work. The conditions for​ the slaves were terrible. The original process of making sugar produced a lot of waste, which polluted the environment in the Caribbean and Central America, but since the process and the labor were so cheap, the companies had no reason to find better ways to make sugar. This example shows that improvements in science and technology do have influential and positive effects on the world, but, as discussed with Einstein's E=mc^2, science and technology can be exploited for gain, which can lead to harm to other people and the planet.

Stained Glass Museum

The stained glass museum was really interesting. I never knew how much time, effort, and patience went into making a window. It was cool to see the techniques to cutting and framing the glass. The most interesting part of the tour was finding out how the glass was painted. The artist would put a layer of patina on the glass and then remove the patient from the area it was not needed. After the first layer of patina was done, it was placed in the kiln. This process was repeated until the painting was done. We also got to try and make our own stained glass. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I now have a new appreciation for the artist who make these windows.

The New Synagogue

Due to the projected influx of the jewish population, in 1856 it was determined that a new place of worship be built in the center of town to accomindate these peoples. This new building was to be built with the attention of signifying the 'new status, size, importance, and wealth of the jewish community of Berlin". The New Synagogue was built, partially destroyed during Crystal night and other occasions, and patched up since then. Now, it stands out from the surrounding brick buildings due to its golden color and dome on top.

This building originally stood out to me because of its immense beauty, however when I researched it, I became overly sad at the story. Berlin was unintentionally luring their Jewish population into destruction.

Jagiellonian University Museum

On Wednesday, we went to the Jagiellonian University Museum. I liked that we were able to see the first globe with the Americas featured on it. I was surprised at how small it was, but was glad that they had an enlarged replica showing what scientists thought the continents looked like in the world. The most interesting part of the globe, was the placement of North America, which was not very near where it is today.  I enjoyed the tour of this museum and how the tour guide ended it in the lecture hall, where he explained to us that the hall is still used today.

Stained Glass

I really enjoyed the stained glass museum because they told us the step by step process of how stained glass is created. Something interesting that I learned was if a mistake was made on one of the pieces of glass I had to be destroyed. My favorite part of this tour thou was having the opportunity to make my own stained glass. I thought this was a great way to end the tour because it allowed us to apply what we learned in a hands-on activoty.

Stained Glass

Stained glass was always something I looked at either it was in churches or museums however I had no idea how it was made it how meticulous it was.  That all changed when we went to the last place in Poland.  The stained glass museum was very interesting because it showed the process of making stained glass.  I had no idea that one simple mistake while cutting or painting the glass would result in work that would have to be redone or completely destroyed.  However the most interesting part was making the stained glass ourself.  This museum was one if the most interesting finally in Poland.

Humboldt University

The Humboldt University and Jagiellonian museum both interested me because despite being important historical sites that see many tourists, they're also commonly used today. Even the rooms that we saw in the museum section of the Jagiellonian are still used for conferences and other events. It shows how people here value the opportunity to display their history to tourists but don't want to strip those places of their original function to do so. I think it would be irritating to attend a university that frequently has tourists, but maybe it's just normal for the students here.

Walking Man Takeover

When we went on our walking tour a couple of days ago, the symbols used in the crosswalk lights were pointed out. When Berlin was split between the capitalist Western side and the Communist Eastern side, many aspects of the city differed on each half, including basic thing like the symbols used for crosswalk lights. When Berlin was unified in the 1990's, these differences had to be removed, and the crosswalk symbols on the Eastern side were planned to be removed. However, there was strong public outcry against the symbols' removal. In fact, its potential removal almost provoked a revolt. In the end, the "walking man" symbols were allowed to stay. This story is a clear example of how infrastructure, even basic aspects like crosswalk lights, can have a big impact on society. The symbols used for the crosswalk are today used as symbols of the city. Public opinion is a big factor in infrastructure decision-making, and this example shows that "trivial" pieces of infrastructure can have that impact. It shows how much responsibility engineers and scientist have towards maintaining public happiness, approval, and convenience in their daily lives.

Jagiellonian

I thought that the Jagiellonian University was an intriguingly different site from the norm. The architecture and story of the museum was almost as interesting as the material inside. The university treasury's inclusion of contemporary artifacts from alumni was also interesting. One of the older objects, the astrolabes, were cool due to the fact that they were original though being several hundred years old. The story of notable alumni is also cool as it included names such as Nicolaus Copernicus, and Pope John Paul II, as well as several Nobel Laureates. Overall, I thought the museum was an interesting addition and deeply appreciated the fact that it was where Copernicus went to school.

Stain glass

Prior to seeing the amount of labor and patience required to create stain glass pieces,  I didn't relay care for it and didn't know much about it; although, I do have a greater appreciation for the art of stain glass. What surprised me the most was the amount of time required and if you happen to mess something up, for example the color, you would have to start an entire piece over. Also, doing the hands on stain glass piece was kind of stress relieving for me, and even watching our instructors do it was relaxing. 

Book Burn Memorial

Books are something that can be used for entertainment, but also supply us with knowledge.  In 1933, staff and students of the Humboldt University took the right of entertainment and knowledge away by burning more than 20,000 books.  These books were authored by Einstein, Hemingway, Freud and many others.  The publications by these authors were banned at this time because there was Nazi propaganda that condemned these writers. The idea was that by burning the books the era of Jewish intellectualism needed to come to an end.  Today, there is a memorial inside the Bebelplatz that you can see though a piece of glass and view empty book shelves representing the books that were destroyed in that historic Book Burn bonfire.

Walking Man

When Adam was giving us the tour around the city of Berlin he pointed out the walking man. If you notice on each stop light it is not just a light, it is a person. For green you would cross the street and for red you would stop. This was just a little something to bring some joy to people's lives on the east side of Berlin because during the war when things were divided, everything was supposed to conform to the rules on the west but the east was going to riot because they wanted to keep their walking man. I would say it is a symbolic thing even with how small it is.

Municipal Engineering Museum

I thought the municipal engineering museum was interesting. First, they had a giant human hamster wheel that was hooked to a pulley system that lifted a crate, that a person could stand in. There was also models of cars from Poland through the years, two of these cars stood out to me. The first car had the engine in the back and the trunk was in the front. The second car that stood out to me was known as the job chicken catcher. This was because the hinges for the front door was opposite side to what we are used to today. This made it easy to open the door while driving to capture a chicken and grab it.

The Choice Tunnel

The Choice Tunnel at the Shindler Factory was my favorite experience of the day. Our tour guide was very entergentic and eager, which heightened the already intemse emotions of the tour. Chronologically layed out, the tour gave the visitor more and more things to think about as time went on. Towards the close of the tour, our class, in haste to catch up with our impassioned tour guide, found ourselves quickly submerged in a dark tunnel. More surprising than darkness, however we had to shuffle our way along a squishy, uneven path to reach our destinstination, which ended up being a blinding white room in comparison. This room was full of contributions that seemingly average people made to better the lives of others during the time of the holocost.

This striking representation of bringing light and hope in a time of darkness and fear, was very moving to me. I could never say that I could almost relate to how the victims of the holocost felt, but I know that emerging from that tunnel to find an ally would be most comforting. The methophor this tunnel and light stood for was very powerful and unforgettable.

Professor Z

At the Municipal Engineering Museum, we saw numerous cars. There were several prototypes in the motor culture section at the museum. They only way I am to describe these cars are; Imagine you are watching Pixar's Cars 2. Can you hear the car with the Russian accent and one eye glass? His name was professor Z. This is what one of the cars looks like. It opens from the front and people will crawl into the car. It was probably hectic. The second car was similar to the car in the movie Man from U.N.C.L.E. You can see the car in the car vs man chase in the first 20 minutes of the movie. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend watching it! My favorite car was called the chicken catcher. The door opens the opposite way it does today. You would open the car door and catch random chickens in the street. I wish we did this in the United States.

The factory

The Schindler Factory was a very interesting and eye opening experience.  The biggest shock was the fact that most of the factory does not exist and that the tour was mostly about what Poland was like during the pre-war and post occupation area.  During the tour the tour the most intersting part was about the the swastika symbols on the floor.

In the middle of the tour one of the rooms was completely covered with tiles with the swastika symbol on them.  What is interesting to learn was the fact that the tiles could not be made anymore because the swastika symbols can not be produced on objects because of the meaning of it.  It was interesting because if the tiles break they can not replace them.  The factory was a very interesting and impactful site to visit.  

Horse Drawn Tram

Yesterday, our group toured the Museum of Municipal Engineering, in the Kazimierz section of Krakow.  This museum was filled with many amazing artifacts to accurately represent how technology and the way of living in Krakow has changed. One of my favorite examples of this was how transportation has changed.  Beginning in 1882, the first tram way was put in place and running.  The tram cars, like the accompanying photo, were pulled by horses. There were two versions of the tram car for the change of seasons too.  The pictured car was used in the spring and summer to make riding in the tram car more bearable, since temperatures tend to rise during these times.  A fun fact about these cars was your fare price was based on your height! If you were under 130 cm, you paid less.  I assume this is due to the fact those at that size would take up less room and allow for more passengers to ride on the tram. These trams were well utilized until the 1890's, but were then replaced by the electric tram. This was neat to see and a version of transportation I didn't realize was utilized in the past.

 

 

One of the interesting things I learned at the municipal engineering museum was that engineers in Poland had to develop ways to incorporate new technology in cities that had existed since medieval times. Our guide discussed how, rather than destroying an arch that was too low to accommodate trams, engineers lowered the pavement. I noticed that the challenges associated with industrialization are visible in Krakow, such as the small streets that require one to park on the sidewalk, dense housing with highly limited floorspace (as exemplified by our hostel), and the modernization of the insides of buildings that were clearly built in a different era, all while still preserving the status of historically significant sites. It seems that Europeans had to put extra effort into accommodating industrialization, and this city is a great example of the ingenuity required to face such problems.

Why do some people have a different "charge" than others?

One thing that intrigued me was how some people had different charges than others while we were putting our hands on metal, and for those of you interested in Bio health or even the answer to this question I may have a short explanation. So from what I understand, the charge is coming from electrolytes: potsssium, calcium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, phosphate, and bicarbonate. Electrolytes regulate our nerve system, muscle contraction, blood pH, blood pressure, and our body's hydration. They all play a specific role within our bodies; therefore the different charges could mean you were deficient in one or more electrolytes. Also, our skin is very resistant to letting things in/out, so electrolytes can be released via sweating. Those who sweat more those more electrolytes and give off a higher "charge." If you seemed "dead" compared to other people, or even a carrot, there's not much to worry about because everyone is different, and your body may or may not need as many electrolytes to function. But if you're worried you can surely find them in fruits and vegetables!

Schindler's Factory

About halfway through the Schindler tour, we arrived in a room that had the names of all the people that Schindler saved. Even though we were already told how many he saved, (which was about 1200) it was very interesting to see the names. It was the most impactful moment for me personally, because  seeing all their names showed me the scale and risk Schindler took to rescue the Jews. Learning more about him in this section of the tour, really gave me a nice grasp on the kind of person that he was. It was good to learn about his life.

Schindler

I decide to write about Schindler and how he helped so many people. During Alyssa's presentation she had said that Oscar Schindler was actually apart of the Nazi family and although he could not help the Jews, he used his powers to help them survive. He had given them jobs making pots and pans. Then, to make sure the people he was helping stayed safe, the factory was turned into munition to contribute to the war efforts. Although during our tour he was not disscussed much, at the end I thought it was very neat to see a few of the photos of the families and people he all helped. We also saw the machine used to make his pots which was an original. Altogether, the Schindler Facorty was a great experience and I enjoyed all the history and time they put into making the museum what it is.

The Chicken Catcher

At the Museum of Municipal Engineering, there was a section on car prototypes. This was really cool. There was a car that the front of the car opened up instead car doors. Another car had slanted wheels, the wheels went straight when people got in the car. My favorite car was the chicken catcher. This car had door hinges and handle on the opposite side of the door. This helped the driver open the door and catch a chicken, all with out slowing down!

Shindler's Factory

Today we went to see Shindler's factory in Kraków, Poland. It was a very sobering experience to hear various stories the tour guide told us, but it was also very interesting and a place that everyone should go visit to learn more about this history.  One of the most heart-wrenching stories was about the man who threw babies put of windows for fun. This was very disheartening to hear. It was nice that the tour guide had real life connections with some of the Holocaust survivors and was able to tell us a few of those stories. I do wish that the tour would have been more about the factory itself, but it was interesting that it was organized by year, so you could see the progression of the Germanization of Poland during this period.

Pipes in the trees

I really enjoyed the municipal engineering museum. It really interesting to see the old forms of transportation that were used in Krakow. My favorite part, however, was seeing the old pipes that were made out of tree trunks. It is a really clever and efficient design for the time it was used. That design shows that people have always looked for practical designs of infrastructure, transportation, and other items used daily. Even though the technology was not up to today's standards, the past citizens of Krakow did what they could to keep the city functioning effectively and efficiently.

The last few days have been quite interesting. So far, the overall geography of the city amazes me. Just today, going to Wawel Castle and being able to see how the city started was an eye-opening experience. The change of the human geography of the city is also of great importance, as was shown yesterday at the Schindler factory. The ethnic and overall composition of the city is deeply rooted in the history and architecture present all around the city. Whether it be in the form of a castle situated above the commoners or a repressive ghetto, the rich human element of Krakow and Poland has me excited for the days to come!

Congratulations to our Jeopardy winners!