In September of 2000, the “Iceman” as he has come to be known, was gently thawed. Scientists used this opportunity to extract DNA and to determine his last meal!

Unlike the infamous “last meal” choices of those condemned to death row, the Iceman’s final edibles were anything but extravagant. His meal was a simple one, consisting of some unleavened bread made of einkorn wheat (one of the few domesticated grains used in his part of the world at this time), some sort of plant or herb and some kind of meat. It’s estimated that the meal was consumed approximately 8 hours before death.

While testing the food matter found in the Iceman’s colon, they also stumbled upon a bit of pollen, which allowed them to pinpoint the location at which he ate his last meal. The majority of the pollen came from the hop hornbeam tree, which grows in a warm environment. Once the scientist recognized the pollen, he not only knew which side of the mountain the Iceman had been on but also the season in which he died. The hop hornbeam tree blooms between March and June.

The Iceman is now on frozen display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology at Bolzano, Italy.

This is another profound example of the progress forensic science has made in the past two decades. Take a minute to think about what else forensics can do!

credits: wikipedia.org/pbs.org

Two times more efficient than a Prius, the Tesla Roadster can go 0-60 mph in a blinding 3.9 seconds! It has a 244-mile range and oozes torque, torque, torque from 0-14,000 RPMs. You’ll never see that kind of torque in a gasoline engine; they have low torque at low RPMs and torque peaks at a very limited RPM range. This two-seater, open-roof RWD sportscar boasts a 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive. It outputs 248 peak horsepower (185kW) and 276 ft/lbs (375 nm) of torque. Redline is 14,000 rpm.

The Tesla Roadster is a single speed fixed gear with electrically actuated parking lock mechanism and mechanical lubrication pumptops. It tops out at 125 mph and only take about 3.5 hours to fully charge!

You too can have your very own Tesla Roadster starting at $101,500. It might seem like a lot, but can you really put a price on our environment? Might as well have fun while you’re here.

For more information on the Tesla Roadster, visit www.teslamotors.com.

Scientists have been constantly developing telescope technology and now they come in all shapes and sizes and are used all over the world to study the sky and our galaxy. In the next few years, two new types of telescopes will be introduced not only to further the study of space but to help save humans from extinction!

One of the telescopes is called Pan-STARRS and it’s slated to be able to detect 90% of all killer asteroids (if an asteroid is more than 300 meters, it’s considered killer). I guess we don’t think about killer asteroids on a daily basis, but it’s good to know that someone (or something) is watching out for us!

When the project is completed, four of these telescopes will sit on a mountain top in Hawaii. There are multiple telescopes just in case one malfunctions; that way scientists can still keep a watchful eye on the sky. Each telescope focuses on a patch of sky and takes pictures for about 30 seconds before moving on to another patch. In about a week’s time, each telescope will have photographed the entire sky.

Not to be outdone, European astronomists are working on an entirely different kind of telescope called Gaia. Gaia’s job is to essentially draw a map of the entire galaxy so that scientists can see exactly where stars reside. It’s almost like a map of a neighborhood!

Here at the Science Center, we’re celebrating telescopes too! We’re featuring a planetarium show called Two Small Pieces of Glass which follows two students as they learn how to use a telescope and learn why telescopes are so important in helping us understand the universe.

Two Small Pieces of Glass shows daily at 2pm and is included with museum admission. For the complete Planetarium schedule, please click here

Photo Credit: Brett Simison

The museum remained open throughout the event and many of our guests took the opportunity to indulge their inner child by romping through Newton’s Alley, an interactive discovery area that reveals the marvelous phenomena of matter, energy, force and motion. Some strolled though our new traveling exhibit, Chinasaurs, while some explored our Solar System in Space Link.

All proceeds from Solstice 2009 benefit the education and outreach programs of the Maryland Science Center.

In this case particularly, pictures speak louder than words so I’ll leave you with some photographic narration of the celebration. Check the next entry to read more about the exciting alt-cars for rent here at the Science Center!

So, why are we so excited about Nanotech today? One (not so) small reason: The world’s smallest incandescent lamp.

Team leader Chris Regan, (who belongs to the California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA) and his group from the UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy have been pouring their time into researching the boundaries between quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. While they share the same science genre, these two fundamental theories of physics are like oil and water: incompatible. Or are they?

The lamp is being used to study the black-body radiation law (which is applicable to both theories), developed by Physicist Max Planck in 1900.

The filament in the lamp is made from a nanotube that’s only 100 atoms wide so when it’s off it’s invisible to the human eye. When it’s on, it appears as a tiny dot of light. Nanotubes were discovered fairly recently – in 1991.

Now, admittedly…I’m no scientist so I hope I get this right without sounding too much like a book report but here goes…

Since the incandescent lamp is less than 20 million atoms, it can be applied to both thermodynamics and quantum mechanics; that is, it’s large enough to fall under the principles of thermodynamics but also small enough to be on the molecular scale, making it a quantum-mechanical system. (who would’ve thought!)

Regan explains, “Because both the topic (black-body radiation) and the size scale (nano) are on the boundary between the two theories, we think this is a very promising system to explore. The carbon nanotube that is used as the lamp filament is ideal for their purposes because of its smallness and extraordinary temperature stability.”

Regan’s research continues so keep an eye on science news to see what else he and his team discover!

University of California – Los Angeles (2009, May 7). Physicists Create World’s Smallest Incandescent Lamp. ScienceDaily. Retrieved

Photo Credit: Image courtesy of UCLA.

Since Pi Day fell on a weekend this year, we wanted to take advantage and throw a pi(e) party for our visitors!

A few highlights:

-The pie eating contests, which resulted in the Science Center’s President getting pied in the face (twice)! What a good sport.

-The Pi Chain, which colorfully decorated our railings to the second floor.

- Pi Necklaces, a fun and fashionable to share the love of pi.

-The Pi Bee, in which young children spouted off pi digits and made the rest of us feel as though we needed a math lesson.

Here are the “Hi Pi’s”:

1. Alex, age 8: 185 digits.
2. Taylor, age 10: 118 digits
3. Quinn, age 10: 91 digits
4. Drew, age 11: 84 digits
5. Fox, age 9: 84 digits
6. Issac, age 6 (yes, 6!): 26 digits.

The kids concentrated surprisingly well despite the constant sugar rush from free pies donated by Mrs. Freshley’s and MoonPie. Also, thanks to Rodney and Dangerouly Delicious for your generous gift certificates.

Pi Day originated at the Exploratorium in California in 1988 and has become a favorite of educators, institutions and math (or pie?) fans all around the world.

What’s next for the Science Center? Earth Day, to be held on Saturday April, 25th. For further details, please see our website: http://www.mdsci.org/events-calendar/events/EarthDay.html

Sue, the winner of pie eating contest #1 and Van, Science Center President.