I'm not gonna lie—I've been wanting to go to the UFO Welcome center for a pretty long time now, at least a year. Finally, on the way home from a meeting in Charleston last Friday, Adam and I were fortunate enough to have some time to take a slight detour to the charming city of Bowman, South Carolina to see it in all its splendor.
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Not only is the Kangaroo Conservation Center of Dawsonville, GA home to the largest population of kangaroos outside Australia, but it's also the dwelling place of the world's largest pigeon.
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ScienceAsArt.org is now live to the world, showcasing Clemson University's annual competition that celebrates the aesthetic beauty of scientific imagery. Although the project presented a few challenges, we're pretty excited about the results.
The main challenge we faced was to create a site that places emphasis on the art, not the site design—the site itself simply serves as a clean canvas on which the artwork can be displayed. White space and neutral grays maximize the visual impact of the submissions. A kaleidoscope of color draws attention to key areas, but they are employed sparingly as to not compete with the artwork.
Inspired by historical topographical maps, the covers of How and Why Wonder Books, vintage dissection graphics, rulers, beakers, and graduated cylinders, we decided to give the site a few subtle hints of personality. We created a navigation system that resembles a ruler, which reinforces the grid layout and supports the scientific theme. For the site's art gallery, Leonardo Fibonacci was our inspiration. Fibonacci was a mathematician whose work is utilized and enjoyed by painters, engineers, mathematicians, architects, web designers, pinecones, and the winners selected by the Science as Art judges.
Now what would happen if OrangeCoat was in charge of the judging? Here's our favorites:
And if a man on fire holding a chainsaw wasn't enough to get you to feel the spirit of science, try listening to this.
If you don't already have a favorite goat farm, might I suggest Connemara Farms, previously operated by the wife of Carl Sandburg. Aside from being the permanent residence of this jolly goat (and a few of his friends), the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site offers hiking trails, trout ponds, rock outcrops, gardens, orchards, and rolling pastures available for frolicking. Admission is free, and it's just across the state line in Flat Rock, NC.
