Molecularium

The Molecularium is a science education project. The first major creation of Molecularium was the 2004 Riding Snowflakes, a computer-animated, chemistry-themed show about nano-scale science, formatted for hemispherical projection environments or "digital domes" such as many planetariums found in science museums worldwide. It is in the tradition of musical cartoons, with atoms and molecules as the central characters and an underlying science-education theme, covering concepts such as states of matter, phase changes, and molecular motion. Its main protagonists are Oxy, an oxygen atom and one of the show's central players; Hydro and Hydra, two hydrogen atoms that bond with Oxy to create water; and Carbon, in one of 3 forms, as a crafty, brash atomic hero. The ship's computer, Mel, is the reassuring voice of certainty aboard the Molecularium, the titular ship where the entire show takes place, with an ability to warp the nature of time and space.

In February 2009, a new film, Molecules to the MAX premiered at the EMPAC center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[1] It will be released for IMAX, IMAX 3-D, and other giant-screen theaters. The distributor and marketer is SK Films. The animation features the same characters as Riding Snowflakes and a similar focus on the nanostructure of materials. The animation is based on scientifically accurate molecular modeling simulations provided by Dr. Shekhar Garde, head of Rensselaer’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

The Molecularium was produced by Nanotoon, in collaboration with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering under a grant from the National Science Foundation.

See also

• Planetarium

External links

• Molecularium Official Site
• Molecules to the Max Official Site
• Nanotech @ RPI
• "Presenting the Molecularium", 2005-02-09 NSF press release