Devices of Wonder

Learn more

• Learn more about innovation, inventions, science, and technology.

Legal

From the Getty Museum, Devices of Wonder is an interactive exhibit that “explores the ancestors of modern cinema, cyborgs, and other optical devices. The website was created in conjunction with an exhibition, which presented the parlor games, natural wonders, moving image devices, and scientific instruments that have entertained and educated humans for more than four centuries.The website allows visitors to experience some of these inventions first hand, offering a unique opportunity to operate objects that are too rare and fragile to be handled.The objects are fun to play with, and they also teach us about our social, scientific, and visual history. Visit the Reading Room on the Devices of Wonder Web site and get fact sheets about each object and an overview of the exhibition.”Some of the featured devices include curiosity cabinets, magic lantern slides, a sorceress’ mirror, and a portable diorama.

Devices of Wonder is the interactive portion of the Getty Museum’s exhibit on optical devices. Subtitled From the World in a Box to Images on the Screen, this engaging exhibition really allows students to explore and interact with the objects designed to intensify visual perception. The objects are fun to play with, and they also teach us about our social, scientific, and visual history.The Artful Eye Machines in this exhibit include games, innovative creations, and tools used to entertain and mystify. For example, the fortune-telling game L’oiseau bleu: Jeu magnetique (The Bluebird), from France around 1865, used magnets to create a parlor game to answer questions like “Will I be taking a trip?” or “Will I be successful in my undertakings?” Students can manipulate the object and even use it to tell their own fortune, something they could never do with a fragile museum piece. Exhibit themes provide a way to categorize the objects. From the 1500s Chambers of Wonder (Wunderkammern) collections to the early attempts at cinema and special effects, the objects are unique and fascinating. Click on the More Wonders link at the top right to navigate to an index of printable information in the Reading Room and more about the exhibit themes in About the Exhibition.Teaching Tools for the Devices of Wonder exhibit cover concepts in art, English, social studies, and science. Each activity provides context and links to exhibit items, as well as an Issues to Discuss questions. Home Entertainment, Artists as Scientists, and Create Your Own Parlor Games are among the titles of the activities for integrating this resource into your teaching.The site is available in a highly attractive, interactive Flash format or in a lower-tech non-Flash version. As is the case with many interactive sites, the Flash version is slow to load, but once the object is loaded, actual exploration is relatively fast. Each item has an About section with information about its creation and use. Printable forms require Adobe Acrobat Reader, and video clips require Real Player.