Project: 'Sun Energy' Exhibit
Venue: BC Hydro Visitor Centre
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Date: June, 2001
Client: BC Hydro
Contributors: Mystus Interactus (mechanical development, housing design)

In 'Sun Energy' the visitor can rotate the globe to simulate day and night or revolve the earth to simulate the seasons. Both actions are motor driven and activated by pressing a button. A light box shines a parallel beam from one side. Small solar panels connected to a meter monitor the intensity of the light. The visitor can select which of the solar cells is connected to the meter. This exhibit accurately models 1) How the length of day changes with the seasons, 2) How the length of day is affected by latitude, 3) How the seasons are opposite in the north and south hemispheres, and 4) Why there is a 'land of the midnight sun'. For further study, using this exhibit as an activity centre, students can tabulate measurements and discover 1) The significance of the equinoxes, and 2) Differences in average maximum daily/yearly solar energy. It also supports further discussions back in the classroom or at home about 1) Climate, and 2) Time zones.