Tools: Extending Our Reach
This exhibition was on display from December 12, 2014 to May 25, 2015.
There were 176 objects in this exhibition but right now we can only show you 170 of them. Some objects may not be viewable because they were on loan; this might be due to issues involving image rights or simply because there is no digitized image for the objects.
This exhibition has been divided in to the following sections:
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Measure
How much? How far? How long? These questions have driven scientific inquiry and the desire for greater accuracy through the creation and use of measuring tools. Navigation, time, and quantifying tools chart our path, mark our time, and regulate our lives.
We create maps and charts to visualize data obtained from these instruments. As the volume of information to analyze increases exponentially, designers, like mapmakers, are working to distill it into accessible formats such as enlarged microchip diagrams that reveal many layers and circuits or a "live" map of celestial bodies that poetically visualizes one's music collection.
Navigate:
Maps help us visualize information: data, circuits on microchips or ocean currents. To determine their location, navigators historically relied on angle-finding tools like the sextant and astrolabe. They gave real-time calculations just like today’s GPS or its next generation, the T-IMU.
Quantify:
An abacus, a calculator, and a slide rule answer the question HOW MUCH? by means of very different techniques. The construction of some of our greatest modern buildings was calculated using slide rules. For surveying complex sites and surfaces, 3D laser scanners achieve such high precision that the interior of an entire building can be represented in minute detail.
Time:
By the 19th century, affordable timepieces became available to a growing American middle class because they could be factory made. More than tools to keep time, pocket watches served as status symbols and fashion accessories, and achieved unexpected success during the Civil War, when they became a fad among Union soldiers.
- Calculator, ET55, 1980
- abs polymer casing.
- Courtesy of Cara McCarty.
- s-e-1601
- Book (facsimile), Astronomicum Caesareum, 1540
- leather-bound paper boards, paper, string.
- Courtesy of Smithsonian Libraries, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library.
- 24.2012.5
- There are 4 images of this object.
- Software And Source Code, Planetary, 2011–12
- c++ and objective-c source files.
- Gift of Ben Cerveny, Tom Carden, Jesper Andersen, and Robert Hodgin.
- 2013-14-1
- Escape Map, C-52 Japan and South China Seas and C-53 East China Sea, 1945
- acetate rayon.
- Gift of Richard N. Fried.
- 1992-140-1
- This object was made by Army Air Forces.
- This object is part of the Textiles collection.
- There are 4 images of this object.
- Portable Equatorial Sundial And Compass, 1748
- gilt and engraved brass, cut and blued steel, glass.
- Gift of the Estate of James Hazen Hyde.
- 1960-1-12
- This object is part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts collection.
- There are 3 images of this object.
- Folded T-IMU Pyramid (above Unfolded T-IMUs)
- H x W x D: 5.4 x 4.5 x 4.06 mm (7/32 x 3/16 x 5/32 in.).
- Courtesy of MicroSystems Laboratory of the University of California, Irvine.....
- 17.2014.4
- There are 3 images of this object.
- T-IMU Unfolded (2) (USA), 2014
- Courtesy of MicroSystems Laboratory of the University of California, Irvine.....
- 17.2014.3
- There are 3 images of this object.
- Microsized Timing And Inertial Measurement Unit (T-IMU): Wafer (USA), 2014
- Diam: 10.2 cm (4 in.).
- Courtesy of MicroSystems Laboratory of the University of California, Irvine.....
- 17.2014.2
- There are 2 images of this object.
- Diagram: Layout Of Micro-sized Timing And Inertial Measurement Unit (T-IMU),...
- Approx: H x W: 121.9 x 182.9 cm (48 in. x 6 ft.).
- Courtesy of MicroSystems Laboratory of the University of California, Irvine.....
- 17.2014.1
- There are 2 images of this object.
- 3D Laser Scanner, ScanStation C10, 2010
- compact, pulsed, dual-axis-compensated, very high-speed laser scanner, with....
- Courtesy of Leica Geosystems.
- 16.2014.1
- This object was made by Leica Geosystems Inc..
- There are 7 images and 3 videos of this object.
- Stick Navigation Chart (Marshall Islands), Before 1950
- carved wooden sticks, cowrie shells, twine lashing.
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian....
- 15.2012.35
- There are 3 images of this object.
- Pickett N1010-ES Trig Duplex Demonstration Slide Rule (USA), ca. 1960
- plywood, plexiglass.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 2010.3095.071.
- 14.2012.67
- This object was made by Pickett Industries.
- There are 2 images of this object.
- Protractor (USA), 1889–92
- sheet steel.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 1977.0460.01.
- 14.2012.66
- This object was made by Darling, Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company.
- There are 3 images of this object.
- Soroban (Japanese Abacus) (Japan), ca. 1900
- wood, bamboo.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 1989.0515.01.
- 14.2012.65
- There are 3 images of this object.
- Tonometer (France), 1876
- steel, walnut.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 217544 (600....
- 14.2012.64
- This object was made by Rudolph Koenig.
- There are 3 images of this object.
- Radio Compass Loop Antenna Housing (USA), ca. 1940
- rag-filled bakelite, metal.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 1977.0368.65.
- 14.2012.57
- There are 2 images of this object.
- Prototype For Pocket Watch (USA), ca. 1850
- 18k gold case, brass movement, white enamel dial.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 334625.
- 14.2012.53
- There are 3 images of this object.
- Mariner's Astrolabe (replica) (USA), Original: 1602; replica: 1963
- bronze.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 323719.
- 14.2012.52
- There are 4 images of this object.
- Box Clock (USA), ca. 1816
- wood case with painted dial on glass door, lead weights, paper.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 317044.
- 14.2012.46
- There are 2 images of this object.
- Sextant And Case (England), ca. 1865
- sextant: brass, silver, glass; case: mahogany, brass, felt.
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, 1980.0318.03.
- 14.2012.23
- This object was made by Charles Frodsham & Company.
- There are 4 images of this object.