METU (ODTÜ) Science and Technology Museum, Ankara

On a recent trip to Ankara, Turkey, we visited the Middle East Technical University (Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi) Science and Technology Museum.

This museum is located on the university campus and the security guard was kind of confused as to why we were visiting. 

Steam Engine

Outside is a steam engine and several aircraft and several buildings that appear to be cover-ups for alien landings. The large saucer-shaped building is entered via an automatic door that makes a wooshing sound when opening.

Satellite map view courtesy Apple Maps.

The same satellite map via Google. What are they hiding?

Inside are two floors of exhibits of science and technology from prehistoric to modern times.

Hittite era guitar

With Gallipoli located in Turkey, there were items from World War I, including a medical tent and devices for carrying the wounded soldiers.

Army hospital tent from 1914-1922

The system to carry a wounded soldier on a horse

The system to carry wounded soldiers on a donkey

There were several variations of typewriters. 

QWERTZ (German/Polish) keyboard

AZERTY, (French/Belgium) keyboard

Turkish-F keyboard

Video cameras

Helicopter

I think my parents had a cassette deck and headphones similar to this in the 1970s.

Tape deck, headphones, cassette player

Home movie cameras

Movie projector

Oric Atmos Computer made by Tangerine Computer Systems

In another building are vehicles - mostly cars.

Yellow Desoto

Yellow Pontiac

Yellow and Black Chevrolet

Anadol Böcek, (Anatolian Bug), a Turkish made car from 1975

Pre-vinyl Recorded Music

On a recent trip to Prague, we visited the Nostalgic Museum. The owner had a large collection of devices for playing recorded music before vinyl records were popular. These included music boxes and organs that played using metal or cardboard discs or paper rolls.

Gramophone

A few music players in action

A multi-instrument music player

A multi-instrument music player. Cymbals, drum, chimes, and triangle.

Phonograph. Uses a wax cylinder.

Zinc discs

Ariston. Uses rotating cardboard discs and compressed air. 

Herophon. The plate is stationary while the machine rotates.

Mechanical Autoharp

Baroque Clock

OK GO Sandbox

The band OK GO have a sandbox of online resources around their music videos for STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Math) education.

The science and math behind some of their recent videos are discussed and they present challenges for students to create their own animations, music and experiments.

Watch the OK GO Sandbox videos here:



Explore the OK GO Sandbox here.

The One Moment

Yet another awesome music video from OK Go. 

There was a lot of math involved in getting all of the pyrotechnics to sync exactly with the music.

Another video showing more of the behind the scenes story.

OK GO does Upside Down & Inside Out in zero gravity

OK Go - Upside Down & Inside Out
Hello, Dear Ones. Please enjoy our new video for "Upside Down & Inside Out". A million thanks to S7 Airlines. #GravitysJustAHabit
Posted by OK Go on Thursday, February 11, 2016

For more zero gravity music, check out our post: Music that is out of this world

UNI-CUB - personal mobility device featured in OK Go's "I won't let you down"

OK Go recently released another amazing video for their song "I won't let you down" featuring the Honda UNI-CUB personal mobility device.

The UNI-CUB is ideal for the music video featuring the band and synchronized dancers because it has unique omni-directional maneuverability and auto-balancing. The balance control technology and Honda’s proprietary driving wheel system in the UNI-CUB originated from their research into humanoid robots such as ASIMO.

Watch an interview with Damian and Tim on some of their inspiration for the video and behind-the-scenes challenges.

Explore more including interactive video of the song at I won't let you down. The pre-visualization is really cool - you can create your own version of the video with UNI-CUB riders and umbrellas.

OK Go make something

Today America is holding the first-ever White House Maker Faire.



Learn more about the event at http://www.whitehouse.gov/maker-faire.

Another more amazing video from OK Go.

Is string theory right? Is it just fantasy?

Tim Blais and A Capella Science have created Bohemian Gravity, a string theory and quantum physics version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.  

Music that is out of this world

Commander Chris Hadfield recently returned from 6 months aboard the International Space Station. An astronaut and guitarist, just before returning to earth, he made this amazing music video with his version of David Bowie's Space Oddity:

Chris also explains some of the challenges in playing a guitar in space:


And here is Jewel in the Night, an original Christmas carol written by Chris and recorded on the space station:

Custom one man band

An amazing one man custom built orchestra. In this video, Diego Stocco not only builds his own instruments, but composes and plays the full orchestral piece.

Diego Stocco - Custom Built Orchestra from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

As seen on ada fruit industries blog.

Amazing Steve Jobs Tribute

AzRmusic has put together this amazing video tribute to Steve Jobs using only sounds from Apple products and Steve's own words from his famous 2005 Stanford commencement speech.

Beautiful midi keyboard design

Here is a beautiful midi keyboard design by Bård Edlund.

MIDI keyboard design by Bård Edlund from Bard Edlund on Vimeo.
Most MIDI keyboards look like cheap toy spaceships from 1982. But music production is now a home activity. Here's a keyboard you'd be proud to have around.

See more about the design on EDLUNDART.

Meet the Elements

At his school's end of year talent quest today, my son sung Tom Lehrer's The Elements. 

Watch the original song with animation and learn more about the elements of the Periodic Table on my latest Squidoo Lens: Meet the Elements.

Final Countdown nerd cover

Check out the multi-instrument talent in this Final Countdown nerd cover.

Slightly old technology

The students in this video are investigating technology that we had when we were kids. [French with English subtitles]

Innovative electronic musical loops

With violin, xylophone, whistling, voice and some complex electronic loops, Andrew Bird makes some innovative music.




Andrew Bird's one-man orchestra of the imagination | Video on TED.com

Very Electric Guitar

250,000 volts of distortion!
From scopeboy.com/