Fernbank unveils splashy water exhibit

Google the word “water” and almost a billion matches pop up -- 903,000,000 if you’re into precision.

Water has its own Twitter feed and Facebook page (both for www.water.org) and now, its own exhibit, “Water: H2O = Life," at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

But despite its ubiquity, there is a challenge to water: How to make it interesting.

“We’ve always known that water is fun, when you think back to playing in the sprinklers or going to the beach, but it becomes an experience when you walk away having discovered something,” said Brandi Berry, director of public relations for Fernbank.

The new presentation -- on display until Jan. 9 -- tries to dodge any boredom issues with 15 interactive stations scattered throughout almost 10,000 square feet of gallery space.

Nothing about this “Water” is scarce.

A giant globe hovers in the center of the room, a video projected on its curves that teaches about the properties of water.

Explainer boards detail how water exists in practically everything in our lives (Ever think about the evolution of the cotton in that shirt you might be wearing?) and how we take its abundance -- compared with other countries -- for granted.

Even some animals make an appearance -- tanks of tetra and mudskipper fish and leopard frogs for those who like their animals alive, and, for fans of art studio-crafted creatures, a hefty polar bear sporting dyed human hair.

Of the several focal points in the exhibit, such as a 7-foot pot that illustrates where monsoon water goes and an attention-grabbing funnel that glows with lighted vapor, one piece that will likely draw curious parents and short-attention-span kids alike is the “rain table.”

Though it resembles an air hockey table, the purpose of this activity isn’t to cream an opponent, but to slide the white plastic discs to make it virtually rain on the lighted map.

By seeing where the “rain” -- created by LEDs shining invisible infrared light -- falls, it “strikes a balance between areas where there is an abundance of water and where it’s desperately dry. It might make you more mindful,” said Chris Bean, vice president of education at Fernbank.

Of course, that is the intention of “Water” -- to make you think about habits and consumption with a little more pizazz than the average high school geography class.

And, though the exhibit came from the American Museum of Natural History in New York and has traveled internationally, the Fernbank crew localized the final portion to pinpoint issues specific to the Atlanta area.

Along with diagrams about how and from where Atlantans get their water is a map from 1864 with scribbled notes about where “good” (i.e. not deadly) water could be found.

A century and 46 years later, it might not be a dire concern, but it’s the type of factual presentation that might indeed make you more mindful.

“Water: H2O = Life"