How do detergent enzymes trounce laundry stains?
Visitors to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., will explore these questions at hands-on experiment stations developed by scientists at the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology for the museum’s permanent new exhibition, “Science in American Life.” Three interactive displays created by scientists at NIST and the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology will be part of the exhibit opening April 27. Two NIST displays designed by research physicist John Travis of Gaithersburg, Md.; physicist David King of Washington, D.C.; and electronics engineer Alan Band of Derwood, Md., will teach visitors about lasers and the speed of light. The displays will be located together in the exhibit’s Hands On Science Center. A third interactive display, developed by NIST biologist Travis Gallagher of Rockville, Md., will be in “Looking Ahead,” an area focusing on the science and public perceptions of biotechnology. Gallagher pre
