Exhibits & Amenities

Wilder Hall of the Eye

The Wilder Hall of the Eye illustrates the nature and progress of human observation of the sky and the tools used for that exploration. This exhibit gallery focuses on how people have observed the sky and the often profound impact those observations have had on people and society. Each of the four Wilder Hall of the Eye exhibit areas charts the key developments that have further evolved our ability to help our eyes see farther, fainter, and beyond.

Ahmanson Hall of the Sky

Imagine a world without day or night, with no change of seasons or annual cycles. It wouldn't be Earth, because the Sun and Moon dominate our sky and measure the march of time. Sunrise, sunset, and the passing of years and seasons--as well as the restless tides, monthly Moon phases, and awe-inspring eclipses--occur because the Earth and Moon move in relation to the Sun and each other.

Foucault Pendulum

The gently swaying Foucault Pendulum in the W.M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda has long been a visitor favorite since the building opened in 1935. One of the largest such devices in the world, the fully restored pendulum is actually an elegant scientific instrument which demonstrates the Earth's rotation.

The 240-pound bronze ball, suspended by a cable 40 feet long, swings in a constant direction while the Earth turns beneath it. The pendulum is mounted to a bearing in the rotunda ceiling that does not turn with the building as it rotates with the Earth. A ring magnet at the bearing gives a little tug on each swing of the pendulum to keep the pendulum in motion. As the day passes, the pendulum knocks over pegs set up in the pendulum pit and indicates the progress of rotation.

Hugo Ballin Murals

Medieval cathedrals told stories in stone. The Ballin ceiling mural celebrates classical celestial mythology, with images of Atlas, the four winds, the planets as gods, and the twelve constellations of the zodiac. The eight rectangular Ballin wall murals depict the "Advancement of Science" with panels on astronomy, aeronautics, navigation, civil engineering, metallurgy and electricity, time, geology and biology, and mathematics and physics.

Artist Hugo Ballin celebrated the progress of science through his spectacular art. These eight panels represent what he called the “Advancement of Science from Remote Periods to Present Times.” Each one shows how science and engineering changed throughout history up to the time Griffith Observatory opened to the public in 1935. The fields shown are aeronautics, navigation, civil engineering, metallurgy and electricity, time, geology and biology, mathematics and physics, and astronomy.