Museums and Microbes

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February 6th, 2018 – Kirk headed off to ISE early this morning and I got a slower start knowing the museums tend to open later, mostly at 10 or 11am. Today was also my first day riding the tram system, which turned out to be very efficient. I grabbed a map and planned out my route to my first stop of the day, Micropia, a microbe museum.

Does that make me a geek? Most people would probably start at Anne Frank House or the Van Gogh museum, but not me… I’d discovered that there was a microbe museum in the city and that’s where I intended to head right away. Two trams and a short walk got me there, and I was the first visitor of the day…..and the only one while I was there.

I was so jealous of the fabulous lab and the amazing array of microscopy equipment that they had back there, I almost knocked on the window and asked if I could come in and explore what they were working on, but I restrained myself.

One entire wall of the place was filled with amazing culture plates of bacteria, molds, and fungi. It was awesome!!

And in the middle of it all, not microbes, but a really cool display that comprised the most amazing ant farm I’ve ever seen, more of an ant ecosystem really. The ants have their homes within the glass chambers to each side, surrounding a circulating water filled moat. In the middle, connected by thin jute rope, is an island with plants, and from there, further jute highways leading to dishes of rocks and water, fruit, and more plants.

I would have loved to have had an ant farm like this when I was a kid!

And the slime molds, oh the slime molds! They were wonderful! Culture plates showing their exploration in search of nutrients, and microscopes set up to show their fabulous fruiting bodies, formed when nutrients are scare and sacrificial of many of the creatures to preserve and sustain some of the group – suicidal bodies for the better of the colony. And even better, a slime mold maze to demonstrate how the amazing things can seek out food and return to the colony to tell the rest where to find it.

It was a very special museum for a biology nerd.

At the end of the displays was a showcase of microbes created out of blown glass, in particular several viruses, including my all time favourite virus, the T4 bacteriophage. How cool is this thing.

Less than a week ago I was presenting photos of these and the slime molds above to my class in a hatchery in snowy Terrace. Another country, a similar theme.

Fabulous!

When I left and was walking to the tram, I noticed the National Holocaust Museum across the road. It wasn’t on my list, but seemed like a place I should visit. It was a sobering trip through a dark period of history that never should have happened, and to which we seem in some ways to be slowly creeping towards again.

The level of security was a sobering check. To enter, one steps up to an outer door and presses a buzzer, you are viewed, and the door opens. Once it shuts behind you, you are trapped between two sets of locked glass doors while someone on the other side fo a glass wall peers at you before opening the second set of doors to allow you to enter and approach the ticket desk.

I was sad before I even began to walk through the exhibits and read the terrible stories. How can we be a species with such potential, and yet be so cruel and cause such devastation.

From the Holocaust Museum I took a tram back to the heart of the city and got off at Amsterdam Centraal Station.

I walked past the harbour and headed for NEMO, the Science Centre, passing the public library building on the way.

I stopped at Starbucks for an iced cappuccino, something not available in Canada. Even though it was below zero out, I was thirsty and in need of something cold to drink. I would normally have an iced Americano, but that wasn’t on the menu here, so I decided to try an iced cappuccino. It was…ok. Too much foam and it was strangely solid and didn’t really go into solution when I swirled it. Not a do again. It was amusing though since I got a strange look when I ordered it, the fellow who gave it to me said they get about one order a month, and asked where I was from – Canada – Ahhh…. Not sure why that made a difference but I guess he figured I live in a frozen world and that an iced coffee at an outside temperature of -4C was normal where I come from.

No, not really, I was just thirsty and wanted something cold.

It was actually kind of stupid since I forgot to bring gloves and now found myself walking across a bridge in an icy wind, carrying an icy beverage.

NEMO is housed within a strange looking building, sort of like a sinking ship. I was looking for more science, but when I passed the turnstile (after yet again explaining that I didn’t speak Dutch) I realized I’d made a terrible mistake….the place was filled to the brim with screaming children.

What was I thinking!?

However, once I got farther in I changed my mind a bit…this lace was stimulating young minds on the coolness of science and engaging them in the exploration of the scientific method. How could I find fault in that!

Pure awesomeness!

Did you know?

One in three people are afraid of heights.

Not me 🙂

From NEMO I made my way back across the bridge and through the bitter wind to Amsterdam Centraal where I caught a tram back to museum square, and picked up my ticket for the Van Gogh Museum, where I rounded out my day admiring the works of the original selfie artist. I have always admired the classic great artists, and Van Gogh numbers among those I had studied when younger.

It was overwhelming to stand in front of his masterpieces and view the changes that formed his life in paint.

When the museum closed and I was booted out the door, I waited for the tram next to the Rijksmuseum, where I planned to visit tomorrow. The sun was low in the sky and gave everything a fabulous golden glow that sparkled on the many windows of nearby buildings.

And, last photo for the day, I got off the tram a couple of blocks from our hotel and in front of a DHL courier office. While there are delivery vans here, presumably for larger items, most of the delivery vehicles I’ve seen are bicycles with a cart in the front. And I loved the clogs in the corner of the window.

And that’s it for the second full (very full) day here.

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