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Goshen College

SST students on the Equatorial Line

January 28, 2024

Museo Intiñan features a tile covered line that marks the equatorial divide—to make it visible to the naked eye—, plus, life size representations of native people’s houses, ancient tombs, and regional flora and fauna. This provides interactive experiences at a scientifically intriguing place. The museum and its grounds sit on private property, but through the support of a foundation and modest entrance fees, they are open to the public.

Our 2024 SST group made a day of the visit!

One of the highlights of Intiñan is a demonstration of clockwise and counterclockwise whirlpools that depend on which side of the equatorial line the water drains. This is attributed to the Coriolis Effect, which is the movement variations, caused by Earth’s rotation,  on objects that are not tightly connected to it. It was a bit controversial since the water mass used and its distance from the equatorial line were negligible. See the images and decide for yourselves.

The science was hotly contested
The egg masters were able to balance an egg on the head of a nail!
Here is the experiment, which way will the water swirl?
A clearer explanation of the Coriolis Effect
An ancient sundial that still works!
One foot on the South, the other on the North.
Two “scientists” explaining why we have winds, sea currents and weird ideas.
“Two scientists II”, 2024, mixed media
Mom! He is touching the Word!!
We saw some strange critters, (not referring to people, people!)
A live one!

We also witnessed how gravity affects our sense of balance, downward force, and intellectual skepticism. On the Equatorial divide, gravity has an interesting effect on the vestibular system; it makes the fluids in the inner ear a bit confused and walking on a straight line with one’s eyes closed becomes harder.

The balance test seems a bit harder when half of the body is on the Southern Hemisphere and the other half is thinking about ice cream.
“My feet are going in a straight line, it’s the Earth that’s doing it wrong”
“Walking in a straight line is hard, but dancing is doable”
Some people didn’t seem as affected by the hemispheric difference.
“You try it!”
Yep, dancing is easier than walking on the Equatorial line.

“Put yourself in my shoes”

“Put yourself in my shoes” 2024, mixed media.
“Put yourself in my shoes II” 2024, mixed media.
“Put yourself in my shoes III” 2024, mixed media.
“Put yourself in my shoes IV” 2024, mixed media.
“Neither fast, nor furious” 2024, mixed media.