Best of the Web

From honey bees to far off galaxies, here are a few websites to pique your interest and spark your curiosity.

BEE’S POINT-OF-VIEW

Kew Royal Botanic Gardens

www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/explore/attractions/hive

Kew Gardens in England has a new outdoor attraction. Designed by UK-based artist Wolfgang Buttress, the Hive is 17 metres tall, weighs 40 tonnes and is made from thousands of latticed aluminium pieces. The Hive is a multi-sensory experience that responds in real-time to a real bee hive that’s located “behind the scenes” at Kew. There are hundreds of LED lights that wax and wane, and you can hear the humming and buzzing of real bees. The attraction opened in June of this year and will continue until November 2017. Keep up to date with this massive science experiment before heading off to England to see and hear it in person.

A HEROS’ WELCOME

The Guardian

www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jul/13/iceland-motherwell-lens-where-did-the-thunderclap-originate

Want to see and hear a hero’s welcome, Icelandic style? The Guardian has the video clip of what seems like the entire population of Iceland recognizing the great efforts of their national football team. But, are you wondering where this human “thunderclap” originated? The Guardian also gives a brief history of it.

SO MANY PLANETS

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (NASA)

eyes.nasa.gov

This app developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) allows us mere Earthlings to look at Jupiter through the “eyes” of Juno, as well as look at Earth, our solar system and exoplanets as if we were travelling in a space craft. There are interactive points-of-view, simulations of Juno and Mars Rover, and if you go to Eyes on Exoplanets, you can click on any star system beyond our own to learn about the 3,302 planets so far discovered—even compare other solar systems to our own.

THE VISIBLE BECOMING INVISIBLE

99% Invisible

99percentinvisible.org

We all do it. An object we walk or drive past everyday (or multiple times a day) starts to become invisible to us because we get so used to seeing it. Originally started by a public radio station (KALW) and the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco, this site showcases those mundane items and sounds that we see and hear everyday but are now ignoring. Choose from articles or podcasts to learn about all sorts of things surrounding us in this big world of ours.