HONOLULU – Ever wonder what stabilizes some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers? Or how building foundations sustain nature’s unruly weather and earthquakes? Bishop Museum is set to reveal the mysteries and ingenious designs of architecture with “If These Walls Could Talk: An Exhibit About Buildings,” opening October 2, 2004. Exhibit-goers will have the opportunity to inhabit a Mongolian ger, see what it feels like to stand on the 40th floor of a steel skyscraper, raise the roof of a collapsed dome, build towers, tour the Talking House, and watch mighty buildings tumble as they are demolished.

“If These Walls Could Talk: An Exhibit About Buildings” immerses visitors in steel, concrete and glass structures as they discover the science, technology and culture behind buildings. Among the hands-on displays are a collapsible dome and an “I Know That Building” area, which allows visitors to match anonymous building details to archetypes such as homes, churches or shopping centers. Children can also sit on the main street of a small city and change the windows, siding, and roofs of the building before their very eyes.

In addition, there’s the “Talking House Theatre” featuring animated figures with sound and lighting effects, hosted by “Sergeant C.O. Detector.” Here, a carbon-monoxide detector alarm has gone off and the Sergeant intends to find the culprit. Is it the furnace, the fireplace, or the water heater?

Visitors will also learn the reasoning and science behind demolition projects and implosion. A special simulated demolition theater, constructed just for this exhibit, will feature the explosive work of the famous Loizeaux family, the world’s leading demolition experts.

Produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota with support from the National Science Foundation, If These Walls Could Talk: An Exhibit about Buildings will be on display in Castle Hall through January 4, 2005.

A treasured resource of Hawaiian history and heritage, Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop as a tribute to his wife Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha dynasty. Located at 1525 Bernice Street, the Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $14.95 for adults; $11.95 for youth 4-12 years; special rates for kama‘āina, seniors and military; children under 4 years and Bishop Museum Association members are free. For information, call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.