Celebrity death certificate

Einstein examines the life and theories of the most famous scientist of the 20th century, and arguably, the most brilliant scientific mind of all time. The exhibition explores the legacy of Albert Einstein (1879-1955), not only as a scientific genius who reconfigured our concepts of space and time, but as a complex man actively engaged in the social and political issues of his era. It examines the phenomenon of his fame and his enduring status as a global icon whose likeness has become virtually synonymous with genius.

The exhibition is presented in the following sections:

EINSTEIN'S REVOLUTION

A brilliant thinker who imagined nature in the most unconventional ways, Einstein forever changed our understanding of the universe when his new theory of gravity--the General Theory of Relativity--was revealed to be correct. The classic Newtonian view of gravity as a simple force between objects was overthrown by Einstein's vision of gravity as the result of objects warping space and time. A large video installation graphically simulates this by distorting visitors' images by the imaginary gravity of a projected black hole.

LIFE AND TIMES

Einstein's fascination with the seemingly counterintuitive forces of nature began when, as a very young child, he wondered what made the needle of a compass move. Contrary to popular legend, Einstein excelled at math and science as a schoolboy, evidenced by one of his report cards, on display in the exhibition Einstein's letters, filled with passion and humor, demonstrate his turbulent personal life both before and after his rise to fame. A highlight in this section is Einstein's 1921 Nobel Prize medal and certificate. Other personal items on display include family mementos, and his magnetic compass, similar to the one that intrigued him so as a child.

LIGHT

Einstein once said that "imagination is more important than knowledge," and from an early age, he often imagined the impossible. At 16, Einstein conducted a thought-experiment, wondering what it would be like to ride on a beam of light. Could he travel as fast as light? Could he travel faster? In 1905, when he was just 26, Einstein answered these questions when he published his Special Theory of Relativity. By accepting that the speed of light is a constant for all observers, Einstein proposed new ideas about the nature of space and time. A kinetic sculpture using innovative technology to create moving light patterns helps visitors visualize Einstein's most revolutionary theories.

TIME

Every day on his walk to the Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland, where he worked after college, Einstein passed several of Bern's numerous clock towers; eventually, he began to ponder the fundamental nature of time. On a walk one day in 1905, Einstein had a sudden revelation: time is not absolute. In other words, despite our common perception that a second is always a second everywhere in the universe, the rate at which time flows depends upon where you are and how fast you are traveling. This fact leads to perhaps the most surprising result of all: time travel to the future is not just science fiction, but possibly scientific reality. A wall display of clocks, each ticking off the seconds at a different rate, graphically illustrates Einstein's radical understanding that the length of any interval of time varies according to how fast the "clock" and the observer are moving.

ENERGY

The most famous equation ever written, E=m[c.sup.2] helps explain what fuels a variety of physical phenomena, from stars to the atomic bomb. Although E=m[c.sup.2] is familiar to most of us today, the secret is revealed--that mass can be converted to energy and energy to mass--eluded scientists for centuries. Einstein himself called the finding "amusing and enticing" and wondered "whether the Lord is laughing at it and has played a trick on me." Visitors can delve deeper into the reasoning behind Einstein's formula by touching individual components of the equation on an interactive "blackboard". In addition, original handwritten pages from the 1912 manuscript of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem will be on museum display in the United States for the first time. This section also contains a twice life-size bronze statue of Albert Einstein, made specifically for the exhibition by sculptor Robert Berks.

GRAVITY

In one of his famous thought-experiments, Einstein surmised that if a housepainter fell off a roof, he would feel weightless when accelerating toward the ground. This idea led Einstein to reason that gravity and acceleration must be equivalent. Called the "equivalence principle," this idea was the seed that over the next nine years-blossomed into Einstein's masterpiece, the General Theory of Relativity. Einstein imagined a universe in which gravity is not a force, but rather the effect that results from massive objects warping space-time, the four-dimensional arena in which all things exist. Original manuscript pages from the 1916 General Theory of Relativity will be on public display for the first time in the United States. On an interactive wall, visitors will see how their own masses warp space-time," like a bowling ball distorting the surface of a trampoline.

EINSTEIN IN PEACE AND WAR

A lifelong pacifist, Einstein has denounced World War I. As a Jew who strongly identified with his culture, he was especially shocked by the horrifying events leading up to World War II. After the Nazis rose to power and Einstein emigrated to the United States, he was compelled to rethink his pacifism and began to feel that the Nazis could only be defeated with force. Concerned that the Nazis might be building an atomic bomb, Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, urging him to pursue research into how the U.S. could build the bomb first. Einstein's letter and FDR's reply to him will be displayed side-by-side for the first time. Also displayed will be other correspondence relating to Einstein's commitment to peace and his advocacy of nuclear disarmament.

GLOBAL CITIZEN

Although a reluctant celebrity, Einstein recognized that his fame enabled him to serve as a powerful Advocate for his deeply held political beliefs. He was a passionate humanitarian, speaking out against segregation, anti-Semitism, McCarthyism, and arguing for the protection of human rights around the world. One of his early concerns was the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East; at the same time, he stressed the need for cooperation between Jews and Arabs. In 1952, Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel, but graciously declined. This section features the original 1952 letter from Abba Eban, Israel's ambassador to the United States, offering Einstein the presidency of Israel.

EINSTEIN'S LEGACY

In the last decades of his life Einstein searched for a single theory to describe all physical phenomena from the smallest atomic particles to the entire universe. This "Grand Unified Theory" eluded him, but the search for such a theory remains one of the hottest topics in physics today. On display for the first time in the United States will be Einstein's last writing pad containing his final calculations in pursuit of a unified theory, on which he was working before his death in 1955. Einstein also laid the foundation for ongoing research on topics ranging from gravitational waves to the Big Bang and the subsequent expansion and acceleration of the universe. The enduring legacy of Einstein will continue to inspire generations of great thinkers.

LEARNING LAB

In the Learning Lab, visitors can experiment with many of the physics concepts presented in the exhibition.

Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles. Einstein is made possible through the generous support of Jack and Susan Rudin and the Skirball Foundation, and of the Corporate Tour Sponsor, TIAA-CREF.

Photography is not allowed in the Einstein exhibition.