Hall of Chemistry

I love this early view of the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry. The slide is undated, but I believe that it is from 1956. The image had turned very magenta, and it's always a challenge to try to bring one of those back to life. Imagine hours of sweating and cursing (and OK, maybe some weeping) in front of a hot computer, with little machines that beep and test tubes filled with colored water and dry ice, and you get the idea. In this case it turned out pretty good!

Lots of people are heading inside to view a variety of displays showing how chemicals and chemistry affect their daily lives. One display was the "Chemitron": a series of eight large test tubes. Each was topped with a statue representing the eight natural materials all chemicals are made from. Do you know what those eight natural materials are? Neither do I, but I am guessing that one of them is maple syrup.


I provided this detail because I was curious what that sign was that you can see in the entrance. It seems to be printed in reverse. Whaddaya know, it's a reflection of the Circarama sign across the way. Life, she is funny, no?