Discover innovation happening right here in Ohio!
Presenting the BRAND NEW Innovation Showcase!
Innovative people can change the world through creativity, technology and science
What is Innovation?
Alternative Fuel IndyCar
There is no roadmap to innovation. Innovation takes creativity, technology, and science. Its goal is to create an original product, a fresh process, or a new service that changes the way we live. Innovation can happen in a flash or over many years.
New products, services, or solutions to age-old problems don't just happen – they are the product of passionate, creative, and innovative people whose stories you'll hear as well as learn about the paths their careers have taken, the innovations they have developed, and what inspires them to keep the creative process going.
COSI's new Innovation Showcase exhibition will inspire and inform you about some of the great people, products, and solutions to problems that are happening right here in Ohio. Created as an innovation itself, the exhibit provides a flexible and dynamic space where COSI can introduce new innovations on a rotating basis – each time you visit there could be something new!
What You Can See and Do
Rapid Prototype Ratio
- Rapid Prototype RATiO - Laser Reproductions
See how COSI's mascot RATiO was made into a 3D figure through stereolithography (a 3D prototyping process), and examine models that show the process in its various stages. - Alternative Fuel High Performance Race Car - Rahal/Letterman Racing
See an actual IndyCar race car, watch a hi-octane racing video, and learn about IndyCar innovation, Ethanol creation, and alternative fuels. - Self Resetting Crash Barrier - Battelle
See the original working prototype of a crash barrier and watch a video of crash barrier testing. Learn how the barrier works and how an innovation originally created for one purpose is now used for something very different. - Balance Plate - Bertec
Test out a device that helps people rehabilitate after injuries, diagnose balance issues, and train athletes! Hear from Kimberly Edington Bigelow, a Biomedical Engineer with Bertec, and learn how engineering can be applied to the human body. - Build-A-Duck Interactive Video Game
Play a fun video game that teaches about teamwork. As Vice-President of the Build a Tub Toy Company, try your hand at creating a better rubber duck, then launch it into the marketplace after weighing the input of your team of experts. See how it sells, and succeed or go back to the drawing board.
Bar Coding
Bar coding is a type of modern Morse Code. The dark bars represent dots and light spaces between them represent dashes. A bar code reader decodes the bar code by scanning a light source across it, measuring the intensity of the light reflected by the white and dark spaces. The bar code helps retailers track current pricing, inventory, and other important information for selling products. Originally designed for grocery stores to speed checkout times, bar codes can now be found on virtually all products.
Did you know?
The first product to be scanned with a bar code was a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum on June 26, 1974. It wasn't the first product with bar coded packaging; it was just the first one out of the cart!
Plus:
- Student Innovators, Future Engineers - Project Lead the Way Ohio
See how Project Lead the Way is inspiring tomorrow's engineers and innovators. - Insulin Delivery Device - Battelle
Learn how Battelle created a unique, pen-shaped insulin syringe for diabetics that keeps track of dosage. - Cat Clip - The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine
OSU researchers created a device to help to calm cats during examinations. - Exi-Clip - Cleve-X
Learn how Cleve-X developed a device that saves precious time in the diagnosis of cancer.
Coming Soon
We will be adding more experiences to this dynamic area to help explore local innovation including a high powered laser that melts sand into glass and Ferrofluid, an iron fluid that you'll be able to manipulate with magnets.
One of the Stories You'll Learn About
A research team at Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine was looking for a more effective way to help calm their feline patients and free up their hands during examinations. They used a well-known method of "scruffing" where gentle pressure is applied to a cat's neck (similar to what a mother cat does when carrying a kitten) which reduces stress and makes it easier to conduct examinations. However, this process usually requires multiple people to simultaneously hold the cat and complete the examination.
As they brainstormed solutions, they came up with the idea of a clip that would hold the scruff gently. They developed an innovation solution they called a “cat clip." They created a prototype and conducted research to be sure that it had the desired calming effect without any adverse consequences for the animals. They have since patented their innovation and a company is seeking to take it to market.
Come check out the Cat Clip and other innovative solutions to problems large and small in COSI's new Innovation Showcase!
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