Downtown in Columbus in Franklin County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Science Spectrum
Sculptor: William Wainwright - 1991
The kinetic sculpture celebrates Isaac Newton's discovery that sunlight, or white light, is made up of the whole range of colors that our eyes can detect. We can see this visible spectrum of colors when sunlight bends through raindrops to form a rainbow, or reflects off the surface of diffraction grading. Each wind driven element on the Science Spectrum has a diffraction grating attached to the reflective coating. The diffraction grating has 20,000 etched lines per inch, which cause the individual colors to spread out. This happens in nature when we see the colors in a soap bubble, an oil slick or the iridescence on a butterfly wing.
Erected 1991 by Center of Science and Industry.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine. A significant historical date for this entry is February 8, 1672.
Location. 39° 57.507′ N, 83° 0.457′ W. Marker is in Columbus, Ohio, in Franklin County. It is in Downtown. It is on Belle Street south of West Chapel Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 323 W Town St, Columbus OH 43215, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Scioto Valley. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Roy L. Shafer 1951 - 2005 (here, next to this marker); Stegosaurus Stenops / Velociraptor Mongoliensis (about 300 feet
this page online
Credits. This page was last revised on March 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 30, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 30, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
