Powerhouse Museum

Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the other being the historic Sydney Observatory. Although often described as a science museum, the Powerhouse has a diverse collection encompassing all sorts of technology including Decorative arts, Science, Communication, Transport, Costume, Furniture, Media, Computer technology, Space technology and Steam engines.

It has existed in various guises for over 125 years, and is home to some 400,000 artifacts, many of which are displayed or housed at the site it has occupied since 1988, and for which it is named — a converted electric tram power station in the Inner West suburb of Ultimo, originally constructed in 1902. It is well known, and a popular Sydney tourist destination. It has a quarterly magazine called Powerline sent free to members and available at the museum.

Key attractions

The Powerhouse Museum houses a number of unique exhibits including the oldest operational rotative steam engine in the world. Dating from 1785, it is one of only a handful remaining that was built by Boulton and Watt and was acquired from Whitbread's London Brewery in 1888. This engine was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1986.

Another important exhibit is Locomotive No. 1, the first steam locomotive to operate in New South Wales, built by Robert Stephenson in 1854

The most popular exhibit is arguably "The Strasburg Clock Model", built in 1887 by a 25-year old Sydney watchmaker named Richard Smith. It is a working model of the famous Strasbourg astronomical clock in Strasbourg Cathedral. Smith had never actually seen the original when he built it but worked from a pamphlet which described its timekeeping and astronomical functions.

Exhibitions

The museum hosts a number of permanent exhibitions including:

Cyberworlds: computers and connections

This exhibition is about computers and connections through them, and looks at the very first computing machines to the latest designs at the time of launch. 

Space

This exhibition looks at space and man's discoveries relating to it. It includes a life size model space-shuttle cockpit. It has a feature on Australian satellites and joins the Transport exhibit through an underground temporary exhibit walkway and two side entrances. 

The steam revolution

This exhibition is remarkable in that nearly all of the engines on display are fully operational and are regularly demonstrated working on steam power. Together with the Boulton and Watt engine, and the Museum's locomotives, steam truck and traction engines, they are a unique working collection tracing the development of steam power from the 1770s to the 1930s. Engines on display include an 1830s Maudslay engine, a Ransom and Jeffries agricultural engine and the Broken Hill Fire Brigade's horse drawn pump-engine. The museum owns a collection of mechanical musical instruments, of which the fairground barrel organ is located in the steam exhibition, where it is powered by a small fairground engine. 

Experimentations

This science exhibition is very popular with children because of the many interactive displays demonstrating aspects of magnetism, light, electricity, motion and the senses. These include a machine that explains how chocolate is made and lets one taste four 'stages' of chocolate. There is a full-sized model of the front of a firetruck that measures the pedal-power used to sound its horn and lights, and a hand-powered model railway using a magnetic system to provide electric current to the track. One of the most popular features is a Plasma ball that shows the electric current through the glowing gas inside it, and changes when touched. 

Transport

This exhibition looks at transport through the ages, from horse drawn carts through steam engines, cars and planes to the latest hybrid technology. On display is Steam Locomotive No. 1243, which served for 87 years, the longest of any locomotive in Australia. It stands beside a mock-up of a railway platform, on the other side of which is the Governor of New South Wales's railway carriage, of the 1880s. Also in this exhibition is the original Central Railway Station destination board, relocated to the museum in the 1980s when the station was refurbished. In addition, the Powerhouse Museum leases two locomotives to 3801 Limited and the NSW Rail Transport Museum. The two locomotives are 3830, restored to operational order in 1997 and 3265, restored in 2009 after 40 years off the rails. Sydney's last Hansom Cab was donated to the Museum by its driver, who left it at the gates of the Harris Street building. There is also a horse-drawn bus and collection of motorbikes. Suspended aeroplanes, which can be better viewed from balconies, include the Catalina that Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor flew on the first flight from Australia to South America and in which he brought home 29 soldiers from New Guinea in 1945. There is also a Queenair Scout, the first Flying Doctor Service plane. Among the cars is a 1913 Sheffield Simplex, one of only 8 in the world. A four minute film shows old footage of public transport.

Creating a sustainable future

This exhibition focuses on the challenges facing the environment, human impact, and ways and technologies to stop this effect. There is a house setup called Ecohouse where people toggle light variables to see the outcome as well as other energy use simulators and a 'ecological footprint' game. The exhibition includes a section of a tree with a time line marked on its rings, dating back to the 17th century. 

Blockbuster exhibitions

Since 1988 the Powerhouse has hosted a number of blockbuster exhibitions. Among the most popular of these were those based on popular cinema franchises such as Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings, and the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibition, showing models, props and costumes from all six Star Wars films, together with recent advances in technology that are turning fantasy into reality.

Other blockbusters have been Arts orientated and have included the Faberge exhibition, the Treasures of Palestine exhibition, the "Strictly Mardi Gras" exhibition, the Christian Dior exhibition, the Audrey Hepburn exhibition, Kylie: an exhibition - a tribute to Kylie Minogue and her contribution to music, stage and screen, featuring many of her costumes. An exhibition about Diana, Princess of Wales, called Diana: a celebration included items from the collection at her ancestral home, Althorp, including her wedding gown, family jewellery and movies of Diana as a child.

There have also been various exhibitions paying tribute to Australian popular culture. Some of these have included On the box: great moments in Australian television 1956-2006, paying tribute to 50 years of Australian television and The 80s are back, which looks back on life in Australia in the 1980s.

Powerhouse Discovery Centre

Ninety five percent of the Powerhouse Museum's collection is maintained in storage at any one time. Sixty percent of this was moved from late 2004 to a new three hectare site in the northwestern Sydney suburb of Castle Hill. Built at a cost of AUD $12 million, this facility consists of seven huge sheds, including one the size of an aircraft hangar, within which are housed such recently-rediscovered artifacts as a section of the mast of HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, and the spare wheel from Bluebird, the car Donald Campbell drove to break the world land speed record on Lake Eyre in the 1960s. The Powerhouse Discovery Centre at Castle Hill opened to the general public on 10 March 2006.

History

The Powerhouse Museum has its origins in the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879. Some exhibits from this event were kept to constitute the original collection of the new Technological, Industrial and Sanitary Museum of New South Wales. The museum was intended to be housed in the exhibition buildings known as the Garden Palace, which were destroyed by a fire in September 1882. The museum subsequently moved to share premises with the morgue of Sydney Hospital. The museum relocated to new, purpose-built premises in Harris Street as the Technological Museum in August 1893. It incorporated the Sydney Observatory in 1982. The museum moved to its present location (the old Ultimo Powerhouse at 500 Harris Street) in March 1988, and took its present name (The Powerhouse Museum) from this new location.

Fans await chance to Harry Potter

More exciting Harry Potter instalment in store for Sydney muggles.

Tickets went on sale yesterday for Harry Potter: The Exhibition, the world's largest collection of unseen Potter paraphernalia which opens at the Powerhouse Museum on November 19.

Sydney will be the first city outside North America to interact first-hand with the costumes, props and artefacts from the magical world that JK Rowling created a decade ago.

Matthew Lewis, who made crooked teeth cool as bumbling-geek-turned-heartthrob Neville Longbottom, flew into Sydney especially to unveil a sneak peek of the exhibition.

As well as Neville's sticky-taped wand, also on display will be artefacts such as Hermione's Time-Turner, Lord Voldemort's robes, Harry's Nimbus 2000 and the Sorcerer's Stone, as well as interactive adventures and recreated sets from the last film.

If you're already a fan, then that is all to the good: if not, turn away now, the better to ignore the Powerhouse Museum's invitation to pull out a mandrake, get comfy in Hagrid's chair or toss a bright red Quidditch quaffle - all of which sound to the Diary's mind rather like euphemisms for something scandalous. But yes, the first and only Australian stop of Harry Potter: The Exhibition held a sneak preview yesterday and there to do the honours, as we previewed on Monday, was the actor Matthew Lewis.

He, you will recall, played Neville Longbottom, the bumbling boy wizard who became a hero by the end of the series, and yesterday he bewitched 120 young wand-waving fans with such quips as: ''You can pull the mandrakes out of the pot like Neville but I hope you don't faint like him.''

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The exhibition proper does not start until November 18, so what will you see? Well - a lot of props: the Triwizard Cup and the Marauder's Map will be showcased in ''immersive settings'', including the Gryffindor common room, Hagrid's hut and Hogwarts' Great Hall. Harry's original wand, school uniform and Nimbus 2000 broomstick will also be displayed. The Deputy Premier, Andrew Stoner, said he expects the exhibition to pull hundreds of thousands of visitors to Sydney. Bella, 11, from Elizabeth Bay is excited to see the Yule Ball section of the exhibition. ''I want to see the dresses,'' she said. ''I want to wear Hermione's dress because it's so beautiful.'' Meanwhile, 10-year-old Stella from Darlinghurst said she looked forward to throwing a quaffle through a Quidditch hoop. ''My favourite scenes are the Quidditch games.

Rupert Murdoch rules out resigning

80-year-old News Corporation chief's wife Wendi Deng leaped up and slapped the assailant, who was dragged off by police after the attack during a parliamentary committee hearing quizzing Mr Murdoch and his son James.

The Guardian newspaper and Sky News named the attacker as a comedian called Jonnie Marbles.

In a Twitter message shortly before the incident, he said: "It is a far better thing that I do now than I have ever done before #splat."

There was no confirmation of his identity as Scotland Yard had no immediate comment.

The hearing resumed 10 minutes later, with Murdoch apologising to the victims of phone hacking by the now-defunct News of the World tabloid but denying ultimate responsibility for the scandal.

At times stumbling to a halt in his testimony, he began by saying: "I would just like to say one sentence. This is the most humble day of my life."

The scandal has rocked Mr Murdoch's global media empire, sparked the resignation of two of Britain's top police chiefs, and even placed prime minister David Cameron under pressure.

Mr Murdoch said it was "not an excuse" but that with a company of 53,000 staff to oversee he could not be held fully responsible for failing to uncover the scandal.

Asked whether "ultimately you are responsible for this whole fiasco?", Mr Murdoch tersely replied: "No".

When pressed over who he blamed, Mr Murdoch said: "The people that I trusted to run it (his media empire) and then maybe the people they trusted.

As he was questioned about his knowledge of the extent of wrongdoing at the News of the World, Rupert Murdoch paused several times before answering, and his son James Murdoch requested permission to answer questions on local matters.

However politician Tom Watson, who was questioning Rupert Murdoch, said he wished to continue his questioning with Rupert Murdoch as his questions related to matters of corporate governance.

Rupert Murdoch said he was first aware that the mobile phone voice mail of murder victim Milly Dowler was hacked into by the News of the World two weeks ago and was shocked, appalled and ashamed by it. He said the company has to find and deal with guilty people within the organisation, adding that the people he trusted had let him down.

Rupert Murdoch was asked about his level of direct involvement with his newspapers, and said that he did not speak regularly to the editor of News of the World. "Perhaps I lost sight of the News of the World," he said.

News Corp deputy chief operating officer James Murdoch apologised to victims of phone hacking at News of the World tabloid, and said the company will put things right and ensure that it doesn't happen again.

James Murdoch said there is no evidence that Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News Corp's UK newspaper unit, or former News International chairman Les Hinton, had knowledge of the phone hacking.

Both Ms Brooks and Mr Hinton resigned last week.

Rupert Murdoch said he accepted their resignations because they were both adamant that they should resign due to their positions of responsibility at the time of the phone hacking.

When asked why he did not accept Ms Brooks' resignation earlier, he said he believed and trusted in her. He did not comment on the size of the payments that either executive received following their resignations, but said that Mr Hinton would have received a "significant" sum given was employed by News Corp for 52 years.

He also stressed that Ms Brooks' resignation and the closure of the News of the World were "absolutely and totally unrelated".

James Murdoch said that News Corp had not made any decision as to whether or not to launch a new UK Sunday tabloid following the closure of the News of the World, adding that the option remains open.

James Murdoch also said he welcomed the UK review into the media industry and said the entire UK newspaper industry needs to consider journalistic ethics.

Rupert Murdoch said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US has no evidence that victims of the terrorist attack in New York in September 2001 were subjected to phone hacking.

The two Murdochs were summoned to appear before the committee after originally declining a request to attend.

Two charged for whipping Muslim convert in bed

Police allege Mr Martinez, 31, was held face down on his bed and lashed 40 times with an electrical cord by four men as punishment for going to the pub.

It was claimed his attackers - one of whom appeared in court yesterday - worshipped at the Omar Mosque at Auburn, where Mr Martinez has been attending for prayers.

One of the men, Tolga Cifci, 20, appeared in Burwood Local Court yesterday charged over the attack.

As a second man was arrested yesterday morning, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said religious sharia law had no place in Australia.

The court heard Mr Martinez was whipped for 30 minutes after the men broke into his townhouse at Silverwater, in Sydney's west, at 1am on Sunday.

Cifci was arrested after a computer hard drive belonging to Mr Martinez and electrical cord thought to have been used in the attack was allegedly found during a police raid at the Auburn house where the accused lives with his parents.

He has been charged with aggravated break and enter and committing a serious indictable offence.

The second man, 43, surrendered himself at Auburn Police Station yesterday. He was charged with aggravated break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, detaining a person in company with intent to obtain advantage, and two counts of stealing from a dwelling.

The man has been refused bail and will appear in Burwood Local Court today.

Magistrate Tim Keddy told the court the charges against Mr Cifci were "extremely serious and violent" and "if convicted it is highly likely he will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment".

He ordered Mr Cifci to remain at home unless accompanied by either of his parents and is to report to Auburn Police Station daily.

Mr Cifci was also told to surrender his passport and not to visit any airports or other points of departure from Australia.

Police prosecutor George Lolis told the court Mr Cifci's actions were a "misconstruction and particularised usage of religious law" used to justify his part in the attack on Mr Martinez.

Mr Cifci's solicitor Tunc Ozen told the court the accused was "a person of prior good character" but acknowledged his actions would create controversy due to his alleged links to sharia and the Muslim faith. Mr Cifci will reappear in court on September 14.

Sexting

Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between mobile phones. The term was first popularized around 2005, and is a portmanteau of sex and texting, where the latter is meant in the wide sense of sending a text possibly with images.

Sociology

Sexting is a result of advances in technology enabling new forms of social interaction. Messages with sexual content have been exchanged over all forms of historical media. Newer technology allows sending photographs and videos, which are intrinsically more explicit and have greater impact, without the involvement of photo printing personnel, or the need of a photo processing dark room at home (just like when using an instant camera, but even easier and cheaper). A social danger with sexting is that material can be very easily and widely propagated, over which the originator has no control.

Legal issues

Sexting that involves a minor sending an explicit photograph of themself to their peers has led to a legal gray area in countries that have strict anti-child pornography laws, such as the United States. Some teenagers who have texted photographs of themselves, or of their friends or partners, have been charged with distribution of child pornography, while those who have received the images have been charged with possession of child pornography; in some cases, the possession charge has been applied to school administrators who have investigated sexting incidents as well. The images involved in sexting are usually different in both nature and motivation from the type of content that anti-child pornography laws were created to address.

A 2009 UK survey of 2,094 teens aged 11 to 18 found that 38% had received an "offensive or distressing" sexual image by text or email.

Legal cases

In 2007, 32 Australian teenagers from the state of Victoria were prosecuted as a result of sexting activity.Child pornography charges were brought against six teenagers in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in January 2009 after three girls sent sexually explicit photographs to three male classmates.

In 2008, a Virginia assistant principal was charged with possession of child pornography and related crimes after he had been asked to investigate a rumored sexting incident at the high school where he worked.

Upon finding a student in possession of a photo on his phone that depicted the torso of a girl wearing only underpants, her arms mostly covering her breasts, the assistant principal showed the image to the principal who instructed him to preserve the photo on his computer as evidence, which he did. The court later ruled that the photo did not constitute child pornography because under Virginia law, nudity alone is not enough to qualify an image as child pornography; the image must be "sexually explicit". Loudoun County Prosecutor James Plowman stands by his initial assessment of the photo and says he would not have pursued the case if the assistant principal had agreed to resign. Instead, the assistant principal got a second mortgage on his house and spent $150,000 in attorneys' fees to clear his name.

In July 2010, Londonderry High School teacher Melinda Dennehy pled guilty and received a one-year suspended sentence for sending racy photos of herself to a 15-year-old student.

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, a teenage boy was indicted on felony obscenity charges for allegedly sending a photo of his genitals to several female classmates. Another boy was charged with child pornography in a similar case.

Police investigated an incident at Margaretta High School in Castalia, Ohio, in which a 17-year-old girl allegedly sent nude pictures of herself to her former boyfriend, and the pictures started circulating around the high school after the two got into a fight.The girl was charged with being an "unruly child" based on her juvenile status.

Two southwest Ohio teenagers were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor, for sending or possessing nude photos on their cell phones of two 15-year-old classmates.

Legislative responses

In Connecticut, Rep. Rosa Rebimbas introduced a bill that would lessen the penalty for "sexting" between two consenting minors in 2009. The bill would make it a Class A misdemeanor for children under 18 to send or receive text messages with other minors that include nude or sexual images. It is currently a felony for children to send such messages, and violators could end up on the state's sex offender registry.

Vermont lawmakers introduced a bill in April 2009 to legalize the consensual exchange of graphic images between two people 13 to 18 years old. Passing along such images to others would remain a crime.

In Ohio, a county prosecutor and two lawmakers proposed a law that would reduce sexting from a felony to a first degree misdemeanor, and eliminate the possibility of a teenage offender being labeled a sex offender for years. The proposal was supported by the parents of Jesse Logan, a Cincinnati 18-year-old who committed suicide after the naked picture of herself which she sexted was forwarded to people in her high school.

Utah lawmakers lessened the penalty for sexting for someone younger than 18 to a misdemeanor from a felony.

In New York, Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-Rockland) has introduced a bill that will create an affirmative defense where a minor is charged under child pornography laws if they possesses or disseminates a picture of themself; or possess or disseminates the image of another minor (within 4 years of their age) with their consent. The affirmative defense will not be available if the conduct was done.

Background

The first known published mention of the term "sexting" was in a 2005 article in the Sunday Telegraph Magazine. It has since been described as taking place worldwide. It has been reported in the U.K.,Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., and Canada.

In a 2008 survey of 1,280 teenagers and young adults of both sexes on Cosmogirl.com sponsored by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 20% of teens (1-20) and 33% of young adults (20-26) had sent nude or semi-nude photographs of themselves electronically. Additionally, 39% of teens and 59% of young adults had sent sexually explicit text messages. A sociologist at Colorado College interviewed 80 students and believes this claim is overblown; she claims "I had them go through their last ten messages, their last ten photos and I never saw it.

Teens warned of tough jail terms for sexting

Australian Communications and Media Authority said lesson plans and brochures about "sexting" were being snapped up by thousands of schools across the country worried about the trend.

"Over the last month more than 63,000 sexting brochures have been distributed, and over three hundred copies of ACMA's Cybersmart sexting lesson plans have been downloaded," said ACMA's Senior Education Trainer Greg Gebhart.

"The popularity of these educational resources suggests that sexting is a top of mind issue for schools and teachers and is perceived as a growing risk for teenagers."

Federal Government research last month showed one in five Australian girls aged 18 has sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves over the internet.

The Government's interim report on cyber safety - High Wire Act: Cyber-Safety and the Young - surveyed more than 33,000 young Australians about their online habits.

"Sharing sexually suggestive images or text messages may be seen as innocent flirting or amusement, but sexting can have serious personal, social and legal consequence," Mr Gebhart said.

It comes after Education Minister Cameron Dick revealed last week he had been approached by Queensland parents concerned about sexting.

Nude and sexual images, videos and text messages of people under the age of 18 are considered child pornography and it may be a criminal offence."

The ACMA has focused on teaching 16 and 17-year-olds about sexting dangers.

Senior education trainer Greg Gebhart said many students were still unaware of potential problems, while teachers were grappling with how to combat the problem.

Most schools would would have to deal with one or two cases of sexting," he said. "It's predominantly photos taken on phones

Bikie gangs receive police intelligence

Alleged leaks have undermined organised-crime investigations and potentially endangered the lives of informers, Fairfax reported on Tuesday.

Recent alleged leaks include a bikie gang being tipped off about a major police raid, Fairfax reports.

Victoria's Office of Police Integrity (OPI) and the Police Integrity Commission in NSW reportedly are carrying out separate investigations into the alleged leaks, with a small number of police officers believed to be under scrutiny.

Victorian Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright confirmed allegations had been made.

A small number of police officers in both states are believed to be under scrutiny, although none have yet been charged.

Among several recent alleged cases of security breaches, The Age has learnt that a bikie gang was tipped off about a major police raid and the contents of a secret police targeting list were leaked.

In NSW, bikies or their associates on two occasions have shown police the reports leaked to them, claiming to have paid several thousand dollars for them.

In a statement to The Age, OPI director Michael Strong confirmed his agency had concerns about suspected ongoing leaking from police officers to criminals.

But he declined to comment on, or confirm the existence of, specific investigations.

Planking

Plank, front hold, hover, or abdominal bridge is an isometric core strength exercise that involves maintaining a difficult position for extended periods of time. The most common plank is the front plank which is held in a push-up position with the body's weight borne on forearms, elbows, and toes.

Many variations exist such as the side plank and the reverse plank. The plank is commonly practiced in Pilates and yoga, and by those training for boxing and related sports.

The plank strengthens the abdominals, back, and shoulders. Muscles involved in the front plank include:

Primary muscles: erector spinae, rectus abdominus (abs), and transverse abdominus.

Secondary muscles (synergists/segmental stabilizers): trapezius (traps), rhomboids, rotator cuff, the anterior, medial, and posterior deltoid muscles (delts), pectorals (pecs), serratus anterior, gluteus maximus (glutes), quadriceps (quads), and gastrocnemius.

Muscles involved in the side plank include:

Primary: transverse abdominus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles (abductors), the adductor muscles of the hip, and the external and internal obliques.

Secondary: gluteus maximus (glutes), quadriceps (quads), and hamstrings.

The current world record (according to Guiness World Records) for the plank position is 33 minutes and 40 seconds, set in Queensland, Australia on 11 May 2011 by 68 year old Paul Drinan.

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