Mapparium
The Mapparium is a three-story, stained-glass globe that is one of the key attractions at the library. Visitors walk through the globe via a thirty-foot glass bridge from which they can stand in the middle of the world. Standing in the center of the bridge, a person can see the entire globe with absolutely zero distortion. This perspective offers immediate, if unexpected, insights from the whimsical (two different islands named 'Cocos' are located at exactly opposite positions on the globe) to the overwhelming (how much of the world is covered by water).
The Mapparium's other notable feature was actually completely unintentional: its spherical shape and glass construction create multiple unique acoustic effects. Standing in the center of the globe, one can hear their voice in surround sound, as thought they were speaking into their own ears. At either end of the bridge, visitors can also whisper from one doorway and be heard perfectly from the opposite side... 30 feet away.
Since the Mapparium was built in 1935, none of the 608 glass panels have been updated. Visitors to the Mapparium will immediately notice that Africa is still a patchwork of colonies and the USSR towers overhead. In 2002, however, LED lights were installed around the globe and, together with an original composition of words and music, highlight these and other major changes over the last seventy five years.
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