Happy 40th Birthday, Rubik’s Cube
Posted by Katalin Török · Apr 24, 2014

The world’s best selling toy of all time was invented in 1974. The first prototype had 2x2x2 sides, but it took its inventor one month to solve it. Celebrating the 40th anniversary, an interactive exhibition is to be opened in New Jersey Liberty Science Center, dedicated to Ernő Rubik’s masterpiece.

Rubik’s Cube is a puzzle that symbolizes problem solving itself. With seemingly endless variations to solve it, you have to come up with creative solution proposals, test them, and calculating with new results look for further steps. By not giving up, you learn about three dimensional geometry. That was Ernő Rubik’s original intention with the Cube.

photo: http://brc.lsc.org

“A good puzzle, it's a fair thing. Nobody is lying. It's very clear, and the problem depends just on you.” - Ernő Rubik

photo: Cube Facts by http://eu.rubiks.com/cube-facts

Over the past 40 years, no other toy has influenced popular culture more than the Rubik’s Cube. Music, art, movies, television — the Cube has been everywhere. One in seven people worldwide has had it in his hands, which is a proof of the Cube being an extraordinary messenger of Hungarian creativity, knowing no language barriers. The task is clear: create order from chaos.

photo: http://brc.lsc.org

For the first time ever, a comprehensive exhibition showcases the history and the future of the puzzle. Beyond Rubik's Cube opens at New Jersey’s Liberty Science Center on the 26th of April, with a special appearance by Budapest inventor Ernő Rubik.

Photo: http://brc.lsc.org

7,000 square feet of games, puzzles, history, art, and engineering, all inspired by Ernő Rubik's best-selling masterpiece. You can learn how to solve the cube or leave it to a robot that can solve it for you, try the 26-foot high Groovik's Cube (which rather than mechanically twisting, uses shifting and changing LED lights to mimic the motion of Rubik’s Cube), listen to interactive songs by the Cube Symphony, which uses sound samples of the Cube during moving, or invent your very own 3D puzzle. Cube mosaics and a Cube from diamonds, rubies, emeralds, amethyst, sapphire, and 18-karat yellow gold will be exhibited as well, and you can meet with expert cubers. Between 1-3 August, Liberty Science Center will host the U.S. National Rubik’s Cube Championships as well.

Photos: http://brc.lsc.org

This monumental exhibition stays in New Jersey for 9 months, then it will travel the world for several years. We hope it gets to Hungary soon – but of course, Budapest will take its part in celebrating the 40th anniversary as well. This Sunday, the public media offers an all-day program stream, called Rubik 40 – The Day of Hungarian Creativity, broadcasting various programs from Design Terminal, and short films showcasing works by Hungarian inventors and scientists.

For further details, visit the exhibition’s web-site:

Beyond Rubik’s Cube @ Liberty Science Center

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