Is it magic or is it science? Have great fun exploring the surprising tricks mirrors can play on your brain! This special hands-on exhibition for people of all ages is on display at WonderLab (Tuesday – Sunday) through April 13.

Take part in a national festival this weekend at WonderLab exploring nanoscale science and its applications at multiple activity stations. Check the website for the schedule of guest presenters and special activities on Saturday and Sunday.

Thoughts, Things, and Theories…What Is Culture?
“Thoughts, Things, and Theories…What Is Culture?” examines the nature of culture through the exploration of cultural traditions surrounding life stages and universal needs. Runs through May 9, 2014.

Assessing Authenticity: Museum Fakes and Mistakes
This exhibit explores issues surrounding object identification and authentication within museums. Runs through May 9, 2014.

From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything
This exhibit examines history on a large scale, through the exploration of cosmic, biological, and human origins. Runs through May 9, 2014.

Ojibwe Public Art, Ostrom Private Lives
“Ojibwe Public Art, Ostrom Private Lives” explores works by late 20th century Ojibwe artists of Manitoulin Island, Canada, collected by Elinor and Vincent Ostrom. The exhibit was curated by a team of IU graduate students through a project partially supported by the IU College of Arts and Sciences Ostrom Grants Program. Runs through May 9, 2014.

Rhythms of the World Audio Exhibit
Rhythms of the World is a free audioguide tour of musical instruments from around the globe featured in exhibits throughout the museum. The audioguide includes narration and musical clips of the highlighted instruments. Runs through May 9, 2014.

Mather Museum Hours: Tues. – Fri., 9 am – 4:30 pm; Sat. & Sun., 1 – 4:30 pm

The 9th running of the Hoosier Half Marathon and 5K takes you on a scenic tour of Bloomington. This fun and challenging 13.1 mile run starts at 8:00am on April 5th in front of the DeVault Alumni Center on 17th street, heads downtown on Walnut to Kirkwood Avenue, from Kirkwood through the Sample Gates on a tour of the IU campus then continues all the way down to Winslow Road through some great neighborhoods, past Winslow Park, the YMCA, Bloomington South High School and returns on Henderson and Indiana Avenue back to the finish at DeVault. The 5K Run/Walk also starts at 8:00am but that route splits off at Sample Gates and returns up Indiana Avenue back to the finish at DeVault. Over 250 volunteers and 1500 participants make it all happen while benefiting three local organizations – this year they are Stone Belt, IU Health’s G.O.A.L., and Teacher’s Warehouse.

From April through November, farmers and vendors fill Showers Common with locally grown produce, annual and perennial plants, and freshly baked bread for the Saturday morning Market. Local musicians perform while thousands of people find their way among the corn and tomatoes, local dairy products, and warm scents of fresh herbs. The Market often feels like equal parts shopping, socializing, and treasure hunt. Come early so you can amble among friends as you seek out that dried lavender or fresh basil you have been dreaming about.

The Market is open every Saturday, April through September, from 8 am until 1 pm and Saturdays in October and November from 9 am until 1 pm The season ends with the Holiday Market on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, from 10 am – 3 pm.

Browse multiple art galleries in a beautiful, historic, downtown setting. IU Faculty: Computer-Aided Design & 3D Printing Exhibition; Ryan Logan, mixed media; Ivy Tech Fine Arts Students & AFA Capstone Students: Fall Shows, all media. M-F 9-7. Sat 9-5.

The Ivy Tech Waldron is an Ivy Tech Community College facility that features four art galleries, two theatres, and four arts classrooms. It is housed in Bloomington’s Beaux Arts limestone former City Hall which was built in 1913.

“Art Quilts”
Contemporary works by Jasper, Indiana artist Beth Schnellenberger featuring strong geometric shapes, bold colors, and textured surfaces. Runs through April 12.

Hours: Mon-Sat 9:30 am-5 pm, Sun 1-5 pm

Hours: Tuesday – Saturday: 10:00 – 5:00 p.m. Sunday: Noon – 5:00 p.m.

Focalpoint: Personal Objects: Art from Eastern and Southern Africa
January 14–May 11, 2014 Raymond and Laura Wielgus Gallery of the Arts of Africa, the South Pacific, and the Americas, Focalpoint, third floor From jewelry and headdresses to household objects such as containers, headrests, and spoons, the art of eastern and southern Africa for the most part is intimately connected with the individual. Though these regions of Africa do not have the large numbers of masks and figural sculpture for which western and central Africa are known, the personal objects found there frequently reflect the deep cultural significances and attention to form and detail seen elsewhere on the continent. This installation has been organized to coincide with the A352/A552, Art of Eastern and Southern Africa, a course being taught during the spring 2014 semester in the Department of the History of Art.

New in the Galleries: ‘Max Beckmann’s Woodcuts’
Gallery of the Art of the Western World, Doris Steinmetz Kellett Endowed Gallery of Twentieth-Century Art, first floor
February 4–June 22, 2014
Although the German Expressionist artist Max Beckmann was a prolific graphic artist (producing 374 prints during his lifetime), he created fewer than 20 woodcuts. Most were produced during the 1920s, when Germany was experiencing a revival of interest in the medium. Seven prints from this period will be featured in this installation.

Special Exhibition: Matisse’s Jazz and Other Works from Indiana University Collections
April 2–May 25, 2014
Special Exhibitions Gallery, first floor
In addition to highlighting the IU Art Museum’s rare complete suite of twenty color stencil prints from Jazz—Matisse’s last and greatest book project—this exhibition will include more than thirty other works by this modern master from the holdings of the Art Museum and Lilly Library. Special attention will be paid to the artist’s works on paper and book illustrations from the 1920s through the end of his career.

Special Exhibition: Francesco Solimena: Picturing the World for an Eighteenth-Century Royal Wedding
April 2–May 25, 2014
Judi and Milt Stewart Hexagon Gallery, first floor
Through a selection of pieces coming from the Getty Research Institute, the IU Fine Arts Library, the Lilly Library, and the IU Art Museum collection, this exhibition focuses on one of the IU Art Museum’s masterpieces, Francesco Solimena’s Allegory of the Four Parts of the World, highlighting the painting’s history, patronage, and iconography. This exhibition features a thirteen-minute documentary, The World around Solimena.

Special Exhibitions: Giving Back to Africa: Beta Histoire
April 1–30, 2014
Thomas T. Solley Atrium, second floor
Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo tell stories to each other every night. These stories often have a moral lesson or try to explain something in the world. The storytelling always begins with a child raising his/her hand and saying, “Beta Histoire,” or “I want to tell a story.” Experience the stories told in this exhibition of photographs by students in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Special Exhibition: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions

April 2–May 11, 2014
Special Exhibitions Gallery, first floor
At 6:30 p.m. during the opening receptions, each exhibitor will give a brief talk about his or her work in the Thomas T. Solley Atrium, first floor.

April 2‒13
Stephen Crimarco, Photography
Alysha Kupferer, Textiles (in Thomas T. Solley Atrium, second floor)
Christina Weaver, Painting
Opening Reception: Friday, April 4, 6:00‒8:00 p.m.

“Giants in Cornfield, Civil War Sesquicentennial”

“Giants in Cornfield, Civil War Sesquicentennial” exhibit open now through April 12, 2014, gives an incredible look at the soldiers from Monroe County and their role in the battles of the Civil War. Please note, museum hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm.

“The Life and Times of Local Author, Ross Lockridge”

Ross Lockridge, Jr was born in Bloomington, IN 1914 where he attended Bloomington High School and Indiana University and aspired to write the next great American Novel. He began writing Raintree County in the mid-1940s. The 1,060 page novel was published in 1948. The novel explored nineteenth-century Midwestern history, folklore, and landscape all set in a single day, July 4, 1892. The exhibit explores his life before writing Raintree County and after, including the Midwestern iconography that inspired his book. Runs through May 31.

“Cracking the Code: Quilt Pattern Meanings”

In the past many thought that Quilts made during the mid-to late part of the 19th century were created to aid travelers on the Underground Railroad. Now, research shows that there is no documentation regarding quilt patterns as a form of communication for Underground Railroad Travelers. This exhibit will examine different patterns and their purported meanings. The show and exhibit are on the bus route and FREE with IHQS wristband or hand stamp,during quilt show only. Runs through August 1.

“Living in Color”
Local artist, Avi Katz, has taken historic photos of Bloomington and turned them into colorized, painted, masterpieces. Runs through September 6.

Community Voices Gallery: “Monroe County United Ministries”
The Community Voices Gallery gives local organizations the opportunity to tell their story. Monroe County United Ministries is a a nurturing organization serving working families and those in distress by assisting those with emergency needs and subsidized childcare. We provide quality education and a safe place for children, basic needs assistance for the poor and community service opportunities. Runs through July 31.

In this exhibit, Bloomington based photographer, Kyle Spears showcases his most recent body of work from Prague, Czech Republic. Kyle says this about his photography;

Primarily, most of my inspiration comes from traveling and discovering new places/things to shoot. No matter where or what I photograph, I want to capture the beauty I see and somehow communicate that with the viewer. As a photographer, I am attracted to the absence of light, just as much as the presence of light. I love how the night can change the atmosphere and mood of a scene that wasn’t evident during daylight.