This alchemy gallery is nestled within the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, which exhibits the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the western United States. Here visitors journey back to Alexandrian Egypt to learn the methods and mysteries of alchemy, a medieval science rooted in the transformation of metals. In the Rosicrucian tradition, alchemy is considered one of several esoteric truths that make up the wisdom of the Universe.
The exhibition features an alchemist’s workshop, full of unusual tools and specimens, a copy of the Ripley Scroll, and stations that explain the eight stages of alchemical transformation.
I acted as the lead designer for this project, directing a small team consisting of a junior exhibit designer, graphic designer and exhibit developer. I also worked closely with Dr. Dennis Hauck, a leading expert in Alchemy in the United States who provided the artifacts for the exhibition.
Visitors peer into an alchemist’s workshop, complete with an alchemist’s furnace, a glass pelican distiller, and a taxidermy peacock.
This reproduction of the Ripley Scroll is an illustrated allegorical poem revealing how to make the Philosopher’s Stone.
Learn the principles of the practice of alchemy, including coagulation, distillation, and conjunction, and view displays of the tools used at each stage.
The frequency of each note on this Pythagorean scale is a multiple of the perfect fifth, and represents creating order out of chaos.
Client: Rosecrucian Egyptian Museum
Location: San Jose, CA
Floor Area: 3,500 sq. ft.
Budget: $300,000
Opening: 2015
URL: www.egyptianmuseum.org