Knowledge Transforms the World
A Renaissance Science Exhibition at the Linda Hall Library
What happens when everything you thought was true becomes obsolete?
Alchemy of Knowledge is a major history-of-science exhibition exploring the dramatic shift from sacred mystery to empirical science during the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution, and the cultural disruption that followed. Through rare books from the Linda Hall Library’s internationally significant History of Science collection, immersive gallery environments, and contemporary reflections on artificial intelligence, the exhibition reveals how knowledge evolves and how those transformations reshape society.
Travel from a symbolic Renaissance forest, where astrology, alchemy, and divine order governed human fate, to the emergence of the scientific method. Step inside an alchemist’s workshop. Encounter early editions by Galileo, Newton, Bacon, and Boyle. Experience the revolutionary moment when the telescope expanded the cosmos, and the microscope revealed an invisible world.
Discover the world Shakespeare inhabited: a culture suspended between magic and measurement, tradition and experimentation. The same questions Renaissance thinkers asked about truth, authority, and human identity now echo in our age of AI and rapid technological change.
Alchemy of Knowledge connects the Scientific Revolution to today’s artificial intelligence revolution, inviting visitors to reflect on disruption, discovery, and what it means to be human when the foundations of knowledge shift.
The exhibition asks:
What does it mean to be human in an age of technological transformation?
Special Exhibition Features
- Main Reading Room Installation: Draco Scientiae, a suspended dragon sculpture created with Kansas City Art Institute students, a Sponsored Studio project.
- Arboretum Experience: Outdoor interpretive trail featuring plants from Shakespeare's works and Renaissance herbalism.
- Interactive Elements: Hands-on experiments inspired by Francis Bacon's empirical methods.