Indigo Instruments is more than just a company that sells science supplies to school technicians, homeschoolers, and students doing science fair projects. No! Some molecular models and a lot of other things have made it to Hollywood, appeared on TV, and been used in some strange web experiments.
The Movies with Models
Indigo Instruments is more than just a company that sells science supplies to school technicians, homeschoolers, and students doing science fair projects. No! Some molecular models and a lot of other things have made it to Hollywood, appeared on TV, and been used in some strange web experiments.
VP Stephan Logan talks about how "Surprisingly enjoyable" is used to describe Rob Cohen's 2005 movie "Stealth" on the Internet Movie Database. Why? Because a story about three pilots who are deep inside a top-secret military programme and are trying to stop an AI programme from starting World War III just doesn't sound that interesting. The movie has a lot of action, violence, and hints of sexuality. It also has a 17-layer DNA model from Indigo, which is much more exciting. So, why did those pilots need a replica of DNA? To find out, you'll have to watch the movie.
One of Indigo's "anatomically correct" 12-layer DNA models is also in the hit movie "Fantastic Four," which just came out. In this great movie, a group of astronauts get superpowers after being exposed to cosmic radiation (yeah, right!). They must use these powers to stop the evil Doctor Victor Von Doom from taking over the world. They couldn't have come up with a more corny name for the bad guy, but at least the DNA molecular model used in the movie is accurate from a scientific point of view because Indigo's Logan built it to the highest standards.
Indigo Instruments has sent another superhero movie to Hollywood with molecular model kits. This time, the movie is about superheroes. In "Return of Zoom," a movie based on Jason Lethcoe's graphic novel "Zoom's Academy for the Super Gifted," a high school girl who isn't popular is sent to superhero school by her "mysterious" father, where she finds out about her hidden talents (a la Harry Potter, methinks). The people who made this movie also used a DNA model from Indigo to show how human genes work on a molecular level. For Indigo's image's sake, the director asked that the model be made so that it would be easy to break. You'll have to see the movie to find out why. Any model you buy from Indigo Instruments will, of course, be made to much higher standards and is guaranteed not to break.
Stepping back from superheroes, Indigo Instruments was also proud to provide a whole set of chemical models for the movie "The Nutty Professor," which was a big hit and starred Eddie Murphy. Mineral models, like a huge zeolite model and a model of how a diamond is put together, were used to great effect in the movie. In the movie, Professor Sherman Klump, who is desperately trying to lose weight, takes a chemical cocktail that turns him into Buddy Love, who is skinny and annoying. Klump's mineral models stand out as classic examples of the lab equipment he made.
Indigo Instruments' molecular models have caught the attention of Hollywood, but arthouse directors have also asked Indigo Instruments for molecular models. So now Indigo can say that it was at the Toronto Film Festival.
DNA and other molecular models from Indigo have also been shown on TV in "Law & Order," "Stargate Atlantis," and on CBS News during the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA.
Not just people in the entertainment business are interested in Indigo's DNA models. "We've also sold a 17-layer DNA model to Bell Labs, IBM, and even sent one to Erasmus University Hospital in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where the SARS virus was first found," says Indigo SD Stephan Logan. Also, NASA lessons like "Magnets and Life" mention Indigo Instruments as a good place to get strong rare earth magnets. Images from Indigo Instruments have been used in a lot of lecture tours and science shows, including ones put on by Wisha University staff. A heliograph, which tracks the sun, was made from a chemical flask from Indigo.
"We have sold DNA models to lawyers for use in patent cases in court," says Logan. "Our DNA models and others are also on display at major museums and institutions like the Bill Clinton Museum, Howard Hughes Medical Center, Walter Reed Army Hospital, US Naval Academy, Harvard University, New York University, and other places." Intriguingly, even the well-known Martha Stewart has bought test tubes and Erlenmeyer flasks from Indigo to use in her flower arrangements.
