Discovery Times Square: Spy - The Secret World of Espionage

The entrance to the Discovery Times Square on 44th Street.

Many will be interested in the spy devices such a hollowed
tooth used as a container; a pair of shoes bugged with a listening device in the
heel; hollow nickels with poisoned needles; bricks used to conceal documents
and currency; and a CIA pigeon camera.
(photos: TheHopefulTraveler)

I decided to make an afternoon of the Discovery Times Square by visiting the other of the two current exhibits. Called Spy: The Secret World of Espionage, the exhibits claims that for the first time ever the world most famous espionage vault is opened and asks you to forget what you think you know about spies.

From movies to novels, this interactive new exhibit takes you beyond the fiction and Hollywood drama and puts you face to face with the fascinating truth behind the scenes. Encounter real stories and real gadgets finally revealed and gain insights into how intelligence really works.

Before going about the exhibit, I want to applaud this great addition to attractions in Times Square. Where Madame Tussaud's and Ripley's Believe It Or Not appear completely commercial, I like that Discovery Times Square serves a purpose that is in contrast to the far more "serious" museums of New York City. It's goal is "to create a home for traveling exhibitions that local museums might find either too large, too expensive, too nondisciplinary or too commercial for their non-profit attention". The focus on the one or two current exhibits is also less overwhelming than the vast collections at major institutions.

In addition if you find that the two exhibits at Discovery Times Square peaks your interests go ahead a buy a combo ticket where you pay one discounted price to see both. Since the admission prices vary according to each exhibition, the discount can be between five to ten dollars.

The kid in me did enjoy navigating a field laser beams but the fun is over before you know it. Though their are lots of spy gadgets, your interest in the displays will depend on your awareness or knowledge of the historical events to which they are associated. Here are some highlights:

Hollywood Cover Story: The CIA team conducted its rescue operation under
the cover story that it was a film crew scouting locations in Iran for an
upcoming movie. To build the cover, the CIA set up a dummy production
company in Hollywood, purchased a script and printed fake production
materials (Collection from CIA Museum).

Above two photos: Improvised Explosive Device (Forensic Replica). Within
weeks of Pan Am Disaster 103 disaster, British investigators found traces of
Semtex explosive on pieces of a Toshiba BomBeat radio-cassett player
recovered from the wreckage. Tests confirmed that an improvised explosive
devise inside the radio had blown a hold in the planes fuselage. 

One of the most notorious murder weapons in modern history: the ice-pick that
killed Leon Trotsky in 1937. Trotsky, considered a threat to the Soviet state,
lived four days after the initial blow.

Enigma: During World War II, the German military and intelligence services
used Enigma cipher machines to create what they thought were unbreakable
messages. The Enigma offered 150,000,000,000,000,000,000 (or 150
quintillion) possible solutions to any one enciphered message. Yet the
Allies were often able to find the right solution and read German secrets. In
doing so, they created the world's first electronic computer, Colossus. This
intelligence coup shortened the war by an estimated two years. 

"Checkpoint Charlie" Flag and Berlin Wall Remnant: This is one of the last
American flags to fly over "Checkpoint Charlie," the most famous Cold War
border crossing between East and West Berlin. Built into the Berlin Wall, the
checkpoint stood as a symbol of the conflict between the capitalist Free World
and the communist Soviet Bloc. It was closed in 1990, the year after the Wall
came down. The piece of the Berlin Wall came from the American Sector in the
former German capital The accessible part of the wall that faced west was often
decorated in vivid colors, while the eastern face, set in a deadly no-man's land,
was literally colorless.

"Charlie": This remote-controlled robotic catfish was spawned in the CIA's
Directorate of Science and Technology. The goal was to explore the use of
unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for aquatic missions. "Charlie" swims
in a realistic manner thanks to a pressure hull and ballast system in its body
and a propulsion system in its tail.

Visit discoverytsx.com for more information. Discovery Times Square is located at 226 West 44th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. Tickets priced at $19.50-$27. Hours: Sun-Thu 10am-8pm; Fri and Sat 10am-9pm. Photo texts from Discovery Times Square.

Discovery Times Square: Terracotta Warriors

Terracotta Warriors: Defenders of China's First Emperor is one two
current exhibitions at the Discovery Times Square. 

Discovery Times Square entrance along 44th Street.

This officer's serious expression and his height convey his authority.
When excavated, he stood on a command chariot. The palm of his left
hand once rested on the handle of a long sword. His armor consists of
the smallest, most flexible and expensive "fish-scale" plates, and it is
tied with prominent knotted bows at the front, shoulders and back which
denote his high military rank.
(photos: TheHopefulTraveler)

Ever since it opened in 2009 I've been visiting the Discovery Times Square exhibition center annually. Initially I did not plan to visit either of the two current exhibitions but because I haven't been feeling well and because it was near my hotel in a cool space, I thought my time would be better spent there actually doing something rather than just waiting restlessly for housekeeping to service my hotel room. So I'm here today at the Terracotta Warriors exhibit which runs until August 26th.

I've seen pictures of these artifacts so ultimately it was interesting to learn about them and see them in person. Advertised as "direct from China" visitors take a look back to the days of China's first emperor, before and after his epic rule. These life-size soldiers are displayed alongside a collection of over 200 treasures and artifacts from ancient China.

Over 2,000 years ago, these soldiers were buried in the emperor's tomb to serve him in the afterlife. But after being exhumed in the late 20th century they are now making a march across the globe in one exhibitions after another. Only nine of the estimated 8,000 figures found in Xian in central China are on display. They are fine examples fitted out with weapons, armor, livestock and more.

Above and below: Emperor Gaozu's Cavalry. 

The cavalry figures are in two sizes, possibly representing the two different
functions for cavalry described in historic text of the period. This group of
smaller figures could have been intended for speedy penetration of the
opposing army's flanks, while the other cavalry unit may have been used for
frontal attacks on the enemy formation.
(photos: TheHopefulTraveler)

They serve Ying Zheng, born in 259 B.C., who began to rule at the age of 13 and bestowed upon himself the title of Qin Shihuangdi, or First Emperor of Qin (China). Having a keen eye towards the future, he planned on his afterlife. By the time he died at 50, his tomb was still in the making and completed after 40 years which included the commission of an army of soldiers.

What makes each warrior unusual is that each is not only dressed by rank, the uniforms are individually customized and each of their faces different so no two look alike. The army was discovered in 1974 in Xian when farmers were sinking a well and hit pottery fragments. The digging continues today around the Terra-Cotta Museum which now stands on the site.

Interesting notes from the exhibit: "The alluring qualities of mercury made it a popular element for art and medicine in ancient China. Mercury occurs naturally in cinnabar, a red mineral ore, which was used not only as a brilliant pigment, but also as an ingredient in "longevity" medicines taken by the First Emperor. Ironically, it is believed by some that Qin Shihuangdi died from mercury poison as a result of taking these 'Elixirs of Life'." More text from the exhibition accompanies the photos in this post.

Visit discoverytsx.com for more information. Discovery Times Square is located at 226 West 44th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. Tickets priced at $19.50-$27. Hours: Sun-Thu 10am-8pm; Fri and Sat 10am-9pm.

Calvary soldiers rode horses like this one, which has a saddle showing
ornamental studs, and a secure girth strap and crupper (stirrups were not
invented until centuries later). The head shows details such as flared
nostrils, skin creases around the wide-open eyes, ears pitched forward

Hairstyles: The figures display relatively intricate hairstyles, with many
variations. Soldiers of the same rank appear to wear their hair in similar
fashion, although there are small differences in the twists of the knots and
the ribbons used to tie them.  

Life-sized water birds were found in what appears to be the tomb's garden.

Soldiers were built from the bottom up. The platform and shoes were made
from one solid piece. Legs could be either made of solid clay or built from
coils of clay. While the hollow torsos were built up by hand (with coils), the
arms and heads were cast separately, in molds, which were available in a
few basic types. Clay paste was used to cement together the different parts.
The artisans then covered the heads and bodies with a thin layer of clay and
used wooden tools to add all the individual details by hand, from hair to
costume to fingernails.
(photos: TheHopefulTraveler)