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.

Featured exhibit on display in the Upper Loft Gallery: Annual Winter Exhibition, featuring paintings by Contemporary Art Guild Member Artists and works from the Marie Goth Estate Permanent Collection. Now – December 31

Reception: Second Saturday, December 14, 5:00-8:00 pm (during the Holiday Village Art Walk)
Please join the Guild for an evening of light refreshments and to purchase your $10 raffle ticket for your final opportunity to win the beautiful autumn landscape created collaboratively by nine Guild Member Artists. Contributing artists include Mark Burkett, Ronald Mack, Thom Robinson, Rena Brouwer, Patricia Rhoden, Wyatt LeGrand, Jeanne McLeish, Pamela Chase Newell, and Chris Newlund. The lucky raffle winner will be drawn during the Holiday Art Walk reception. (need not be present to win).

Exhibits include:

“Picturing Archaeology”: Described in their words and illustrated by their images, the research and fieldwork of 13 Indiana University archaeologists is presented in Picturing Archaeology at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures/Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology.

“Rhythms of the World”: 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. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“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.This exhibit will run until December 20.

“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. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“Treasures of the Mathers Museum” Decades of collecting and curating will be featured in this exhibit, presented in conjunction with the institution’s 50th anniversary. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“Photos in Black and White: Margaret Bourke-White and the Dawn of Apartheid in South Africa” In 1949, Margaret Bourke-White, one of the most famous photojournalists in America, travelled to South Africa on assignment for Life magazine. Some of her rarely-seen images from that period are featured in Photos in Black and White: Margaret Bourke-White and the Dawn of Apartheid in South Africa at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures. Curated by Alex Lichtenstein, Associate Professor of History at Indiana University, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at Bourke-White’s photojournalistic portrayal of South Africa in 1949 and 1950. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“Melted Ash: Michiana Wood Fired Pottery” This exhibit explores the methods used to produce hand-made, wood fired pottery, and features works from northern Indiana and southern Michigan. This exhibit will run until December 20. Museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 9 am to 4:30 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 to 4:30 pm. Check website to see all of the Mathers Museum’s exhibits.

Keegan Adams & Adam Rake, printmaking; Jackson Moore, paintings; Robert Price, photography; “No Exit”, Ivy Tech Student Productions, dramaturgy. Enjoy multiple gallery spaces in a beautiful historic limestone building. Open M-F 9-7; Sat 9-5; Closed Sun.

Showcasing photographs taken by local residents, the ‘This is How I Live United’ gallery captures how our friends, family, and neighbors Live United by giving, advocating, and volunteering to create a better tomorrow for our community.

United Way of Monroe County and our partners work every day to ensure everyone in our community has the building blocks for a better life — Education, Earnings, and the Essentials. And you are part of this work — whether through donations, volunteering, or lending a helping hand to those in need. www.monroeunitedway.org/LU

It’s the festive season at the Farmer House Museum. Visit the museum now to experience “Our Home For the Holidays” featuring the Bellevue Group’s Artist Tree. This tree is adorned with locally crafted ornaments and is even topped with a homemade angel. In our other rooms a focus on hand knitted items adds to the cozy feel. Also on display are our vintage Christmas village, a Victorian style tree and holiday cards from our collection spanning 100 years. All of this and more are viewable at the Farmer House Museum! The Farmer House Museum is located at 529 N. College Ave. Our regular hours are 10-2 Wed-Sunday with extra hours until 4 pm on Saturday.

Exhibit runs until January 30.

New in the Galleries: “Photographing Rosie the Riveter”
Runs October 1-January 26
The conscription of men into military service during WW II led to a demand for female workers in the factories supplying munitions and war supplies. Government photography projects, such as the Farm Security Administration (FSA), revamped their operations to support the efforts of the Office of War Information (OWI). This installation features propagandistic images of female assembly-line workers by Andreas Feininger, Alfred T. Palmer, and Howard Liberman. Organized by Maura Campbell-Balkits, a museum intern in the Department of Communications and Culture.

New in the Galleries: “Stories with Shadowy Figures”
Runs October 22-December 21
An installation of puppets from Java, presented in conjunction with the shadow puppet performance on October 27.

From boldly graphic raffia textiles to intricately incised carving on wooden cups, complex surface design is a hallmark of Kuba aesthetics and an indicator of prestige and value for Kuba and Westerners alike. Complementing the Kuba objects permanently on display in the Wielgus gallery, The Patterned Kingdom includes additional objects from the museum’s collection, including several hats given by the late IU textile artist Budd Stalnaker, as well as loans from IU professor emeritus and painter William Itter.

This exhibit runs through December 22, 2013. Located in the Raymond and Laura Wielgus Gallery of the Arts of Africa, the South Pacific, and the Americas, Focalpoint, third floor.

Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, and Sunday, noon to 5 pm.

Pick up a flyer at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington or Ellettsville or download a copy from www.mcpl.info/friends and present it when you pay your bill and PANDA EXPRESS will donate 20% of your check to Friends of the Library. All proceeds go to help fund the numerous programs offered by the library. Make plans with friends to have fun while you dine and donate to the library!

Pictura Gallery presents two new exhibits by Adam Katseff and Conner Green, running until December 27.

“How do you map and understand the essence of a space? Adam Katseff and Conner Green present us with a void. On one hand we have a world that simmers to the surface from a blanket of black. On the other, we have a tangle of lines that writhe and snake their way through empty whiteness. This visual rabbit hole draws us in and demands an intimate gaze. The images seem to suggest that if we look close enough we might be able to decipher the pith of these spaces.”

Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday: 11 am to 7 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.