3 days Ago By Jen Garofalo
Both adults and children may be hearing more about STEM these days as technology advances, and schools continue to promote it as an important part of their program. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics and is part of the latest exhibit that is showing at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center. Deemed “Pixarburgh, The Science behind Pixar,” the show pulls back the STEM curtain on Pixar, an animation film studio based in California which is known for movies like “Monsters, Inc.
,” “Inside Out,” “Cars” and “Wreck-It Ralph.” The exhibit gives parents and children a behind-the-scenes peek at how popular films are brought to life with 50 interactive displays and explanations of the steps it takes to produce a movie. Visitors will learn about the joints, bones and muscles that allow models to move called “rigs” and experience for themselves what riggers do, starting with a virtual 3-D character model for a character and ending with the steps needed to make that character move based on the story.
For instance, Randall in “Monsters, Inc.,” moves like a chameleon, but also walks on two legs. Riggers break down those motions into individual elements to create hundreds of control-points that animators will use to create poses.
Visitors will learn about story sets and designers and how they build virtual environments from the ground up right down to the pebbles. They’ll also learn how animators bring a story to life by breaking down an action into a series of poses. Simulation is an important part of all movies and guests will learn how it involves the illusion of motion and things that theater goers may not consider like how hair, clothing and fur respond to the way characters move and more.
One of the highlights for the older folks is the videos of real Pixar employees and their first-hand accounts of technological innovations that have revolutionized the field of computer animation. Jason Brown, director of the Carnegie Science Center, said that the exhibit is a great representation of science and technology, art and creativity. “I think that people will come for a lot of different reasons and if they love Pixar, they can take selfies with 15 different characters,” he said, adding that the exhibit gives people insight into how much work goes into a motion picture.
Brown said that guests can also try their hand at creating 3-D characters and zooming in and out with cameras to understand how simple changes can result in a totally different perspective. “We want people to understand through experience,” he said. Marcus Harshaw, associate museum director at the Science Center, said that the show is designed to ignite curiosity about careers in STEM.
“‘The Science behind Pixar’ brings in an opportunity for students to learn and get excited about STEM careers that didn’t exist years ago,” he said. Harshaw said that children and parents can easily spend an hour-and-half exploring the 14,000 square-foot exhibition. “It really touches people of all ages.
Younger kids will connect with the characters and the older kids will connect with the scientific aspect of it, but we expect parents to enjoy themselves too since everything we have here at the Center promotes intergenerational learning,” he said. Sarah White, who authors the blog “PhD Princess”, had the opportunity to view the exhibit at the Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan and describes it as the best she’s ever experienced, adding that the videos of the employees were both insightful and inspiring. “We learn about their childhood, their jobs and the math and science that they used to solve challenges in their departments,” she said.
White also enjoyed the problem-solving opportunities. “There is at least one guided exploration activity and one more open-ended exploration activity to give visitors hands-on experience solving the challenges for each department,” she said. White reports that each activity is comprised of two workstations, enabling multiple people to engage at the same time.
She also mentions that each video and screened-based activity includes stools for parents to get down to the kids’ level to engage, or to provide a lap for smaller children and that special considerations have been made with those with limitations. “Each video and screen-based activity has a transcript and audio recording of the instructions so that blind, deaf, or hard-of-hearing patrons have equal access to content,” she said. Brown said that he expects the exhibit to be a popular one due to its broad appeal.
“There’s so much to see and do; it’s not just for kids,” he said. Pixarburgh: The Science Behind Pixar can be seen at the Carnegie Science Center located at 1 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh until Jan. 5.
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