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The Science Behind Pixar at Cincinnati Museum Center

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) is giving guests their turn in the artist’s seat in their upcoming exhibition, The Science Behind Pixar, opening October 22. The interactive exhibition showcases the boundless limits of STEM, imagination and curiosity, thrilling guests as they come face-to-face with popular characters, including Buzz Lightyear, Dory, Mike and Sulley, Edna Mode and WALL•E.

Since Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story debuted in 1995, generations have grown up with the studio’s films and characters. CMC is excited to share the magic of Pixar and the science that brings it to life with Greater Cincinnati. The ingenuity of animators and engineers comes to light in an immersive experience that explore the science, technology, engineering, art and math concepts Pixar Animation Studios uses to bring their beloved characters to life.

“The Science Behind Pixar demonstrates how wonderfully the components of STEM intersect to create whimsical worlds and iconic characters who have defined a generation,” said Elizabeth Pierce, president & CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “With interactive elements that make the complex concepts of digital animation accessible to a variety of age groups, the exhibition will inspire the next generation of imagineers to bring their own visions to life.”

Through eight interactive areas, The Science Behind Pixar empowers guests to imagine the STEM concepts behind Pixar’s films by shining a lamp on eight of the steps in the filmmaking process – modeling, rigging, surfaces, sets and cameras, animation, simulation, lighting and rendering. The exhibition delivers an unparalleled view of the production pipeline used by Pixar’s artists and computer scientists, featuring more than 50 interactive elements.

To better understand the science and math that goes into creating the worlds and characters of Pixar’s films, guests will hear first-hand from members of the studios’ production teams. You will also be invited to experience different roles within the production pipeline through screen-based activities and physical interactive elements. Some of the activities included in the exhibition:
Discover how camera placement and angles created a bug’s-eye view in A Bug’s Life
Create a digital sculpture from an artist’s sketch
Use lights to solve challenges similar to ones faced by Pixar in creating underwater scenes in Finding Nemo
See how models are given a virtual skeleton that enables animators to pose them
Build a robot inspired by those in WALL•E
Try your hand at stop-motion animation of a jumping lamp and watch a short film of what you produced
See and touch scale models of many of Pixar’s beloved characters

“The Science Behind Pixar is an interactive exhibition that offers people a hands-on opportunity to understand how we make our films,” said Jim Morris, president of Pixar Animation Studios. “At Pixar, we use science, technology, engineering, art and math – along with a significant dash of creativity and fun – and this exhibition is truly a great demonstration of how all those ingredients come together in our filmmaking process.”

Films and characters represented in the exhibition include Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Brave, The Incredibles, Up, WALL•E, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Luca and more.

The Science Behind Pixar opens October 22 at Cincinnati Museum Center. Tickets will be available soon. For more information, visit cincymuseum.org/pixar