Overview

Sure, robots are part of your everyday life. But have you ever built a ‘bot? Or manipulated the mind of a robot? Our newest featured exhibit is about the making of machines like us, and how our relationships with those machines may help us, change us, and teach us about ourselves. Great for ages 6 and up.

Robots and machines often have an intimate relationship with people. See and hear how artificial eyes and ears communicate with the human nervous system to deliver a whole new level of sensory experiences to people. Feel the emotional connection to the robotic pets vying for your affection in the store window as you stroll past, and see how synthetic companionship is big business (i.e. zhu zhu pets, webkins, tamagotchi pets). Orchestrate a symphony of wacky kinetic flowers to dance and sing by using your own body actions or have an interactive discussion with an animated digital character.

The Arctic

This is as close as you’ll get to the Arctic without bundling up! Come take a tour of an arctic garden, weigh yourself on a polar bear scale, climb into a polar bear’s den and even observe animated seasonal movements of glaciers to understand how climate change is affecting the arctic landscape. Do you know which arctic animal has the most hair? Examine real specimens to find the answer to this question and many more.

The Antarctic

Ever wanted to waddle like a penguin? Well now you can! Try on a penguin suit and slide down an ice luge. Then pretend to be a penguin parent by playing the “Feed the Chick Game” where you have to fish for krill and beat your opponent back to the nest to feed your young and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Inside the Explorers Theatre, you’ll journey along the treacherous Northwest Passage through the eyes of actual polar explorers, listen to their stories about their struggle for survival, view photographs and read their journal entries.