Take your imagination to infinity… and beyond!

It’s your turn in the artist’s seat as we reveal The Science Behind Pixar.

Since Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story debuted in 1995, generations have grown up with the studio’s films and characters. Now discover the science that brings them to life.

The interactive exhibition showcases the boundless limits of STEM, imagination and curiosity, thrilling you as you come face-to-face with popular characters, including Buzz Lightyear, Dory, Mike and Sulley, Edna Mode and WALL•E.

Through eight interactive areas, The Science Behind Pixar empowers you 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, including:

• 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 supported locally by Anne Drackett Thomas.

The Science Behind Pixar is funded through support by Google, members of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (SMEC), Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The Science Behind Pixar was developed by the Museum of Science Boston in collaboration with Pixar Animation Studios. ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization.

Select evening hours

See what happens after dark with extended hours for The Science Behind Pixar and evening showtimes in the OMNIMAX^® Theater on select Fridays.

• Friday, April 22