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Stage Nine Exhibitions is unveiling its newest fully interactive exhibition called POPnology at Arizona Science Center on February 7. This new exhibition, scheduled for touring across the U.S. and Canada, celebrates and explores some of history’s greatest works of technology innovation inspired by popular culture and imagination.
“We are thrilled to be the host of the world premiere!” says Chevy Humphrey, President and CEO of Arizona Science Center. “We are committed at Arizona Science Center to bringing exciting, cutting-edge exhibitions to our community. We hope that POPnology will help our guests to experience science everywhere by making the connection between the latest advancements in science, technology and popular culture. This exhibition chronicles technology advancements like never before, including areas like 3-D printing, robotics, virtual gaming and transportation. It identifies and illuminates emerging trends to awe, enlighten, educate and to remind us all that anything is possible.”
Guests of POPnology will discover four featured areas exploring the science and technology in everyday human life:
- How We Play: Examines the technology of entertainment and its impact on how people spend their free time. Highlights include virtual reality gaming by Oculus Rift, 3D projected playing fields, and hands-on activities with familiar and cutting-edge musical instruments.
- How We Connect: Communications technology is truly the game changer of the 21st century, which brought us to a new era and the birth of social media. This part of the exhibition explores the relationship between communications and technology by looking at the history and future of communication, from landline rotary telephones and VCRs to video chats and smartphones. Artificial intelligence and distant alien lifeforms are featured as examples of technology blending with popular culture and science fiction. Guests will learn about communication in our social history, how far we’ve come, and where we’re going.
- How We Move: This area examines the history and evolution of human transportation. This segment includes a detailed overview of how technologies have advanced the way we move around the planet. Showcased are popular culture hallmarks in transportation including Mars rovers; jetpacks; Marty McFly’s hoverboard; the latest 3D printed car by Local Motors; artistic sketches featuring future plans for flying cars from Hyundai; self-driving car technology from NVIDIA and the roll-out of the high-speed transportation system, the Hyperloop™.
- How We Live and Work: This area presents some of the most fascinating innovations currently shaping our lives, many of which were predicted in books and films. Here guests will experience how those dreams have turned into reality.
- Remote manipulation: hands-on, visitor-controlled demonstrations
- Real-world robotics: Baxter, the robot that’s revolutionizing the way we work
- The history of robots: the evolution of androids, factual and fictional with life-size icons such as Terminator and R2D2
- 3D printing: customized objects, from International Space Station replacement parts to human organs
“POPnology is an unrivaled exploration of popular culture’s ever-changing impact on technology,” said Troy Carlson, CEO of Stage Nine Exhibitions and creator of POPnology. “This fully-immersive exhibition will engage guests on a physical, mental and emotional level and enable hands-on access to some of the most advanced technology influencing our lives today and well into the future.”
POPnology exhibit. Photo by Nancy Newman.
The exhibit includes:
- Mars Rover
- Hands-on robotics
- Virtual projection games
- Futuristic musical instrument technology
- Jet pack from Disney™’s The Rocketeer
- Autopia car from Disney™’s Tomorrowland
POPnology is a production of Stage Nine Exhibitions; distributed by Exhibits Development Group; presented nationally by Local Motors, Hyundai, NASA/JPL-Caltech, NVIDIA, and Quid and presented locally by APS, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and US Bank. POPnology is presented in the Sybil B. Harrington Galleries.
Images courtesy of Arizona Science Center.
