Liberty Science Center Presents The Science Behind Pixar

JERSEY CITY, NJ – October 11, 2023 – Beginning Saturday, October 14, visitors to Liberty Science Center will be inspired by the science and technology behind some of the most beloved animated films and their characters, with The Science Behind Pixar. This massive, immersive exhibition showcases the computer science, math, and science concepts used by the artists and computer scientists who help bring Pixar’s award-winning films to the big screen.

Created by the Museum of Science, Boston and Pixar Animation Studios, and featuring more than 50 interactive elements, The Science Behind Pixar embodies the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) thinking skills needed to create compelling films. The exhibition is organized into eight sections, each focusing on a step of Pixar’s technical process – Modeling, Rigging, Surfaces, Sets & Cameras, Animation, Simulation, Lighting, and Rendering – providing visitors with a unique view of the production pipeline and concepts used at Pixar every day. Visitors of all ages will engage in and learn about the filmmaking process through hands-on activities inspired by some of Pixar’s most treasured films, from the first-ever computer animated feature film Toy Story, which opened over two decades ago, to more recent hits like the Incredibles 2.

“The Science Behind Pixar is an interactive exhibit 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 exhibit is truly a great demonstration of how all those ingredients come together in our filmmaking process.”

“Pixar has brought smiles to the faces of audiences of all ages for decades, so we’re excited to see those same expressions of awe and wonder fill the halls of Liberty Science Center, while at the same time teaching about the power and science of animation,” said Paul Hoffman, the Center’s President & CEO.

To better understand the science and math that goes into creating the worlds and characters of Pixar’s films, visitors will hear first-hand from members of the studios’ production teams. They will also be invited to experience different roles within the production pipeline, through screen-based activities and physical interactive elements. In Sets & Cameras, for example, visitors will discover how camera placement and angles created a bug’s-eye view for A Bug’s Life. Visitors will try their hand at creating a digital sculpture from an artist’s sketch in Modeling, and use lights to solve challenges similar to ones Pixar faced in creating underwater scenes with virtual light in Finding Nemo in Lighting. Rigging showcases how the models are given a virtual skeleton that enables the animators to pose them, and in Surfaces, visitors can immerse themselves in the techniques that give surfaces color and texture. Visitors will also have the opportunity to take their photo with human-size recreations of many of their favorite Pixar film characters, including Buzz Lightyear, Dory, Mike and Sulley, Edna Mode, and WALL•E.

The Science Behind Pixar will be at Liberty Science Center through May 5. For ticket information, please visit LSC.org.

About Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center (LSC.org) is a 300,000-square-foot, not-for-profit learning center located in Liberty State Park on the Jersey City bank of the Hudson near the Statue of Liberty. Dedicated to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers and bringing the power, promise, and pure fun of science and technology to learners of all ages, Liberty Science Center houses the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, 12 museum exhibition halls, a live animal collection with 110 species, giant aquariums, a 3D theater, live simulcast surgeries, a tornado-force wind simulator, K-12 classrooms and labs, and teacher-development programs. Before COVID-19, more than 250,000 students visited the Science Center each year, and tens of thousands more participated in the Center’s off-site and online programs. Welcoming more than 750,000 visitors annually, LSC is the largest INTERACTIVE science center in the NYC-NJ metropolitan area. Follow Liberty Science Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Support for The Science Behind Pixar
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).

About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is an Academy Award®-winning film studio with world-renowned technical, creative and production capabilities in the art of computer animation. The Northern California studio has created some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time, including “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Cars,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL•E,” “Up,” “Toy Story 3,” “Brave,” “Inside Out,” and “Coco.” Its movies have won 35 Academy Awards® and have grossed more than $14 billion at the worldwide box office.

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