What kid doesn’t love cartoons? Science World knows kids are fascinated by the colourful world of animated creatures. The newest installation at Science World is called Animation. The exhibit explores the science behind, and the real-life application of, the art of animation.

I recommend starting your visit with the cool sliding movie that gives an overview of the whole exhibit. The brief movie explains the animation process from idea to story boarding to drawing to sound effects and to the final step of musical scoring. Now you are ready to get hands on with all the stages of the animation process.

Animation is an exhibit that appeals to all ages. Whether it is the fascination of button-pushing for the little ones, or the mastering of the Foley sound room for the big kids (and this adult) there is much to learn and explore.

Some of the highlights of the Animation exhibit include:

Stop motion movie – stand in a little booth, watch the count down lights, strike a pose, repeat 13 more times, exit and watch yourself in a stop-motion short.

Animation at Science WorldMusic overlay – discover how much music affects the mood of a scene. Pick from 5 musical themes and listen to them when they are played over the same cartoon. This is a great exhibit for helping little ones understand how music can make a movie seem scary even when the image is innocuous.

Cartoon drawing – either draw your own cartoon or use the tracing images provided. Are the pencil crayons dull? Just look to the right of this station and you will find a pencil sharpener. Science World thinks of everything!

Sound effectsThe Foley room was my favourite! You can add sound effects to a cartoon. I watched two teenagers ahead of us ace the sound application. I went in thinking “this will be easy”; I quickly decided those kids were savants. The four of us had fun but our sound effects were late, skipped and out of order. We had a blast, lots of giggles, and a desire to go back and try it again.

Animation is the feature exhibit at Science World until April 26.  During Spring Break, Science World is ramping up the interactive stations in the Animation exhibit. Make a note on your calendar to explore the science of Animation at Science World.