Thanks to a year of planning and working, guests at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis can now experience “AVATAR,” James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster film, like never before.
Through “AVATAR: The Exhibition,” guests can learn about the science behind the film, explore the moon where the film takes place, and can see actual film props and sketches among other features. With all of these exciting elements, it is not hard to see why the museum would bring the exhibit to Indianapolis; however, “AVATAR: The Exhibition” was selected for more than its cool factor.
According to Charity Counts, associate vice president of exhibits, “AVATAR: The Exhibition” was strategically selected for the summer because it can appeal to a broad audience.
“We’re looking for things that are for different age groups, so if we know that kids are going to be in school in early spring, we make sure that what we are bringing in are for kids that aren’t in school yet,” said Counts. “Summer time, we want to hit everybody. We want everybody to be happy with the choice.”
Counts also explained the idea of appealing to school age children.
“We really wanted to have something that families with school age kids would be excited about and this is a movie that is very popular even though it’s been a few years since it was first released. We know that a lot of families with kids like ages 8 and up are super excited about it,” said Counts.
Reinforcing Counts’ statement, Parker Foord, 13, was a guest at the children’s museum who was genuinely excited about the exhibit.
“I think it’s pretty awesome, there are a lot of cool things that show how the movie works,” said Foord.
Foord also noted that his favorite part of the exhibit was an interactive touchscreen that allows guests to explore the film and Pandora, the home moon of the Na’vi people in “AVATAR.”
Beyond Foord’s favorite display, the exhibition features a number of interactive displays such as a 14’ by 8’ projection screen that interacts with guests’ shadows and a game that showcases bioluminescent aquatic creatures.
The exhibit also allows guests to direct a movie scene with a virtual camera and become part of a movie with performance capture technology.
Much like his grandson, Foord’s grandfather, Robert Pinger was also a fan of the exhibit.
As a science teacher, Pinger appreciated the scientific elements of the film and exhibit and as a grandfather, he appreciated how the exhibit is catered to children.
“I like the way it’s kind of based on biology and physiology so that it’s interesting to me,” said Pinger. “And there are lots of activities for the children to do here, that’s nice, a whole variety of hands on things so I think that’s what makes the exhibit excellent.”
“I think everyone should try and come see it.”
“AVATAR: The Exhibition” will be at The Children’s Museum until Sept. 22.
The Children’s Museum is located at 3000 N. Meridian St. Its hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Sunday. General admission is $13.50 for ages 2 to 17, $18.50 for adults and $17.50 for seniors (60+). For more information, visit childrensmuseum.org or call 1-800-820-6214.
