By Marjorie-Sarah Atkinson
Staff Writer
On Friday, Sept. 25, the Museum of Science hosted its 19th annual College Night from 5-9 p.m. Admission to the exhibit halls was free for all students possessing a valid college ID, with entrance to certain exhibits not included. Normal exhibit hall admission would cost $23 for students.
Films being screened in the 4-D Theater, IMAX films being screened in the Mugar Omni Theater, programs running at the planetarium, entrance to the butterfly garden, and access to the featured The “Science Behind Pixar” exhibit required timed tickets that varied in price from $10-$29.
“Science Behind Pixar” offers museum guests an interactive experience with animation techniques featuring well-known characters. (Photo from MOS.org)
Duck Tours were available free of charge, with departures at 5:30 and 6:15. These tours consisted of touring landmarks of Boston by land and by the Charles River in an amphibious World War II-style landing vehicle. Soon after the Museum of Science opened its doors for College Night, the lines forming for these abbreviated 45-minute tours grew rapidly.
On my own tour, I boarded the vehicle called Fenway Fanny and listened to the “conducktor,” as he was called, tell stories of the founding of the city and the history of different landmarks visible from the vehicle, showing the multitude of enthusiastic college students the sights of Boston.
He explained to us, with jokes interspersed with the information he was sharing, the previous names of many buildings and natural landmarks, and, in some cases, how they came to be.
The most popular exhibit was definitely “Science Behind Pixar,” admission to which cost $6 with your valid college ID, rather than the standard $29.
Entrance took place in waves every ten minutes, with unlimited access to the exhibit after you entered. The exhibit began with a five-minute introductory film, briefly explaining how an animated Pixar movie is created.
Once the group entered the exhibit proper, there was an abundance of statues of beloved Pixar characters, such as Buzz Lightyear from the “Toy Story” films, Edna Mode from “The Incredibles,” Dory from “Finding Nemo,” and Sully and Mike from the “Monsters, Inc.” films.
The majority of the college students, easily visible with their Pixar pins proving their admittance, could be seen taking pictures with these figures, with small crowds of even more students waiting in line for their turn.
The interactive showcases inside the exhibit demonstrated in further detail the stages of making their animated films, some of which were titled “Modeling,” “Sculpting,” “Rigging,” “Sets and Cameras,” “Simulation,” and “Animation,” along with several panels labeled “Behind the Scenes” which explored several Pixar films.
Many of the showcases offered participants an interactive experience, such as the ability to manipulate the appearance of simulated grass with different buttons in one showcase. Several features centered on the recent film “Inside Out.”
One section allowed attendants to view the rendering process—the means by which an image is generated from a 2D or 3D model—and exactly how long rendering would take for one frame of the character Joy in the story’s headquarters.
At the end of the exhibit, there was an abundance of Pixar memorabilia available for purchase, such as stuffed toys, backpacks, and books.
Overall, College Night was a great success. Although some of the exhibits had an additional fee to the free entrance, the prices were greatly reduced in comparison to what they would have been for normal admission, and it was quite worth it. I plan on going again next year, and encourage those who are interested to go as well.
