Animation is everywhere. We encounter some form of animation every time we turn on the television, go to a movie, or surf the Internet, but how many of us understand how animation really works? Visitors to The Children's Museum can explore the science behind the art at Animation, a new, highly interactive exhibit at the museum
May 24 through Jan. 4.

Animation, created and produced by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) featuring Cartoon Network, explores animation from concept to finished product — from storyboarding, character design and drawing techniques, to movement, timing, filming and sound. Larger-than-life graphics of popular Cartoon Network characters provide a colorful backdrop to the exhibit, which also explores the history of animation and features a screening room and a cartoon museum.

Animation has proven to be a powerful and effective tool for engaging and teaching people of all ages about science concepts such as perception, illusion, geometry and measurement. Math and science are fundamental to animation. Before producing an animated sequence, an animator plots out a character’s “path of action” on a grid. An animator creates characters in scale with their environments through the use of basic geometry and spatial sense. To illustrate convincing movement, animators apply knowledge of the physics of motion and the science of human perception.

“What this exhibit reveals in full interactive detail is the number of different skills involved in creating animation, from voice-acting and recording to computer programming and scoring, from screenwriting and storyboarding to sound-effects and editing,” says Dennis Adamovich, Cartoon Network’s senior vice president of marketing. “There truly is a science to this colorful, engaging art form. Animation offers visitors a more complete understanding of it, and hopefully inspires young people to consider animation as a future career.”

Several exhibit areas feature digital slide shows of real animators working in the studios at Cartoon Network where visitors can learn about the skills and training needed to pursue a career in animation.

The exhibit explores six thematic areas of animation:

History: Learn about early animation and apparent motion. Visitors can try using a praxinoscope, posing a three-dimensional figure and spinning it to see the figures morph into a single animation. At the Penny Arcade, you can “crank” out animations with an old-fashioned mutoscope.

Animation Studio: Explore the process of animation, story creation, and animator techniques and tools. You can develop a storyboard from a series of picture cards, design objects with a pantograph, and create scenes using layered cels and moving backgrounds.

Art in Motion: With help from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, discover why art and math are important allies when it comes to creating characters, motion and change. The illusion of movement will come alive as you magically “move” around a room without using your legs.

Animation Laboratory: In Dexter’s Laboratory, you can delve into the science and technology that make animation possible. Create the illusion of a bouncing ball with the technique of “squash and stretch” and find out how the action slows down or speeds up with time-lapse videos. You can also see yourself “hover” while exploring visual effects in a full-body interactive experience.

Sound and Stage: Discover the principles of sound and phonetics with the Kids Next Door, which explores the complexity of matching phrases to different mouth shapes. You can add your own voice to a silent animation, and set the mood of a film by selecting background music from a variety of soundtracks.

Cartoon Museum: Take a seat in an intimate theater setting and view clips of popular animations while learning the secrets behind their production. Examine important artifacts such as cels, models and storyboard drawings from classic and favorite animations such as Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones and The Powerpuff Girls.

Animation was developed by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in collaboration with Cartoon Network and partially funded by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation™ and ©2008 Cartoon Network. All rights reserved.