Futuristic museum MOD. opens

A new museum called MOD. has opened its doors at the University of South Australia, bringing a futuristic mix of science, art and innovation.

After much anticipation, MOD. has opened its doors to the public. Short for Museum of Discovery, MOD. introduces us to a space that’s somewhere between a science museum and an art gallery.

The idea behind MOD. was conceived several years ago at the University of South Australia, with the goal of creating a centre to engage students in the world of science. With Dr Kristin Alford at the helm, the idea became MOD.

The museum’s first exhibition is MODify and features a range of gallery spaces that provoke us to reconsider what we know. There’s Josh, the animatronic head of a teenage boy who talks to us about love and loss. But is he a machine based on a real person or a person replicating a machine?

MOD. also features Australia’s first installation of Science on a Sphere, a giant, suspended globe that depicts images and animations of Earth, planets, stars and much more. Science on a Sphere is surrounded by animations and videos of the Kaurna community, challenging us to reconsider the many ways of knowing.

But beyond simply the curation of world-class exhibitions, MOD. has given Australian researchers an opportunity to work with local artists to create unique pieces. The exhibition Birds and Bees is a collaboration between robotics expert Professor Srini Srinivasan and artist Sam Leech. The space features a large tunnel illuminated with vertical or horizontal lines, replicating an experiment about flight navigation in birds. Its a flipped arena where the experimenter becomes the subject.

MOD. is now open to the public. For more information including opening times, head to the MOD. website.