"Seeing," the Frost Science Museum's First Special Exhibition, Will Test Your Senses

How do our brains interpret what’s in front of our eyes? Is vision the only way we perceive our surroundings? How do robots understand what they're seeing? These questions and others will be answered when the new Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science debuts its first special exhibition, "Seeing: What Are You Looking At?" Monday, May 8.

The show, which kicks off the same day the Grimshaw-designed museum opens to the public, investigates biological and technological sight through interactive artworks. One of them, Sight Without Light, helps visitors picture surroundings via echolocation. Another, 20/X, allows guests to see the world from the perspective of a computer, using algorithms to identify things.

“'Seeing' is an exciting addition to Frost Science’s exhibition offerings, as it merges the fields of science and art in an unprecedented way," says the museum's creative director, Alexandra Kuechenberg. The exhibit helps visitors understand "the cutting-edge science of perception through the lens of 21 talented international scientists, innovators, and artists.”
Also within the special exhibition, which will span the second and third floors of the museum's West Wing, will be Lucida III, a piece that uses eye-tracking technology to demonstrate how our gaze changes what we see and even hear. Altogether, the collection of works is designed to show visitors the subjectivity of sight and highlight the parallels between human and machine vision.

To delve deeper into the topics explored in "Seeing," such as the limits of recognition and the latest innovations in sight enhancement, the museum will also launch a bimonthly evening discussion series, which will run until the exhibition ends October 20.

“We are honored that 'Seeing' will be part of the opening program at Frost Science," says Lynn Scarff, the director of Science Gallery Dublin, which developed the exhibition. "Their track record in engaging young adults in emerging science and cutting-edge technology makes this a perfect collaboration and the beginning of many more partnerships into the future."

"Seeing: What Are You Looking At?"
May 8 through October 20 at the Frost Science Museum, 1101 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-434-9600; frostscience.org. Admission costs $28 for adults and $20 for children ages 3 to 11; children aged 2 and younger get in free.

New Times' Best of Miami party will take place at the new Frost Science Museum Thursday, June 22, from 8 to 11 p.m. Visit newtimesbestofmiami.com.