Universcience, an organisation that works to make science accessible to all, has announced the opening of one of its exhibitions in the UK capital.
A unique family-friendly experience, Cats and Dogs is now open to Horniman Museum and Gardens guests, providing a ‘pets’-eye’ outlook in a fun and educational experience.
Families can discover more about their favourite furry friends in a 300-square metre immersive exhibition that explores the scientific, social and cultural role that cats and dogs play in modern society.
A Universcience representative says: “Visitors partake in a thrilling sensory journey where they adopt the perspective of these pets. From studying animal behaviour to examining human relationships with feline friends, visitors can enjoy games and simulations that put them in each animal’s paws.”
As one of fifteen touring exhibitions designed by Parisian firm Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Cats and Dogs is available in three languages and features animations created by students from the London College of Communication.
A variant of the installation is also available through Imagine Exhibitions for venues in the US. Collectively, the experience has travelled to thirteen venues and has been enjoyed by over two million visitors.
A trio of themes
The Universcience exhibition covers three main topics:
In Their Skin provides an active space for guests to test their physical abilities. Families are invited to test their jumping skills and agility, replicating key traits of canines and felines respectively.
An immersive experience that focuses on the instinct and senses of cats and dogs, In Their Heads explores the behaviour, cognition and communication methods of Britain’s most popular pets. Guests can participate in distinctive experiments that transform them to look, listen and feel like their favourite species.
In Our Society looks closer at the inimitable relationships between humans, cats and dogs. Exhibition visitors are encouraged to further test their knowledge whilst learning about the animals’ valued role in households and society.
The Universcience exhibition, designed with families and schools in mind, will be at Horniman Museum and Gardens until 30 October 2022. More information can be found on the museum website. The exhibition will then be on display in Ville de Croissy at Château Chanorier, from December 2022 to July 2023.
Another popular installation, The Secret of the Gut exhibition, was recently brought by Universcience to Experimenta in Germany.
Photos: Horniman Museum and Gardens
