Gizmodo Australia » exhibitions

The Vatican Finally Shares Its Secret Stash Of Astronomy Artefacts

Rosa Golijan — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:40:00 +0000

The Vatican is holding an exhibit showing a collection of astronomy and space themed treasures, including this 18th century Planetarium. I’m just stunned that these beauties have been collecting dust somewhere, unseen and unappreciated for who-knows-how-long.

The Astrum 2009, Astronomy and Instruments’ exhibition is running from October 16 to January 16, 2010 and just seeing some of the pictures in io9’s makes me want to book a trip to Vatican City and stroll through space history. [io9]

Image by AFP/Getty.

Man, Ray’s Got Some Shots To Show

Chris Oaten — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:53:19 +0000

I’m guessing there’d be two kinds of Gizmodians — those who remember the halcyon days of Australian current affairs television when Ray Martin wore a doyen’s cap, and those who don’t remember such a time. For those who do remember Ray, and who are in Sydney tomorrow (Wednesday, September 22) might like to take a squizz at Ray’s photo exhibition.

Veteran Australian journalist Ray Martin has his LUMIX Life exhibition on show at the Global Gallery in Paddington, Sydney, at 2pm. Among the images on show are those from hot spots he has covered as a TV journo, including images taken of Aceh, a few days after the devastating tsunami struck on Boxing Day, 2004, and the photo of Paris, above.

Photographers from around the world were encouraged to shoot and upload images at www.lumixlife.com.au and share their story, creativity or passion. A new exhibition, featuring a collection of 10 images, will be hosted every few hours during the gallery’s opening hours. Each exhibition will be displayed on a Panasonic Full High Definition Commercial Plasma Display Panel, to ensure the images are magnificently presented.

Ray Martin is one of 50 photographers whose LUMIX Life exhibitions will be shown over the next month. Photographers were encouraged to shoot and upload their 10 best LUMIX images and share their story, creativity or passion. All exhibitions can also be viewed on the website via webcams that have been set up at the gallery.

The full list of the 50 selected photographers is online on the “Selected Exhibitions” page of LUMIX Life. A detailed daily schedule can be seen on the “Now Showing” page.

Get Your Star Wars Merchandise At The Powerhouse Museum Exhibition

Nick Broughall — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:30:37 +0000

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday’s coverage of the new Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at the Sydney powerhouse Museum is that it’s a merchandisers dream. And not just the regular Star Wars crap you can pick up at Go-Lo for a couple of bucks either – they’ve got full-sized Master Replica lightsabers, Lego sets (although not the Death Star diorama or the Millennium Falcon), R2-D2 plush back packs and more bobble-heads than I’ve ever seen gathered at one place at a time – seriously, if there was an earthquake, there would be enough bobbling to cause an aftershock just inside the Powerhouse. Nothing there is cheap, but if you’re a collector, you may find something at the exhibition you haven’t been able to pick up in Australia before…

[Powerhouse Museum]

Star Wars Universe Invades Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum

Nick Broughall — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:45:35 +0000

Sydneysiders bitter about the fact that the Game On gaming expo seemed to bunny hop right over the nation’s largest city can feel some relief today with the opening of the “Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination” exhibition at the Powerhouse museum. The exhibit brings together props and costumes from all six of the Star Wars films, and combines them with interviews from key people involved in the production of the films. But then it combines all of that with an intelligent look at the science in the sci-fi, by showcasing just where we are today in creating some of the technologies of a Galaxy far, far away.For most people, the exhibit will be a chance to look at some of the props from the original trilogy – Luke’s landspeeder is on display (although disappointingly with wheels), as are the actual models of the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca’s suit and some of the weapons from the films. But even though the exhibition is on two levels, there isn’t enough Star Wars paraphernalia to make the entrance quite worth the money. Luckily, there’s plenty of recorded audio and video interviews with some of the engineers on the original films, detailing where ideas for vehicles, landscapes and sound effects came from.

The key element in this exhibition, however, is in the interactive science parts. Adjacent to Luke’s Landspeeder is a section dedicated to maglev, the closest thing we have to landspeeder technology. Using Lego (hooray!) and magnets, you can create your own primitive vehicle to traverse a maglev track, with instructions to guide you along the way. Similarly, you can create your own robot, teach it to navigate a simple obstacle course and then give it a personality. And while you do this, you’ll learn just how difficult it is to create even a simple robot, let alone something along the lines of R2-D2.

And while it could have just been for the media preview yesterday, another entertaining aspect is the cast of dedicated volunteers who donned the Star Wars themed costumes for the exhibition. While this may not interest you too much, kids are sure to love being able to have their photo taken with Darth Vader, Boba Fett and a raft of stormtroopers and other Jedi.

The exhibition is running from today until April 26. If you’re into science and enjoy Star Wars, it’s got a lot to offer. It’s the kind of thing you’ll regret missing out on if you don’t go, so make sure you find some time this summer to go and check it out.

[Powerhouse Museum]

Game On Exhibition Heading To Queensland State Library

Nick Broughall — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:05 +0000

For everyone who missed out on the apparently awesome Game On exhibition that was in Melbourne earlier this year, you’re about to get a second chance to relive the glory days of gaming. You know, the time when Wonder Boy was the single best platformer on the market, and Mario was a little blocky around the sides?

The catch is that the exhibition is going to be held in Queensland this time, at the State library. Which sucks for Sydneysiders like me, who’ve been hopped over like Koopa shell on the exhibition’s road to success.

The Game On exhibition will open its doors on November 17 and kick on through to Feb 15 next year, making it the perfect summer holidays adventure to take your kids. Or yourselves. There’s also a Game On party happening on Saturday, November 22, if you can somehow manage to score some tickets to that.

It’s GAME ON at the State Library of Queensland this summer

Arts Minister Rod Welford has announced the State Library of Queensland will host a major international videogames exhibition this summer.

“The State Library has secured GAME ON, a major exhibition from the UK which looks at the vibrant history and culture of videogames from 1962 to 2008,” Mr Welford said.

“GAME ON is an action-packed, highly interactive celebration of games culture that has thrilled more than one million players of all ages around the world – now it’s Queensland’s turn.

“With more than 1.2 million visitors to the State Library last year, this exhibition is set to bring record crowds and be a major drawcard for the whole Cultural Centre this summer.”

Mr Welford said it was fitting for the State Library to host this exhibition as Queensland is a world-leader in producing videogames.

“There are more than 18 videogame development companies based here including world-renowned Krome Studios, creators of Hellboy: The Science of Evil and Pandemic Studios, creators of Lord of the Rings Conquest,” he said.

“Queensland’s games industry is fuelled by a wealth of study options that explore every aspect of this field and GAME ON shines the spotlight on this booming industry.”

Organised by London’s Barbican Art Gallery, the exhibition has toured the world before coming to Australia, visiting Melbourne first before it opens in Brisbane on 17 November for a three-month season until 15 February 2009.

Mr Welford said GAME ON chronicles the history of videogames, featuring rare memorabilia and more than 100 playable games.

“Visitors will be able to step back in time and play some of the earliest computer games, including classic arcade-era hits like Space Invaders and Pong, as well as some of the latest releases,” he said.

“With original illustrations by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, concept sketches behind classics like Tomb Raider, rarely seen consoles, controllers, arcade machines, packaging and collectables, this exhibition is sure to satisfy everyone from the keenest gamer to the whole family and provide a unique insight into the creative process of game development.”