They have combined art with science. Two new exhibits at the Copernicus Science Centre

In September, the Copernicus Science Centre will welcome two new exhibits that redefine the way we think about presenting physical phenomena. ‘The Soapy Window’ and ‘Photopolychromy’ are not merely the latest educational installations – they are the result of many years of research, experimentation and the work of an interdisciplinary team that deliberately operates at the intersection of science, art and design. Both installations were created entirely at the Copernicus Centre: from the original concept, through prototyping, to their final realisation. Inspiration drawn from the international community of science centres served as a starting point, but every element was designed from scratch.

Science and art

The Copernicus Science Centre has been collaborating with artists and designers for years, but this time the institution is consciously taking the lead, developing its own ‘art&science’ language. It is not about creating metaphors for scientific phenomena, but about situations in which precisely demonstrated physics becomes a source of aesthetic wonder. As the creators emphasise, the experience is key – not a narrative about a phenomenon, but the opportunity to experience it first-hand.

This approach is evident in both new exhibits. Each element was designed with Copernicus’s specific space and audience in mind, and the creative process resembled scientific research rather than traditional product design. Copernicus is one of the few science centres in the world that independently carries out such research and development processes. The institution has also developed its own methods in this field and produces exhibitions and exhibits for other science centres, particularly for its SOWA (Zone of Discovery, Imagination and Activity) partner centres, of which there are now 50 in Poland.

Photopolychromy

‘Photopolychromy’ is an original project by Krzysztof Redzisz, a designer from the Exhibitions Department at the Copernicus Science Centre. During the prototyping phase, it was developed using various materials, in several versions and sizes. The exhibit utilises the properties of light, thanks to which a transparent object placed between polarising filters glows with a blaze of colour.

White light consists of photons of different colours. The successive layers of the exhibit ensure that only some of these reach our eyes. This leads to the creation of colour effects on the surface of the object placed between the filters. The colours we see depend on many factors: the thickness and structure of the object, its position relative to the polarising filters, and even how we position ourselves in relation to the exhibit. It is not only the beautiful colours on the object that make a big impression, but also the surprising contrast: when viewed from the side (without the filters), it is completely transparent.

Krzysztof Redzisz, working on the ‘Fotopolychromy’ exhibit

‘Fotopolichromia’ is therefore not simply a presentation of a physical phenomenon, but an experience in which light becomes a painterly tool. It is contemporary polychromy – a sculpture painted not with pigment, but with light. The exhibit, which will be on display from September at the Copernicus Centre, was created by Krzysztof Redzisz and Grzegorz Antos.

Soap Bubble Window

The second exhibit, ‘Soap Bubble Window’, utilises phenomena familiar from soap bubbles, but develops them in a way that allows their full visual potential to be seen. Visitors create a film by pulling a handle – and swirls, streaks and colourful patterns immediately appear on its surface. What can be seen on its surface is the reflection of white light off a thin layer of soapy film. The film is a millionth of a metre thick, and its structure is constantly changing. Some of the light is reflected from the upper surface, some from the lower – and when the rays meet, they can reinforce or cancel each other out. It is this interference that creates the dynamic, multicoloured patterns.

“I can see the reflection of the light source in the film, but there are dark spots, streaks and bands in that reflection… as if no light were reaching us from those areas. All of this together creates an incredibly complex image – swirls, stripes, who knows what – and it all changes rapidly over time,” says Jacek Błoniarz-Łuczak, a physicist at the Copernicus Science Centre.

The result is a living ‘mirror’ that reacts to its surroundings and never looks the same. This is an example of an exhibit in which scientific precision leads to pure aesthetics and to an experience that every visitor interprets in their own way. It is a delicate installation; the bubble can vanish with even the slightest breath of air, so keeping it afloat for a dozen or more seconds will be quite an achievement. Olga Zaloha, an engineer at the Copernicus Science Centre, is working on the final design of the exhibit; within the team, she acts as the designer and co-creator of ‘The Soap Window’.

‘In the “Soap Window”, physics is simple – for model, isolated cases that belong more to the category of thought experiments. Reality is much more complicated, but it is simply the sum of these simple, isolated cases – albeit a very large and very complex sum. This is what analysis in science is all about. We understand the simple cases in detail, and the more complex cases are simply the (enormous) sum of these simple cases,” adds Jacek Błoniarz‑Łuczak.

Research into the projects

Both projects developed in parallel with the process of understanding the phenomena. Subsequent prototypes were tested not only in the studio but also with the participation of visitors. The team investigated the influence of light, space and air movement in exhibition conditions. Physicists, experience designers, engineers and spatial architects were all involved in the work. It is precisely in such an environment, bringing together diverse areas of expertise, that the most innovative ideas emerge. At the Copernicus Centre, the exhibits are designed not so much to explain the world as to allow visitors to experience it.

Jacek Błoniarz‑Łuczak explains how the ‘Soap Window’ works

The September exhibition

‘The Soap Window’ and ‘Photopolychromy’ herald a direction that is becoming increasingly clear at the Copernicus Centre. The institution invites specific artists to create exhibits, thereby emphasising their creative role, but also develops its own language that bridges science and art, in order to forge new ways of telling stories about the world – ones that remain faithful to scientific precision, whilst at the same time opening up space for emotion, wonder and delight. Previously, artists who have worked on exhibits for the Copernicus Science Centre include: Ned Kahn, Wiesław Bartkowski, PanGenerator, Drzach&Suchy, Kuba Koźniewski, Arthur Ganson, Paul Friedlander, Tetsuaki Baba, Daniel Wurtzel, Mandy Baker and Emilia Tikka.VisitorstotheCopernicusScience Centrecan also view works by Oskar Zięta.

Although the official launch of the exhibits is scheduled for September, there is a chance that visitors to the Copernicus Science Centre will be able to see two new exhibits in July or August. The Centre will make the exhibits (in prototype form) available at exhibitions for public testing.

‘The Soapy Window’ and ‘Photopolychromy’ are experiential installations which – whilst rooted in physics – primarily engage the senses and demonstrate that contemporary science centres can be places where science and design not only converge but also inspire one another.

The creators of ‘Fotopolychromia’ and ‘The Soapy Window’ from the Copernicus Science Centre:

Jacek Błoniarz-Łuczak – physicist (graduate of the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, former research fellow at the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences), science writer, winner of the 2008 Science Populariser Award, co-author of the exhibition on LED technology ‘Samsung and a Dot’, and concept developer and coordinator of the Copernicus Science Centre’s Physics Laboratory, curator of the ‘Mission: Earth’ module of the ‘The Future is Today’ exhibition.

Olga Zaloha, PhD – engineering and materials science, design engineer, specialising in standardisation and metrology

Krzysztof Redzisz – design and spatial planning, graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. He participated in the creation of LivingLab research stations, which enable visitors to the Copernicus Science Centre to engage in scientific research, the exhibition ‘The Future Is Today: Mission Earth’ – which promotes pro-environmental attitudes – and many other exhibits in the Copernicus Science Centre’s permanent exhibition.

Grzegorz Antos – engineering, a graduate of the Faculty of Mechatronics at the Warsaw University of Technology, and the designer of dozens of interactive exhibits in the Copernicus Science Centre’s permanent and travelling exhibitions

The exhibits ‘Photopolychromy’ and ‘Soapy Window’ are being created as part of the project ‘Contemporary exhibits in science centres – an innovative combination of science and design at the Copernicus Science Centre’, funded by the Institute of Creative Industries.