Animation is everywhere. We encounter some form of animation every time we turn on the television, go to a movie, or surf the Internet, but how many of us understand how animation really works? Visitors to The Children's Museum can explore the science behind the art at Animation, a new, highly interactive exhibit at the museum.

Animation, created and produced by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) featuring Cartoon Network, explores animation from concept to finished product — from storyboarding, character design and drawing techniques, to movement, timing, filming and sound. Larger-than-life graphics of popular Cartoon Network characters provide a colorful backdrop to the exhibit, which also explores the history of animation and features a screening room and a cartoon museum.

Animation has proven to be a powerful and effective tool for engaging and teaching people of all ages about science concepts such as perception, illusion, geometry and measurement. Math and science are fundamental to animation. Before producing an animated sequence, an animator plots out a character’s “path of action” on a grid. An animator creates characters in scale with their environments through the use of basic geometry and spatial sense. To illustrate convincing movement, animators apply knowledge of the physics of motion and the science of human perception.