Oct 24, 2025 - Things to Do

To infinity — and behind the science — at COSI

Alissa Widman Neese

Life-size Buzz Lightyear figure in white and green space suit stands on a wooden platform in front of Toy Story character mural. Nearby is a display board titled "Modeling" explaining digital sculpting. — A life-size Buzz Lightyear greets you at COSI's new Pixar exhibit. Photos: Alissa Widman Neese/Axios

Classic Pixar films like "Finding Nemo" and "Inside Out" are known for stunning visuals and heartfelt stories. But the magic that makes them possible actually involves a lot of science.

Why it matters: COSI's newest exhibit, "The Science Behind Pixar," shows how the studio has transformed the animation industry since debuting the first computer-animated feature film, "Toy Story," in 1995.

How it works: The traveling exhibit takes visitors through eight steps of the filmmaking process — modeling, rigging, surfaces, sets and cameras, animation, simulation, lighting and rendering.

It's all showcased around six large statues of iconic characters.
There are interactive kid-friendly activities, like picking paint for "Cars" vehicles and helping the "Luxo Jr." lamp jump, to demonstrate stop-motion.

Interactive stop-motion animation exhibit with a white desk lamp on a black curved track, screens showing animation frames, and instructions for making a lamp jump pose by pose. — Pixar's Oscar-winning 1986 short film "Luxo Jr.," starring the now-iconic lamp, is in the National Film Registry.

Between the lines: The videos and displays can get pretty technical.

Yes, but: Kids can still enjoy them. Like the movies, Pixar's exhibit is geared toward guests of all ages and is much more than a photo opp.

Model of the yellow robot WALL-E on a metal platform in front of a detailed workshop backdrop and adjacent screen showing WALL-E in a starry blue scene from the animated movie. — The character statues are all photo opps — but here, guests are encouraged to photograph WALL-E to learn about camera angles.

The intrigue: It dives into some surprising details, like creating new software to animate Merida's 1,500 fiery ringlets in "Brave," which mimic springs.

Stunning stat: Rendering, the final step that turns data into images, takes around 24 hours to process a single frame.

Pixar's "rendering farm" of 2,000 computers speeds things up, but it still took two years to render the 104-minute "Monsters University."

Dark exhibition space with a bright "RENDERING" sign, showing a projection of wireframe animation from "Coco" and nearby informational displays about rendering in 3D. — A scene from 2017's "Coco," pre-rendering.

💭 Alissa's thought bubble: I'm a big fan of all animation, but I miss the hand-drawn, 2D movies I grew up with. I assumed computer-animated films — now the industry standard, thanks to Pixar — were cheaper and easier to make.

After exploring this exhibit, I have newfound respect for the work it takes.
I'll be thinking about this when I see "Toy Story 5" next summer.

Stop by: Hours. Tickets are $15 on top of COSI admission ($10 for members). Through May 25.

Blue and yellow animated fish character with large eyes and open mouth, set against a deep blue underwater coral background with glowing light effects. — Dory, everyone's favorite forgetful blue tang, demonstrates how lighting effects can recreate spaces underwater.

Wall exhibit titled "The Science Behind PIXAR" with colorful stripes above text and images of Pixar characters like Nemo, Mr. Incredible, Joy, Sulley, Lightning McQueen, Miguel, Woody, and Merida on a black panel. — The exhibit's themed entrance — and signs throughout COSI — are photo opps, too.

A recreation of Ant Island from "A Bug's Life," featuring an artificial tree with orange leaves, a faux rock cave, interactive screens, and a sign reading "SETS & CAMERAS" with an animation section visible in the background. — "The Science Behind Pixar" is a free-roaming exhibit, with a realistic Ant Island from 1998's "A Bug's Life" at its center.

Display featuring blue fuzzy Sulley and green one-eyed Mike from "Monsters, Inc." in front of a chalkboard labeled RIGGING with sketches and text about rigging cartoon characters. — Rigging, or creating a movable skeleton for characters, was particularly challenging for 2001's "Monsters, Inc."

Sign on wooden floor with black railing saying PLEASE DON'T TOUCH — No human contamination, below feet of green and blue furry costume characters. — Despite involving some serious science, the exhibit still has a sense of humor that fans will appreciate.

Interactive exhibit titled SURFACES with Rust-eze and Dinoco logos illuminated, red tool carts with screens and wheels, and a wall displaying colorful race car designs. — The 2006 film "Cars" accelerated the technology used to make realistic, reflective surfaces.

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To infinity — and behind the science — at COSI

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