Marvel Super Heroes Science Exhibition
March 26—September 4, 2006
California Science Center

The doors of the giant freight elevator close behind you and the sound of machinery starts up as you jerk up to the top of a warehouse. The doors open and you are greeted by a 1990s Professor X and a few of his X-Men. Below is a 1970s lab that looks like it should belong to a mad scientist. A sign on the wall beckons: “Lose your fear and walk in the footsteps of Super Heroes.”

This auspicious start to the exhibit is the only truly immersive environment in the show, however, there are enough activities to engage even the shortest of attention spans and busiest of imaginations. Thirteen super heroes and villains are profiled throughout the exhibit and for each one there is a corresponding science lesson with interactive elements designed to teach about the real life science of the super powers depicted in comic books. For example, Daredevil, a blind super hero who must rely on all of his other senses, teaches visitors about echolocation, balance, the potency of the sense of smell when the eyes are closed and how to navigate through a “blind alley.”

Some of the interactives work more effectively than others—it was apparent that the Banshee sound chamber in which visitors are encouraged to yell to defeat the bad guy did not actually measure the decibels of our yells and that the bad guy would be defeated in a matter of moments no matter what we did. The Iron Man display however, through use of hydraulics and leverage, allows visitors to slip into an “exo-skeleton” and actually lift up a car—an impressive feat even for a super hero. Picking up on a revenue generating technique employed for years by theme parks, there is the option of purchasing a photo of yourself engaged in this display of super strength.

After experiencing first-hand super powers through the interactive displays, visitors conclude the exhibition by walking down comic book memory lane. A collection of vintage comic books, comic art posters and a video interview with comic book author Stan Lee help to tell the story of the history of comics and why they are an important form of pop culture. Younger super heroes may find this area boring and wish to fly straight through to the gift shop, featuring DVDs, action figures, posters and t-shirts. History buffs, however, will be fascinated to see how comics have changed with the social climate over the years. In the 1950s, Cold War paranoia resulted in comics focusing on fantasy, romance and the olden days rather than on contemporary threats. In the 1930s and ‘40s, bad guys sometimes wore swastikas. Today’s super heroes fight against terrorism.

Nonetheless, this second half of the exhibit seems a bit incongruous and even extraneous in a science center setting. Perhaps it was the popular drive to make exhibits and museums interdisciplinary that encouraged the developers to end the show in this manner. Regardless, this exhibit should play well with audiences already thinking about super heroes thanks to the recent movies, Superman Returns and X-Men 3: The Last Stand.


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