Cats & Dogs The Exhibition will improve your animal instincts
This exhibition about our furry best friends is set to open September 21, 2023
- Tuesday May 9, 2023
How much do we really know about the animal companions that share our daily lives? Find out at Cats & Dogs The Exhibition, coming to the Science Center of Iowa (SCI) September 21, 2023.
Created by La Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in partnership with Le Musée de la civilization, and produced by Imagine Exhibitions, Cats & Dogs The Exhibition, is the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to these animals. The exhibition reviews much of what we know scientifically, sociologically and culturally about both canines and felines. The science of animal behavior has advanced by leaps and bounds these past few years, overturning a number of preconceived ideas about cats and dogs regarding how they demonstrate their skills, awareness and intelligence every day. Cats & Dogs The Exhibition gives every dog (and cat!) its day!
“Our goal with bringing in this traveling exhibit is to engage our visitors with friendly, accessible, and relatable content,” said Curt Simmons, SCI’s President and CEO. “Plus, there’s nothing better than putting yourself in an animal’s place to understand them better and decode their behavior.”
The exhibition is arranged to take visitors on a fun, sensory and interactive journey. Using colors, materials and selected furnishings, three different scenes are created, consisting of distinct environments that let visitors experience each universe.
In Their Skin
This is an active space where visitors compare their own physical skills to those of the animals, such as speed, agility, and capacity to jump. They discover the different range of canine and feline body shape types and observe their characteristics.
In Their Head
Plunged into a space decorated to put us on a level with the animals, visitors are invited to look, listen and feel like a dog or cat, with unusual immersive experiments. Understand how they communicate, interpret their emotions and decrypt their behavior.
In Our Society
Dogs and cats fill our homes, our streets and even our culture. This final section shows visitors the nature of our relationship with these animals over time, and the important role they play today in our society.
Tom Zaller, CEO of Imagine Exhibitions states, “Imagine Exhibitions is proud to partner with La Cité des sciences et de l’industrie and Le Musée de la civilization to bring Cats & Dogs to the Science Center of Iowa. Pets provide companionship to millions of people around the world—why shouldn’t we understand more about the creatures who play such a central role in so many of our lives? Cats & Dogs is a delightful way for the whole family to get to know their furry friends better than ever before.”
Learn all of this and so much more about your furry best friends at Cats & Dogs The Exhibition, opening September 21, 2023 for a limited engagement through January 7, 2024. SCI is currently open Thursdays through Sundays, and visitors are encouraged to purchase advance discounted tickets online at www.sciowa.org.
About Imagine Exhibitions
Imagine Exhibitions is currently producing over 40 unique exhibitions globally in museums, science centers, zoos, integrated resorts, and non-traditional venues, with millions of people around the world visiting our exhibitions each year. In addition to developing successful traveling exhibitions, Imagine Exhibitions designs, opens, and operates permanent installations and venues, and consults on building, expanding, and directing museums and attractions. With decades of diverse experience in the museum and entertainment industries, Imagine Exhibitions consistently develops exhibitions that educate and excite while exceeding attendance goals. For more information, visit www.ImagineExhibitions.com or find us on Facebook.
About La Cité des sciences et de l’industrie
In the heart of the multi-cultural site of La Villette in Paris, the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie is a Universcience site which has provided a bridge between science, society and technology, since it was created in 1986. A place for meeting and exchange, the Cité des Sciences is keen to ensure that the development of science, technology, industrial expertise and the surrounding issues are accessible to all. http://www.cite-sciences.fr/en/home/
About Le Musée de la civilisation
Le Musée de la civilisation explores the different facets of human reality with its unique approach that combines enchantment, knowledge and reflection. Through its thematic and multidisciplinary approaches, the Museum of Civilization is a space where the individual, the society and the human race meet, and where the networks that unite them are materialized. Small and large are transported: in the center of the great cities of the world, alongside fascinating ancient civilizations, in the midst of striking sociocultural movements and at the heart of Quebec society.
About the Science Center of Iowa
The Science Center of Iowa engages and inspires Iowans along their journey of lifelong science learning. The 110,000-sq. ft. facility located in Downtown Des Moines features dynamic experience platforms, large format theaters and daily interactive science demonstrations, including the NAEYC-accredited SCI Preschool. The Science Center of Iowa also provides educational outreach programs across the state of Iowa. For more information, visit www.sciowa.org.