Exhibition "Science in the Making"
What happens behind the doors of a modern research institute? What questions drive science today, and how does new knowledge actually come into being?
Science in the Making invites you to the VISTA Science Experience Center and opens up a multifaceted view of cutting-edge research at ISTA. From astrophysics to cell biology, from quantum physics to artificial intelligence, the exhibition reveals how diverse, dynamic, and surprising science in the 21st century truly is.
But this exhibition goes beyond simply presenting scientific findings. It tells stories about the processes, the ideas, and above all the people behind the research. Science is not presented as a fixed body of facts, but as a living, open process shaped by curiosity, creativity, doubt, setbacks, and new perspectives.
A special focus lies on the close collaboration with scientists at ISTA. Many exhibits are developed through direct exchange between research and design. Some have been created in collaboration between scientists and artists. These encounters open up new ways of engaging with complex topics and offer unexpected perspectives on what we know and what we do not yet know.
Experience and question research
More than 50 interactive exhibits, objects directly from ISTA laboratories, and artistic works invite you to explore, experiment, and think along. The exhibition creates personal points of connection and makes it possible to experience how research actually works, often in ways that differ from expectations.
You can explore the exhibition independently or together with our Science Mediators. After a short introduction, they accompany you as dialogue partners, offering insights, asking questions, and inviting you to reflect on research and its relevance for our shared future.
Along the way, you will encounter questions such as:
What happens at the edge of the universe, and how can the invisible be made visible?
Can objects really be levitated using sound pressure?
What exactly do glacier researchers do in the field?
How can artificial intelligence help us better understand the social behavior of ants?
Five perspectives on science
The exhibition is structured into five interconnected areas, each offering a different perspective on research:
Patterns in Nature – A common denominator
Explores how mathematical structures appear throughout nature, in pinecones, spiral galaxies, and crystals, and how they help us understand regularity and predictability.
Strange Forces – Thinking beyond the familiar
Tells the story of how new research questions emerge. They arise through curiosity, careful observation, and often from unexpected moments. It shows how experiments, methods, and ideas are constantly evolving.
Copyright: ©kunstdokumentation.com / ISTA
Copyright: ©Niko Havranek / ISTA
Copyright: ©kunstdokumentation.com / ISTA
Copyright: ©kunstdokumentation.com / ISTA
Copyright: ©Niko Havranek / ISTA
Digital Counterparts – Who creates knowledge
Focuses on the role of digital technologies and how artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming science. It also highlights the new opportunities and challenges that come with these developments.
Data in the Wild – From galaxies to gumboots
Demonstrates how diverse data collection can be, ranging from botanical fieldwork and expeditions to remote mountain regions to satellites observing the universe.
Lab: Work in Progress – Under the lens
Offers insight into the laboratory as a creative working environment, featuring real objects, different lab settings, and a walk-in “Pink Room” used for plant research.
Science as a shared process
Science in the Making invites you not only to discover answers, but to ask your own questions. The exhibition opens up new perspectives on the role of science in our everyday lives and in society, as well as on the interplay between research, technology, art, and design. It shows that knowledge does not emerge in isolation. It emerges through exchange, experimentation, and dialogue.