Animators, tinkerers and Pixar diehards are getting a rare backstage pass this fall, as the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in downtown Miami prepares to open The Science Behind Pixar, an interactive exhibition that pulls back the curtain on how the studio's beloved films actually get made. The exhibit opens October 10, 2026, and runs through April 11, 2027, giving visitors more than six months to dig into the tech, math and artistry behind movies like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
The exhibition was created by the Museum of Science in Boston in collaboration with Pixar Animation Studios, according to Frost Science, and it packs in more than 50 interactive experiences exploring the science, technology, engineering, art and math behind Pixar's filmmaking process. Rather than a straightforward walk through movie history, the show is built around what happens between a script and a finished frame — the unglamorous, highly technical work that turns a character sketch into something that moves, glows and feels alive on screen.
Eight Stations, One Production Pipeline
The exhibit is organized around eight stages of Pixar's actual production pipeline: Modeling, Rigging, Surfaces, Sets & Cameras, Animation, Simulation, Lighting and Rendering, per Miami and Beaches. Each station translates a real step in Pixar's filmmaking process into a hands-on activity, mixing screen-based puzzles with physical builds so visitors can see exactly where computer science, engineering and old-fashioned artistry intersect.
At the Rigging station, guests can see how virtual skeletons let animators strike a character's perfect pose, according to Time Out. The Sets & Cameras station lets visitors experiment with camera placement. It's the kind of detail that makes the invisible decisions behind a shot suddenly obvious — why a camera sits low, why a character towers over the frame, why a scene feels a certain way before a single line of dialogue is spoken.
Lighting an Ocean and Texturing a Toy
The Lighting station gets especially nerdy, challenging visitors to work through the sneaky math problems involved in illuminating the deep ocean for Finding Nemo, per the same Time Out report. Meanwhile, the Surfaces station explores the digital techniques used to give characters their distinctive textures, colors and shine.
For anyone who wants a photo beyond the screens, the exhibition includes life-size recreations of Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, Dory from Finding Nemo, Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc., Edna Mode from The Incredibles, and WALL•E, according to Frost Science's exhibition page. It's a nod to the fact that this show is aimed as much at longtime fans hunting for a nostalgia hit as it is at the technically curious.
Who It's Built For, and How to Get In
The exhibition is intended for budding animators, technology enthusiasts and Pixar fans alike, spanning kids working through their first stop-motion project to adults who just want to know how Sulley's fur was rendered. Admission to The Science Behind Pixar is included with all general Frost Science tickets, meaning there's no separate charge to add it onto a regular museum visit.
Frost Science members get first crack at the exhibit during an exclusive preview on Friday, October 9, according to the museum's event listing. The museum is located at 1101 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami, per Miami and Beaches, and the exhibit opens to the general public the following day.
