Le Voci della Scienza

The interactive installation Le Voci della Scienza (“The Voices of Science”), designed by dotdotdot in Milan’s Science Museum, reveals interesting events that shaped the history of science.

Science has its own history. Just how many thoughts, doubts, trials hide behind the umbrella discipline of scientific, technological and industrial research?

The permanent interactive installation Le Voci della Scienza (“The Voices of Science”), organized in Milan’s Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, designed by studio dotdotdot, reveals a wealth of secrets and curiosities, interesting or long-forgotten events that shaped the history of science, industry and technology.

The installation Le Voci della Scienza developed from the desire to bring the non-specialist public closer to Technical-Scientific archives, using instruments that link the precision of science with captivating communication.

The Study and Research at the basis of the installation is concentrated on one of the most interesting nuclei of the museum’s archives: the documentary collection of the Italian scientific records (1933-1938). Promoted by the CNR (The Italian Research Council) and supervised by the Italian Chemist Giulio Provenzal, the event groups together the evidence showing Italy’s know-how excellence in the various disciplines of technology and science; this forms the foundation platform for a series of exhibitions illustrating Italy’s scientific and cultural superiority over this 20-year period, through documents, models and genuine items from the period.

<i>Le Voci della Scienza</i>, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milano — dotdotdot, *Le Voci della Scienza*, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milano

The visitor physically enters an enclosed space; there is a gigantic projection and the visitor “meets” a virtual archivist, apparent through a hint of a moving shadow. The archivist is intent on tidying a universe of documents floating in space. The interface for the interaction with the projected images is a number of files aligned along the wall. Pulling out one of the files, the cloud of documents projected into the room assumes an orderly arrangement, while the voices of two actors – true “voices of science” activated by the visitor’s gestures – interpret some fragments of history hidden between the pages in the files through a drama-based review of the documents.