Questacon executive director Jo White and national programs manager Sarah Clark Reeves. Photo: James Coleman.
Ever wanted to disappear? Or wondered what you’d look like with a massive head? Now you can.
Just in time for Canberra’s Enlighten Festival, Questacon has opened a new exhibition exploring the science of light – called Illuminate: How Science Comes to Light.
And there are plenty of optical illusions to play with.
“It’s very hands-on; it’s an invitation to play,” Questacon executive director Jo White says.
“There are six zones that take you through different aspects of light, and 13 fabulous interactive exhibitions.”
Illuminate comes to Canberra as a roving exhibition, courtesy of Museums Victoria.
“Expect to explore visual perception and illumination through colour, sound, and action,” the museum website reads.
“Learn how light behaves, where it comes from, how it reflects and refracts, and what tools we’ve invented to understand it.”
The six zones include: ‘The Refractory’, where visitors can use tools that bend light to make things appear bigger or closer; ‘Wonder Vision’, which lets you disappear behind what is basically an invisibility shield; ‘Chroma Zone’ for making different colours by hanging coloured translucent tiles’; ‘Light and Shade’ for experimenting with creating different shadows (including with props); and ‘Mirror Mirror’, creating patterns of colour with a giant kaleidoscope and changing your height and width in a variety of mirrors.
And a favourite of Ms White’s? ‘The Sensor Sonic’ – effectively a dark tunnel pierced with invisible lasers that play different sounds when broken by your body.
“The exhibition takes Questacon deeper and further into science,” she says.
“Light is such an important part of science, in terms of natural phenomena and how we use it for technology and advancing knowledge. Think of microscopes as an example, or studying the universe – all of those rely on light.
“And so this is a lovely way to come in and understand those basic principles about light, and hopefully inspire you in curiosity to find out more.”
Canberra’s very own light-themed festival, Enlighten, returns to the Parliamentary Triangle from 27 February. Questacon will join other national institutions in being lit up on the outside with massive moving projections.
The timing of a light-themed exhibition inside was deliberate as well.
“We always love being part of Enlighten with the other cultural institutions,” Ms White says.
“So you can imagine coming in and enjoying the exhibition and then going out and enjoying the evening at Enlighten and seeing the wonderful light projections on the building.”
Illuminate: How Science Comes to Light is open from 20 February to 22 November 2026. Questacon is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm.
