Does your brain play tricks on you? Is my reality the same as yours?
A new exhibition opened today at Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre poses these and many other brain-bending questions to visitors of all ages.
Questacon’s family-friendly Perception Deception exhibition explores how our sense of ‘reality’ is formed by our brains using sensory information—but our senses can sometimes deceive us!
Questacon Director, Professor Graham Durant, said, "We all assume that what we see, hear and feel is real. But our reality is really only our perception—and no two of us perceive things exactly the same way.
"Perception Deception’s 28 exhibits feature 60 interactive experiences, such as optical illusions and hands-on perception tests, giving visitors the chance to explore the different ways our brains fool us into seeing, hearing, and feeling things that go against what we think is true.
"The exhibition also lets you compare your results with friends or family to show similarities or differences in the way you perceive the world,” said Professor Durant.
Highlights of the exhibition include an exhibit that will settle (or start) arguments about colour by comparing your idea of yellow with your friends. Or trick your touch receptors with a hands-on test that makes hard wires feel like velvet. And challenge your stability with a full-body experience that may topple everything you believe about balance.
Perception Deception is one of Questacon’s most popular travelling exhibitions, having reached over 360,000 people since beginning touring in 2009. In addition to Questacon in Canberra, it has travelled to regional locations including Townsville, Geelong and Wanneroo on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia.
Perception Deception will be on display at Questacon until May 2015.
Media contact: Annie Harris, Senior Communications Advisor – Media, 0439 399 912
