MODIFY Exhibition - MOD at UniSA

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Posted 2018-05-21 by Dave Walsh ⇒ follow

Mon 21 May 2018 - Wed 31 Oct 2018

MOD.IFY Exhibition - MOD. at UniSA

MOD at UniSA is South Australia's newest museum, located in the Health Innovation building on North Terrace in Adelaide. Aimed primarily at a young audience aged 15-25 the Museum of Discovery (MOD) has no permanent collection. Instead it has a series of galleries containing thought provoking and interactive exhibits.

The seven museum galleries are distributed over the ground floor and Level 1 of the Health Innovation building, which also houses the University of South Australia's Cancer Research Institute. They currently house the free MOD.IFY exhibition which runs until October 28. As MOD at UniSA has only recently opened, you should expect to encounter large numbers of visitors at times.

When you walk in the door, the entrance leads to a foyer housing the lower level MOD galleries and the Food Lore cafe and eating area. The MOD shop nestles discreetly at the rear, selling a range of science related things to take away as a souvenir of your visit.

I was just about to wander through to the Prosthetic Reality exhibit in the Lecture Gallery when I was beaten by a large crowd in a tour group. A quick detour to the Epiphany's Genesis 2 exhibition in the Street Gallery gave me an opportunity to sit. I was immediately immersed in surround sound bites, voices from long gone visitors to the skate park which once occupied this very spot. It's a touch ironic that those same skaters still have nowhere special to go, and are forced to use open spaces such as Victoria Square.

The remaining ground floor gallery at MOD at UniSA is dedicated to a stunning depiction of Our Sky, with stars and planets illustrated in colourful splendour. Finding some of the Museum of Discovery galleries was not particularly intuitive, but fortunately there are many helpful volunteers to guide anyone unable to find their way around.

Upstairs on Level 1 the Gould Interactive Gallery currently houses Transfigurations, asking the thought provoking question "Would you modify the body of someone you love?". It's an interesting and important question, as the ability to customise our bodies - and those of our children - develops and becomes more affordable.

The Futures Gallery currently houses the Birds and Bees exhibit. Visitors pass through a tunnel in the centre of the gallery, lined with a striking pattern of mauve horizontal and vertical bars. The tunnel is the same as is used in a lab to test how animals use visual cues to regulate their speed and navigate narrow gaps. Other displays show birds eye views in flight, illustrating how differently they see and navigate compared to humans.

The free MOD.IFY exhibition in MOD at UniSA is both entertaining and thought provoking. I could easily go back and spend more time there revisiting some of the exhibits in Adelaide's new Museum of Discovery. When I do, I will check out the food in the Food Lore cafe too - the menu looked appealing and affordable.

You can find MOD. at UniSA in the tall building right next to the Morphett Street bridge on North Terrace, Adelaide. Head over the the Facebook page to find out about their current exhibition, and the website is rich with information too including opening hours and a detailed FAQ.