Mighty Small Mighty Bright - Today's Science, Tomorrows Tech

Lasers, rainbows and magnetic nanoparticles… it’s just some of the extraordinary science that is at your fingertips in the Mighty Small Mighty Bright exhibition now on at MOTAT.

MOTAT has partnered with New Zealand’s leading scientific research institutes the MacDiarmid Institute and the Dodd Walls Centre, as well as Otago Museum to develop a touring science exhibition that will demystify the fascinating world of photonics, advanced materials and nanotechnology.

“MOTAT is known as a place of ideas and exploration and so it has been a perfect fit and a professional pleasure to work with all the partners to develop Mighty Small Mighty Bright” says MOTAT exhibitions manager Rebecca Britt.

“MOTAT brought its community outreach and exhibition design skills to the partnership because we believe the achievements of our science community should be shared, celebrated and demystified.
We want the next generation of young science superstars, who visit us at MOTAT every day, to see that they too can change the world with their discoveries, from right here in New Zealand.”

Mighty Small Mighty Bright is open to the public at MOTAT’s M1 Great North Rd location and will remain on show through until September before embarking on a tour to other destinations around Aotearoa.

The exhibition has been designed with families in mind and will be particularly attractive to children aged 8 and above.

“The Dodd-Walls Centre is committed to making science more accessible for all Kiwis and by partnering with the museum sector we make this happen much more effectively than the traditional model of talks or lectures” explains Professor David Hutchinson, Director of the Dodd-Walls Centre.

“Mighty Small Mighty Bright brings science to your community, your families, and makes it fun and hands-on. We hope all visitors will leave having learnt a little and having been inspired a lot. Science is for everyone. Enjoy it!”

MacDiarmid Institute Co-Directors Associate Professor Nicola Gaston and Professor Justin Hodgkiss said that partnering with MOTAT had enabled the MacDiarmid Institute to showcase just how vital materials science was to the world around us, from flexible solar panels and superconductors, to anti-bacterial silver particles.

“Mighty Small Mighty Bright shows how science translates from the lab to the marketplace, with real-life examples of hi-tech materials science underpinning industry in New Zealand.
We’re always keen to find new ways to inspire young people to keep on with science and be part of the hi-tech economy.”

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