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Program an animatronic, design a coaster at this new Philly exhibit [1]

['Ruben Bolling']

Date: 2026-02-13  

A special exhibition, "Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition," will open on February 14 at The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia's museum of science and technology. The exhibition celebrates and explains the technology and artistry behind the Universal theme parks. It is planned to be in Philadelphia until September, and then go on a national tour of science museums for five years.

I asked Page Thompson, President of New Ventures, Universal Destinations & Experiences, what he hopes people get out of the exhibition.

I hope people understand how much work and detail and attention and innovation goes into all the rides and attractions that we build. And I hope at the end of the day that people are so inspired that they decide to come to one of our theme parks, if they haven't been already. And also they might come to work for us. Because they might learn about the industry and see the variety of jobs that are available in the industry. When we worked with the Franklin Institute, one of the ideas was to educate kids of the opportunities that lie in front of them.

So it's also a recruiting tool.

There are lots of interesting items and artifacts from the parks on display, such as this figure of a Dilophosaurus that was animated when it was in the original Jurassic Park ride in Universal Studios Hollywood.

Photo: Ruben Bolling

And this walk-around costume of How to Train Your Dragon's Toothless.

Photo: Ruben Bolling

But clearly the main draw for kids will be the many interactive displays, which demonstrate how rides and attractions are created.

At this display, you can design various elements of a roller coaster…

Photo: Ruben Bolling

… and then see a video of how it would look and operate. And it's pretty unforgiving. My roller coaster made it through two loops but then didn't have enough momentum to make it up the next hill.

This kid was hired on the spot and is now Senior Vice President of Attraction Design.

Photo: Ruben Bolling

At this display, you can try your hand at programming an animatronic figure, orchestrating the movement of its head and face.

Photo: Ruben Bolling

This display allows you to create a show using a relatively new technology in the theme park world, projection mapping, which shines images and animations onto irregularly shaped buildings and structures. Once again, the task is not a piece of cake; I failed to properly project onto the dimensions of the object.

Photo: Ruben Bolling

This display shows how adjusting the lighting, music and sound on a scene can change its mood.

Photo: Ruben Bolling

Previously:

• Universal Orlando's Epic Universe to open May 22, and it's epic

• Universal reveals amazing animatronic monsters

• A deep, deep dive into the history of Disney's animatronics

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