New Exhibition on Understanding, Influencing Brain Activity Opens at Exploratorium

Please note: The hours of operation for Cognitive Technology have changed. Cognitive Technology will be open Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. for all audiences and on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. for adults only.

Image courtesy of 3Scan

Cognitive Technology on display January 31 through March 1, 2015

An interactive exhibition that helps visitors understand, extend and improve the brain opens at the Exploratorium on January 31.

Named Cognitive Technology, this collection of exhibits combines neuroscience, art and design to make the invisible work of the brain perceptible. Visitors will be able to interact with a variety of tools used by neuroscientists to see and understand how the brain works.

Using EEG headsets, which allow direct communication between the brain and devices, visitors will also be able to measure their own brain activity while they solve puzzles, reduce stress, and even move an object without touching it.

The installation will be in the Exploratorium’s intimate and immersive Black Box media space through March 1 and is a collaboration between the museum, the Cognitive Technology Group, an incubator for brain technology and research, and m0xy, an East Oakland-based industrial arts incubator.

Exhibits include:

• No Magic Here teaches visitors how EEG headsets are used to measure the changing electrical patterns that show up on the surface of the skin around the head. See how solving a puzzle, having a conversation, or relaxing alters the activity going on in the brain.

• Mind’s Eye demonstrates how neuroimaging technology, known as fMRI, decodes the brain signals that were produced when participants were shown pictures of simple videos. While people watched a video, their brain patterns were recorded. The recordings were so specific that researchers can recognize which video they were watching. Visitors can interact with a 3D model of these brain recordings.

• Change Your Mind looks at the effects that ‘mindfulness’ can have on health by combining EEG with ECG heart rate sensing. A video will walk visitors through a meditation exercise, shifting and changing their heart rate and EEG waves, and giving them an indicator for when they reach a stress-free state.

Cognitive Technology will be open Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. for all audiences and on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. for adults only.

Calendar Editors Please Note
Cognitive Technology: Tools to Understand and Extend the Human Mind
Saturday, January, 31 through Thursday, March 1
Open Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. (all ages) and Thursday 6 – 9 p.m. (adults 18+ only)
Exploratorium, Pier 15, (Embarcadero at Green Street), San Francisco
It’s not magic or brain surgery — it’s neuroscience. Take a look under the lid and learn what your brain is doing and what you can make it do through better awareness and understanding of what’s happening. Visitors will don EEG brain activity sensing headsets and engage with a series of exhibits. This installation is made possible through collaboration with the Cognitive Technology Group, an incubator for brain technology and research, and m0xy, an East Oakland-based industrial arts incubator. Included with museum admission ($29 adults; $24 youth, students, seniors; $19 children 4-12; free 3 and under; special rates for SF Bay Area residents).

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The Cognitive Technology Group is made up of neuroscientists, artists, bioengineers, game designers, and computer scientists, all of whom use the brain as an input device. Bent on understanding the brain and extending it through technology, they are presenting their research in order to educate the public on what goes on inside the mysterious “black box” that is our brain.

m0xy is an Industrial Arts Incubator in East Oakland, CA, dedicated to supporting artists in the creation of public art and assisting them to build sustainable businesses. The 44,000 sq ft facility includes a 9,000 sq ft gallery and 18,000 sq ft modifiable shop space for artists in residence.

Cognitive Technology is made possible through the generous support of:

3Scan , InteraXon , SparkIO , Puzzlebox , DigitalOcean , LEAP Motion , AlchemyEvents , OpenBCI, NeuroSky, Dangerous Creatives, AgentFin Consulting.

Thanks to Brain Networks Laboratory, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Lichtman Lab, and Eyewire for contributing data to the neuroimaging exhibits by 3scan.