Thanks to a collaboration between Tampa International Fringe Festival and the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), you can take a virtual trolley from Ybor City to MOSI this year as part of the digital Fringe experience.
“When we were closed, we never stopped working,” MOSI Senior Director of Exhibits and Innovation, Anthony Pelaez, tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “Wyitt was busy late at night designing the virtual MOSI.”
This is what Wyitt Carlile does. He has a college degree and real-life experience in game development. He’s already applied his skills to create “Retro Rockets”—a game similar to the 1979 arcade game Lunar Lander—for MOSI’s Moonbase.
Tampa Fringe Digital Festival
Aug. 1-16.
tampafringe.org
“Basically, you have an older-style steampunk rocket you have to land on the moon’s surface,” says Carlile. Virtual MOSI will showcase the museum’s three big areas—space, physics and dinosaurs. The point is to help folks get reacquainted with what MOSI has to offer.
“This isn’t the same MOSI you came to as a kid on a field trip,” says Pelaez. “We’re always in the process of making improvements and adding to the experiences… We change out our themes and experiences every month so there’s always something new.”
MOSI—located in Tampa at 4801 E. Fowler Ave. across from the University of South Florida—made one of its biggest changes in 2018 when it added a new interactive Art Factory where resident artist Mike Knapp makes drawings with guests.
The museum is open this summer with social distancing guidelines not just for summer campers (hoola hoop rings, genius!), but for patrons and employees as well: entrance/exits propped open, temperatures taken, limited capacity, face masks and more.
If you visit MOSI, you’ll see a cluster of colorful life-sized spacesuits near the entrance/exit. The spacesuits are part of MOSI’s new Space for Art exhibition. Spacesuit manufacturer ILC Dover created the spacesuits on display here. Children in the Space for Art Foundation’s art therapy program painted them.
“We are firm believers in S.T.E.A.M.—science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics,” says Pelaez. In light of this, MOSI’s partnership with Tampa Fringe isn’t so surprising.
“I think what’s good about our partnership with Tampa Fringe is that you have this group of artists and tech-heads and people from all different backgrounds coming together to ensure that [art and science] live on,” says Pelaez. “We’re excited for the launch. We really hope that people enjoy what we’ve created.”
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This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 6, 2020.
