By Aamna Aziz
The game is afoot at COSI this winter.
On Feb. 8, the science center plays host to The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes, a tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective that allows visitors to learn about Holmes’ history and attempt to unravel the many mysteries he solved. The exhibition’s run at COSI lasts until Sept. 1.
The 10,000-square-foot production is modeled after the London underground that Holmes so often trod. Thanks to meticulous detail and the aid of historians and experts alike, attendees will find themselves in a transformed world, says Jaclyn Reynolds, public relations and social media manager for COSI.
“You’re walking the streets of London as Sherlock Holmes would have,” Reynolds says.
Amid the cobblestones, visitors can expect to discover a plethora of Holmes memorabilia: various publications, period artifacts and even props from the detective’s many on-screen appearances, including the two Robert Downey Jr. movies, CBS’s Elementary the BBC’s Sherlock. There’s even a page from the original manuscript of The Hound of the Baskervilles, one of Doyle’s most famous Holmes tales.
Though much can be learned in the historical and cultural section of the exhibition, the meat of it is the mystery section. Visitors will be given journals at the start of their journey – hounds-tooth hats optional – and are encouraged to embrace their roles as detectives in an attempt to solve a mystery. The mystery is an authentic story crafted by Anthony Horowitz, the authorized writer of the Doyle estate.
“Guests get to go through the exhibition and learn about solving crimes, code breaking, botany and chemistry,” says Josh Kessler, project manager at COSI.
While deduction is, of course, an important aspect of the exhibition’s mystery, technology will provide the occasional boost. For instance, lasers are used to help amateur sleuths accurately predict the trajectory of a bullet.
Landing the exhibition was a boon for COSI, Kessler says, lauding its emphasis on the science behind crime-solving – a subject that has amassed enormous popularity in recent years thanks to a plethora of police procedurals on TV, even though its roots go back to more than a century before anyone ever strung together the letters C-S-I. Doyle’s stories touched on everything from inferences and predictions to deconstructing crime scenes, and the best way to capture his legacy is to place the audience right in the middle of it.
The exhibition arrives just in time for COSI’s 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated March 29.
Aamna Aziz is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
