Liberty Science Center Debuts Major Rubik's Cube Exhibit on World Tour

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The April 26, 2014, premiere of Beyond Rubik's Cube at Liberty Science Center marks the 40th anniversary of the world's bestselling puzzle toy. With highly interactive physical and digital challenges, Beyond Rubik's Cube invites visitors to consider how the Cube emerged from a workshop in Communist-era Hungary to become a worldwide phenomenon, fostering creativity across the fields of science, technology, engineering, robotics, the visual arts, music, film, architecture, and mathematics. The $5 million exhibition was designed by LSC with lead creative partner Google, and the Cube's Budapest inventor Erno Rubik, and will embark upon a worldwide tour after a seven-month stay at LSC.  

Beyond Rubik's Cube will be celebrated in Manhattan. On April 26, the Bank of America Tower (1 Bryant Park) and the Conde Nast Building (4 Times Square) will be lit in the colors of Rubik's Cube. The Empire State Building will follow suit on May 8.

"I never imagined the Cube would become as universal as it has," said Erno Rubik. "I'm hoping that this wonderful exhibition will finally answer the question of why: Why has the cube connected with hundreds of millions of people everywhere on Earth?"

"Of all the things that Rubik's Cube has inspired, community is the most enduring. Once considered a solitary activity, the Cube has connected people everywhere. Speedcubers travel the globe to meet one another. Game designers trade secrets and collaborate on puzzles. Musicians and magicians share their Cube-inspired tracks and tricks online," explained Paul Hoffman, LSC President and CEO, and Creative Director of Beyond Rubik's Cube. "Beyond Rubik's Cube will serve as a focal point to bring communities together to celebrate the innovation that grows from playing with the Cube."  

"At Google, we are all about tackling tough challenges with as much accuracy and speed as possible," said Lorraine Twohill, head of Global Marketing at Google. "The Rubik's Cube embodies this drive, encouraging people around the world to try their hand at one of the world's most iconic toys. We are happy to contribute to Liberty Science Center's worldwide effort to use the Cube to get children excited about science, technology, engineering and math."

Before they even set foot in the exhibition, guests will be greeted by the 26-foot tall illuminated Groovik's Cube that hangs in the LSC atrium. The dazzling installation, originally created in 2009 by a team of artists for the Burning Man arts festival, encourages guests to work collaboratively to solve the Cube, creating a light and sound show on three floors of the museum. The web-enabled exhibit will be playable from anywhere in the world.

As guests enter the exhibition, digital projections of color and geometry dance in response to their movement, setting the tone for the immersive experience that awaits them in three discovery zones: Invent, Play, and Inspire.

The first zone, Invent, invites guests to jump right into the complex and compelling world of puzzle toys.

• Rare artifacts made of wood blocks, paper clips, and rubber bands show guests the humble and brilliant Hungarian origin of Erno Rubik's great invention.
• At Cube Prototype, guests can explore the complex geometry behind the Rubik's Cube by arranging 3D shapes and inventing their own puzzles.
• Art and mathematics meet at Tessellation Maker, an interactive touch table where guests create visually stunning patterns.
• Next, guests move to the Play zone for more hands-on exploration.
• A Solve Bar welcomes cubers of all skill levels and provides animated instructions for conquering the Cube.
• At Robot Command, guests discover the parallels between computer programming and Cube solving as they program a robot to run a maze.
• Young visitors and their grownups work together on Cube Match, a game of colored building blocks with endless combinations.

Finally, guests venture into the Inspire zone to experience the Cube's vast artistic and technological influence.

• Visitors can see how the Cube inspires them artistically by composing their own haiku using the Haikube; engineering a musical masterpiece in Cube Symphony; and contributing to the giant Collaborative Mosaic made entirely of Rubik's Cubes.
• Guests control a giant Rubik's Cube the size of a car to discover the internal mechanism that makes it work.
• A one-of-a-kind, 18-karat gold, jewel-encrusted, fully functional Rubik's Cube is the world's most expensive toy, estimated to be worth $2.5 million.
• At Robot Race, guests will challenge a speed-cubing robot to solve their scrambled Cubes.
• Twisty Puzzle Design brings people together at a multi-touch digital table to design and test their own puzzles with other guests.

Visitors to Beyond Rubik's Cube (www.beyondrubikscube.com) will be encouraged to share their own Rubik's-inspired creations on google.com/+BeyondRubiksCube.

Beyond Rubik's Cube will be at Liberty Science Center from April 26 through at least the end of November 2014, before traveling internationally for seven years. A world leader in exhibition design, Liberty Science Center has created exhibits for cultural institutions in New York City, Winnipeg, Turkey, Puerto Rico, and Saudi Arabia.

Support for Beyond Rubik's Cube has been generously provided by Google, the government of Hungary, Judy and Josh Weston, Bank of America, Erno Rubik, Rubik's Brand Ltd, Ernst & Young LLP, Jennifer A. Chalsty, Overdeck Family Foundation, Prudential, David Barry, Jim and Marilyn Simons, The Hariri Family, Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G), James J. Coleman, Jr., The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, The Horizon Foundation of New Jersey, Panepinto Properties & Guarini & Guarini, PNC Bank, John and Rose Cali, Alma DeMetropolis, Bruce and Rhonda Levy, Dr. and Mrs. William A. Tansey, III, Rodney C. Armstead, Connell Foley LLP, Kevin Cummings, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Paul and Eric Silverman, Carolyn and Bob Slaski, Tom and Anne Stanton, and The Star-Ledger. Bank of America generously closed the exhibition's funding gap.

About Liberty Science Center

Liberty Science Center (LSC.org) is a 300,000-square-foot learning center located in Liberty State Park on the Jersey City bank of the Hudson near the Statue of Liberty. Dedicated to bringing the excitement of science to people of all ages, Liberty Science Center houses 12 museum exhibition halls, a live animal collection with 110 species, giant aquariums, a 3D theater, the nation's largest IMAX Dome Theater, live simulcast surgeries, tornado and hurricane-force wind simulators, K-12 classrooms and labs, and teacher-development programs. More than half a million students, teachers, and parents visit the Science Center each year, and tens of thousands more participate in the Center's offsite and online programs. LSC is the most visited museum in New Jersey and the largest interactive science center in the NYC-NJ metropolitan area.

All Rubik's trademarks are exclusively licensed by Rubik's Brand Ltd – www.rubiksbrand.com

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SOURCE Liberty Science Center