Questacon’s latest exhibition – ZAP! CLANK! POW! – is guaranteed to fire the imagination of every little scientist and engineer with experiments covering circuits, gears, gravity, motion and more.

ZAP! CLANK! POW! opens on Saturday (31 May), and visitors will be wowed by the colourful comic book motifs before they meet Pickle, Spud and Zip, who will guide them through some of the core concepts of science that the museum has been exploring for decades, bringing the magic of science to life.

Questacon director Jo White said that the space is designed to be enjoyed from almost any angle, and each exhibit has several ways to engage with the subject.

“You can interact with everything. And then if you get interested in it, there’s some wonderful cartoon characters … And then, if you want to go even deeper, there’s a QR code that will take you to YouTube,” she said.

“And if you loved it so much, you can go to the back and it’ll have information about what you could do at home to do an experiment like you’ve just been doing.”

ZAP! CLANK! POW! captures the magic of science from a child’s perspective. Photo: Questacon.

Seventeen interactive exhibits let visitors learn about electricity, machines, and motion by getting hands-on with the displays, which allow you to send homemade flying machines shooting into the rafters or lift your own body weight with pulleys.

The exhibit, with its bright colourful aesthetics, attention-grabbing experiments and fun characters telling silly jokes, captures the magic of science from a child’s perspective.

Guiding the kids through the exhibits are three cartoon characters: Pickle, Zip and Spud. The trio are favourites of the team, and they’ve been written with their own unique personalities to explore concepts from three different perspectives.

“Pickle is very tall and is kind of our connector, and likes making observations, explaining things. And then Zip is more shy and curious, likes asking questions, and then Spud is the investigator,” Ms White said.

“There’s a little bit more personality that comes out as you go around and interact with what they’re telling you.”

Animatronic versions of Pickle and Zip. Photo: Michelle Kroll.

Behind the scenes, putting these projects together is anything but simple. Senior exhibition designer Ella Cameron leads a team of builders and designers, bringing the displays to life over the course of weeks and months.

Designed and manufactured in Canberra at the institute’s Ian Potter Technology Learning Centre, Ms Cameron says you can never predict all the ways kids will engage with the displays.

“One of the biggest challenges for us is durability. Often, a photograph makes it look easy, [but] we will put things on the floor and it doesn’t always last more than a week, so we have to go back and make tweaks,” she said.

“That’s one of the biggest things for us, keeping it fun, but also durable.”

“Keeping it fun, but also durable,“ said Ella Cameron. Photo: Michelle Kroll.

Ms White says that seeing how children react to science is special.

“I think it’s one of the absolute privileges of running an institution like this that you can have that sort of long-term impact on our visitors. You can create those very special moments,” the director said.

“It could be the ‘aha moment’ that actually leads to a particular career, or it might be a very beautiful memory with friends or family that stays with you forever. It’s a wonderful privilege to be able to do that.”

Ms White picked out circuits as her favourite exhibit, where visitors are guided through the logic of making a circuit work to power a radio and a light.

“I actually really love building circuits. I have two sons who really love science and tech as well, so this brings back some beautiful memories of actually making circuits with them.”

Ella Cameron and Jo White. Seeing how children react to science is special. Photo: Michelle Kroll.

The exhibit opens Saturday, 31 May, just in time for the long weekend, and will run until February 2026. It has been designed as a travelling exhibit, with the institute planning to take it on the road soon. For tickets and opening times, visit Questacon.