St. Louis Science Center exhibit shows inner workings of movie animatronics

Visitors can see the nuts and bolts of the giant crocodile from "Peter Pan," gorillas from "George of the Jungle 2" and "Inspector Gadget's" gadgets as part of the St. Louis Science Center's "Monsters! The Art & Technology of Animatronics Exhibition."

On display until Sept. 1, the exhibit gives viewers a look at animatronics expert John Cox's work. Animatronics directors only build the parts of a monster that will be shown on camera, said Beth McClure, public relations manager at the St. Louis Science Center. For example, only the head and tail of the crocodile were used in the 2003 "Peter Pan" movie were used for filming purposes, McClure said. Both pieces, each about 6 to 8 feet long, are on display at the museum.

McClure said when Cox spoke at the science center he told the crowd that some film directors prefer to use constructed monsters rather computer-generated imagery.

"An actor can't interact with a computer," McClure said.

The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission to the Science Center is free. Tickets for the "Monsters" exhibit are $8 for adults and $7 for children and seniors. For more information, call 314-289-4400 or visit www.slsc.org.