On the right, close to the camera, a student faces a hologram of a monarch butterfly. Behind the butterfly, another student's head faces the camera.
Gallery visitors view a 3D, interactive butterfly hologram. Photo by Bria Weisz for Virginia Tech.

From 90-second research stories at the Center for the Arts to laid back, casual chats at Rising Silo Brewery, the Center for Communicating Science (CCS) is used to all kinds of communication formats. This Fall, CCS graduate assistant Bria Weisz worked on a new way to experience science, using an artistic lens: through an interactive gallery exhibit.

    The exhibit “oh my, butterflies!” was produced as part of the ART 4654 and ART 5546 (Exhibition Design and Display and Advanced Exhibition Design) courses. Using three-dimensional scans of local butterflies in the Newman Library collection, the “immersive and interactive exhibition invite[d] visitors to explore the fascinating world of Appalachian butterflies.”

An angled view of the exhibit. Closest to the camera is a wall with images of butterflies, each one accompanied with a label. Father away, to the right, are pedestals painted to look like tree trunks.
At the "Meet the Butterflies" wall, gallery visitors can learn about Appalachian species. Photo by Bria Weisz for Virginia Tech.

    As visitors navigated through the Armory Gallery, they learned about butterfly anatomy, life cycles, migration patterns, endangerment, and community conservation efforts. A wall highlighting Appalachian butterflies shared fun facts about lepidopterans such as Monarchs and Buckeyes before presenting the butterflies as interactive, 3D holograms. Visitors could enlarge, rotate, and flip the scan, seeing the small, fast-moving insects in a new way.

A sign sits to the left of a map of Appalachia. Pins poke out of the map, most of them clustered by Blacksburg.
After learning about current threats to Appalachian butterflies, visitors were asked to place a pin on a large map of Appalachia to represent where they are from, tracking their own butterfly-like migration to Blacksburg. Photo by Bria Weisz for Virginia Tech.

    The Armory Mezzanine served as a place for visitors to relax and learn about how to help endangered butterflies. As they entered the space, labels detailed conservation organizations, including the Butterfly Society of Virginia and the New River Valley Regional Commission, and taught visitors how they can create butterfly habitats in their yards. Farther in, a constructed “grassy hill” sat opposite a projection of butterfly silhouettes fluttering through a valley. Visitors were encouraged to sit or lie on the hill to watch the projection. Inspired by Native American folklore, a “wish wall” asked participants to whisper any wish to a paper butterfly before pinning it onto the wall.

A student holding up a peace sign stands next to a wooden podium. They are about the same height.
A students works on constructing components of the "oh, my, butterflies!" exhibit. Photo by Bria Weisz for Virginia Tech.

    Students spent the majority of the fall semester planning and producing the exhibit, including researching the butterflies, writing and designing labels, building the hill and the hologram podiums, and coding the projection and interactive hologram components. The exhibit was open to the public at the Armory Gallery from November 14 to November 19.

    The event showed that exhibitions incorporating art and interactivity can be meaningful and immersive science communication tools. If you’d like to experience art and science working in tandem, an abridged version of “oh my, butterflies!” is scheduled to open in the Newman Library during spring 2026. This shortened version will feature interactive holograms and labels highlighting butterfly endangerment and conservation selected from the original exhibit.

By Bria Weisz, Center for Communicating Science graduate assistant