For the next six months, the Miami Science Center or MIASCI will be featuring an exhibit that allows a glimpse into one of the grand entertainments of the 19th Century: Automata.  Gears and pulleys and cranks, hidden from the eye, brought to life these mechanical puppets, which allow for a surprising wide range of motion and action.  The museum will feature forty of these creations, a marvelous mix of art and science, that seemingly come to life simply by touching a button.  The complicated mechanisms are capable of great humor; lying dormant they’re matters of curiosity, when activated they can be a source of amazement.  I still remember watching one such machine, perhaps the most intricate of them all, at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, where the device was a couple of acrobats, that defied belief as they spun about, even doing one-handed hand stands.

At the exhibit, the “Cabaret Mechanical Theater,” you’ll be able to activate twenty out of the forty machines yourself, and watch them go into their act, like a wound clock suddenly starting to tick.  The devices work on a principle of simple machines, such as an inclined plane or a screw or wedge, and are used to tell a simple story to its viewers.  While the art of the automaton began in the 1800s, it continues to this day and there are several examples of these in the collection.

If you’re headed for Miami for a vacation by yourself or with the family, this is an excellent way to spend an afternoon.  Once you’ve checked into one of the comfortable hotels Miami is known for, then head not to the beach but the museum!  If you want an advance look at the kinds of things you’ll see, take a look here at one of the most famous of automatons by Maillardet.  The fact that anyone was making these work, and work well, in the 19th Century is exceptionally impressive.  Check it out.