Technology and the human condition – past, present, and future

Toward the end of October I had the opportunity to preview a new exhibit at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Super Human: Power of Technology features more than 20 interactive displays allowing visitors to explore the ways technology has advanced the human condition and to consider how it might be used in the future.

Guided by William Katzman, vice president of exhibits; Chris Martin, senior exhibits developer; and Cait Anastis, marketing communications manager, I got hands-on experience of everything from Braille to a jet pack simulator. (My jet pack, piloted over a virtual landscape using joysticks, ran out of fuel before I could figure out how to land it. Eric Brothers, editor for Aerospace Manufacturing and Design, performed much more admirably.) I further tested my joystick skills inside a giant exoskeleton allowing me to attempt to pick up simulated pallets in a factory setting.In addition to offering a fun experience, the Super Human exhibit is designed to spark thought and creativity. It allows visitors to see how other people have approached technology, then consider how they would approach it themselves.

“We want them to see themselves as STEM professionals,” Katzman said. “We want them to see their own personal scientist come out.”

The exhibit, which has traveled to other locations before landing in Cleveland, appears to have succeeded in that goal so far. One station invites visitors to spin a wheel for a random prompt on ways they could augment themselves using technology. A screen next to the wheel cycled through images of what visitors at previous locations wrote in response to the prompt, which included some ingenious ideas.

While Super Human includes technology for a broad range of applications, it’s heavy on medtech. It includes examples of developments we may not typically think of as human augmentation, such as glasses and contacts. (I was amazed to learn the first pair of spectacles is believed to have been created in the 1200s.) There are also displays exploring implants and prosthetics and asking visitors to consider how they’ve impacted humans, as well as how they may be further developed.

The exhibit also presents questions on the ethics of human augmentation. A station allowing visitors to build a DNA strand invites them to consider the implications of gene editing. Another features a screen with questions such as whether augmented athletes should be allowed to compete with non-augmented ones. Once the user answers the question, using a cursor controlled with their eye movements, the screen reveals a graph showing how others have answered.

Super Human asks two main questions: how do others think about technology, and how do YOU think about it? It aims to get kids excited about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) – but also to get their parents to consider new possibilities for their children and encourage them to pursue further exploration.

Super Human: Power of Technology is at the Great Lakes Science Center through April 26, 2026.