For Matthew Schwartz, flying through distant galaxies and exploring far-off ancient lands are all in a day’s work.
Schwartz has spent the majority of his career creating exhibits and other elements for museums and theme parks around the world. Some of his work can be found at Cars Land in Disney California Adventure Park, Gringotts bank at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Florida, and a number of the exhibits at the Arizona Science Center.
He’s been the director of exhibits at the Arizona Science Center since 2016 and doesn’t even have to leave downtown Phoenix for his daily adventures.
He spends the majority of his days in a bunker-like office located in the Dorrance Planetarium at the Science Center, dreaming up the museum’s newest interactive attractions.
His latest creation, “Cosmic Playground,” uses miles of packing tape to transport guests to celestial black holes in far-away galaxies.
Giant sculptures made of tape and lights fill up half of the Science Center’s third floor for guests to climb on and explore.
The museum normally rents all their traveling exhibits from outside companies, but Schwartz saw an opportunity to build an exhibit from scratch. He drew inspiration from his love of space and the Star Wars franchise.
“I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s and Star Wars was my life,” Schwartz said. “I really loved what they did – from the creatures to the spaceships to the sets.”
George Lucas, the creator of the original Star Wars films, was Schwartz’s main inspiration growing up. Schwartz said the detail and care Lucas put into the special effects fascinated him, especially when it came to the science fiction technology in the films.
“You could travel the stars, you could experience different cultures and civilizations (with) all this technology and they did it in a fun exciting way that wasn’t a dry look at the science involved,” Schwartz said.
Lucas inspired him to pursue a degree in Arts, Film and Video Production at Scottsdale Community College in the early 1990s. While there, he met his college roommate and longtime best friend Dave Long. They bonded over their love of films, especially the Star Wars series.
“At some point, he brought home this arcade machine of the original Star Wars,” Long said. “That was in the kitchen for I think a year or two.”
Long said Schwartz has always been dreaming up creative ideas and working hard to turn them into a reality through months of research. Long admitted that he himself wasn’t one for researching, but he was always open to lending a helping hand.
“He would be the idea person and I would be the ‘alright, let’s do it!’ person,” Long said. “It worked pretty well.”
They spent years working on various projects as partners, some more outlandish than others. For one Halloween, Long said they made a full-size guillotine, which they used to chop pumpkins in half.
While his ideas can be fun, Long said Schwartz is serious about being a team player. A large storm hit the Valley and partially flooded the exhibit right before “Cosmic Playground” was scheduled to open. Schwartz organized the clean-up that needed to be done in order for the exhibit to open up on time.
“If no one else is going to take care of what needs to happen, he’s the guy who steps in and pushes the buttons,” Long said.
Sari Custer, chief curiosity officer at the Arizona Science Center, works closely with Schwartz and said she appreciated how quickly he worked to solve the flooding issue.
“If there is an issue, (he is) already coming up with a plan of attack with multiple options so that we can discuss them together and figure out what is going to be best for the Science Center,” Custer said.
Whether it be flooding or another issue that arises, Custer said Schwartz is always there to research a solution. Many times, he proactively researches possible issues so he can troubleshoot them more effectively when they happen.
While both Long and Custer appreciate his research skills, Schwartz admitted sometimes he has a difficult time letting go on a project and allowing others to do their jobs.
“Because I get so obsessed with these ideas, it’s often hard for me to delegate portions of them to other people,” Schwartz said. “I have a vision in my head of how it should look. You’re only going to trust yourself to do it.”
He also said that while researching is important, it can be difficult for him to leave the research phase and allow the project to go where it naturally needs to go.
“There’s always going to be changes and last-minute emergencies,” Schwartz said. “Being flexible is important and I need to be more flexible.”
In order to build a successful exhibit, Schwartz gets to know his workers and companies that help set up the exhibit. This includes researching their company, spending time with them before and during construction, and asking questions when something is unclear.
While overseeing “Cosmic Playground,” Schwartz continues to brainstorm and research ways to incorporate more space exhibits into the Science Center.
“I’d love to bring more space content to the Science Center because it’s something we lack,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz said just as Lucas introduced science in an engaging way to millions of people through the Star Wars franchise, he is excited to create interactive exhibits at the Science Center for children and their families to learn from and enjoy for generations.
Contact the reporter at mmarples@asu.edu.
