A glimpse of the new Dream Garden Exhibit at The Tech Interactive in San Jose, Calif. (Vansh A. Gupta/Siliconeer) 

Silicon Valley is the heart and soul of tech innovation. Being the birthplace of the iPhone, Tesla, Amazon, the Valley blood bleeds microchips. Zoom in and you will find The Tech Interactive nestled in San Jose Downtown, bringing tech of the future to your fingertips.

The Tech Interactive boasts a multitude of exhibits featuring the likes of biotech, engineering, cybersecurity, music, art, space, and the environment. If that was not enough, they are also home to the largest IMAX Dome Theatre on the West Coast. But what is tech nowadays without mentioning AI? 

Enter Dream Garden, The Tech Interactive’s latest and greatest exhibit in the new AI Sandbox Gallery. Brought to life by Design I/O, Dream Garden features an immersive display which makes a cocktail of art and tech. Design I/O armed the Dream Garden with Google’s MediaPipe and Microsoft’s Phi-3.5 SLMs, making this spectacle possible. 

WOW! Awestruck! Sensory pleasing. Words cannot fully embody the experience. Entering the rooms feels like you’ve been taken to a whole new world. A world you interact with and teach. A world that adapts to you. Yet, there are just projections and a play with audio and visual. Driven by cameras, sensors, projectors, and five computers that puts Star Trek to shame, this exhibit will have everyone’s inner kid gushing.

The exhibit works almost like magic, where we interact with the world by simply moving ourselves. The creatures and objects projected respond accordingly. Not only is it fun, but it’s educational. It gives insight on the way AI takes in information and adapts. 

“Dream Garden represents a significant milestone in making AI accessible and engaging for everyone,” said The Tech Interactive CEO, Katrina Stevens. “…visitors can explore the intersection of art, play, and innovation, discovering how their creativity interacts with and shapes this transformative technology.” 

Highlights of the Exhibit include: 

AI-powered Vision Tools allow visitors to embody giant trees, teach creatures how to fly, or grab floating elements to transform their appearance. 

Dynamic Landscapes respond to visitors’ movements, creating a personalized and ever-changing environment. 

Generative Poetry Platform transforms each visitor’s data into multilingual haikus, visibly demonstrating one of the ways that AI is present and utilized in the exhibit. 

Demystifying AI: 

Dream Garden gives visitors an up-close look at AI in action through: 

Transparent Interactions: Real-time displays explain how AI systems interpret movements and make decisions, offering visitors an accessible glimpse into complex algorithms. 

Creative AI Applications: By participating in activities like training digital creatures or generating poetry, visitors experience firsthand how AI can enhance creativity and problem-solving. 

AI Literacy: Informational panels and guided activities help visitors understand the potential of AI and its role in shaping everyday life, from art to technology. 

Want to shake a tree free of its leaves? Just shake your body. Want to teach animals how to fly? Just flap your arms. The possibilities are endless. Best part?

You can experience AI Sandbox and Dream Garden for yourself starting February 15, 2025. Visit www.thetech.org for details.