Olivia Castellini

Olivia Castellini, an American physicist and science educator, is the senior exhibit developer at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, where she developed the Science Storm exhibit.

Early education Olivia Castellini was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a member of a family of six girls and one boy. Being raised by supportive parents, each child in her family was encouraged to pursue their different interests. Olivia found her passion for math as she thinks “it’s like solving little puzzles” and “endlessly fascinating.” She promotes projects related to artificial intelligence, the environment, and other subjects that fit in well with the museums’ mission of creating exhibits designed to spark scientific inquiry and creativity.

Science Storms Science Storms is a permanent exhibit in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It transforms Allstate Court to represent the force of nature under one roof, letting the visitors observe and experiment with seven natural phenomena: lighting, fire, tornados, avalanches, tsunamis, sunlight, and atoms in motion.

The brainstorming for the exhibit began in 2003 when the museum initially planned it to be a small 7,000 square foot exhibit. The exhibit officially opened in 2010, and its installations are considered the most technically complex and sophisticated by SEGD.

Olivia Castellini was one of six members of the core creative team in-house, who also collaborated with Evidence Design, a design firm based out of Brooklyn. As an exhibit developer, Olivia work jointly with project director to dream up the idea and essential structure. Then they connected with the project manager, who made the exhibit exit in three dimensions.