Don’t miss out on a chance to participate in a unique event thatbrings together public art and science in an innovative way.

“Group Intelligence,” a flash-mob inspired MP3 experience iscoming to Atlanta this month, sponsored by the Out of Hand Theater and the Center for Chemical Evolution.The center is a collaboration of the Georgia Institute of Technology and EmoryUniversity, funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA.

The first “Group Intelligence” flash mob will be held at the Emoryquad at 7 p.m. April 14-16.  GroupIntelligence will spread to downtown Atlanta’s Woodruff Park at 7 p.m. April 21-23. Fromthere, the mob will go international to the Oreol Festival in the Netherlandsthis June.

This experiment in the convergence of science and art will helpparticipants understand the behavior of molecules.

Once participants have registered for one of sixperformances, they receive an MP3 track to download, or they sign up to borrowan MP3 player at the event. Following cues on the MP3 track, participantstransform into performers and a spontaneous spectacle unfolds for onlookers.

During the experience, participants travel together, solveproblems, do a little work, have a lot of fun, build something extraordinarytogether and ultimately, achieve "Group Intelligence." How hard they work is upto each individual, but the diversity of the group is key.

“The behavior of a group of molecules can be much morecomplex than the individual molecules alone, much more than the sum of itsparts,” said Martha Grover, Georgia Tech associate professor of chemical and biomolecularengineering and member of the Center for Chemical Evolution.  “This isespecially true when the group contains a diverse set of molecules.”

“A similar emergence of complexity occurs in groups ofpeople.  In ‘Group Intelligence’, the participants will activelyexperience this important scientific concept.  We think this will be moreeffective than simply lecturing about it.  We also think it will be morefun,” Grover added.

The “Group Intelligence” performances are free and open tothe public, including children ages 12 and older. Visit the Out of Hand Theaterwebsite to register.  

The Center for Chemical Evolution strives to educate thepublic on current scientific theories pertaining to the chemical origins oflife and early evolution.

By participating in “Group Intelligence,” two things will beclear:  Order comes out of disorder and chemistryis much more fascinating than we ever imagined.

“All too often, science is seen as dull and irrelevant toour daily lives,” said Meisa Salaita, coordinator for education, outreach anddiversity at the Center for Chemical Evolution.  “By working with a grouplike Out of Hand Theater, we are able to work on reversing this bad reputation,bringing our science out to the public in a way that is fun and non-threatening– teaching them about the scientific advances we are making thanks to their taxdollars. “