The Science Museum has had to evolve as science and its relationship with the public have become more sophisticated.“Future Face” is a great example of how it has grown up—a blend of art and science that really gets you thinking about what faces are, what they mean, and what they might look like in the future. For the traditionalists there are still some texts and even a few (awesome) buttons to press—just don’t expect to go home with all the answers.

The “Future Face” project is the brainchild of Sandra Kemp, director of research at the Royal College of Art, and it has taken her five years to bring together. Unlike many trendy “arts meets science” projects, where the art is simply there to “sex up” the science, this one really works because scientists and artists have been pondering the mysteries of the face in their different ways for thousands of years. Kemp has supplemented her own expertise in literature and the visual arts with material from physiognomy (the study of how facial features and expression relate to character), psychology, anatomy, medicine, and advanced imaging and digital technologies.