Experimenta Program is a collection of 17 works that range from video and screen-based art to one that allows children to make shadows that turn into images of monsters and creepy-crawlies.

One quirky installation consists of a projected 3D image of an ocean floor that visitors can activate by placing their hands or arms to make shadows.

This causes fish, eels and other sea creatures to float across the scene, described as an oceanic experience without getting wet.

Another installation by American artists Golan Levin and Zachary uses an overhead projector device to analyse a visitor’s hands and generate graphics and sounds.

Experimenta executive director Liz Hughes opened the free exhibition, which will run until September 13.

Experimenta, a Melbourne-based contemporary arts organisation that specialises in using creative technology for art, staged the inaugural major exhibition at the library-museum in 2007.

The idea of Experimenta projects is to show how technology can be combined with creativity to produce memorable experiences.

“It draws together a collection of art works that encourage playfulness and places the audience in a central role in bringing the exhibition to life,’’ Ms Hughes said.