LONDON (May 22, 2012)--A London museum puts the conductor's baton in visitors' hands, allowing guests to direct a virtual orchestra using three-dimensional motion sensors.

The "Universe of Sound" installation at the British capital's Science Museum uses Microsoft's Kinect technology to capture the hand movements of visitors who stand in specially made pods.

Raise the left hand and the orchestra, which appears on a set of television screens, plays louder.

Speed up the motion of the right hand and the tempo of the music increases.

The pods are part of the Science Museum's effort to pick apart the traditional orchestra, using specially shot film footage, immersive sound, and electronic instruments to give an unusually close-up view of how classical music is made.

"Universe of Sound" opens Wednesday.