Behind the scenes of our upcoming Robots exhibition, a team of ten volunteers have been creating a collection of handling objects.
Since August this year, these enthusiastic volunteers have been attending workshops to understand different aspects of preparing an exhibition. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Collecting Cultures programme, they’ve been researching and sourcing a range of objects to compliment the incredible objects on display.
We asked a few of the team to share their experience of the project so far. If you’re interested in what we’ve been up to, there’s still time to get involved and volunteer with us to deliver object handling in the exhibition. Click here to apply by Sunday 4 December 2016.
“It has been interesting working with other volunteers, all coming from different viewpoints, and listening to the creators of the show, about their ideas. We haven’t finished yet, so the tension mounts as to what the final show will include. It’s been good fun and I have enjoyed getting to know my fellow volunteers better, finding out more about them!” – Jane
“It’s been a wonderful opportunity to glimpse how a major Science Museum exhibition is conceived, designed and realised. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we’ve had about the relationships between humans and machines and I particularly enjoyed visiting the conservation laboratory. I’ve also 3D-printed the Cyborg Hand, a prosthesis for children, which might become a handling object.” – Robin
“Everyone is very enthusiastic and we are all doing lots of research so it is really interesting when we get back together at the next meeting to discuss what we have found out. I loved the presentation from Kristin Hibbs on design aspects because it suddenly made the whole ethos of the exhibition come alive. “ – Jenny
“What turns out to have been the most enthralling aspect has been the opportunity of that insight, albeit small, into the actual process of setting-up an exhibition such as this: all the time and effort given by a bevy of specialists in love with their art, into all the myriad of details and things to think about that would never generally cross the mind of the average member of the general exhibition-going public. What a privilege!” – Barbara
“For the past 2 months, I’ve been absorbed in everything robots! I’ve read books, watched films and documentaries and visited websites. And best of all, I’ve been able to meet regularly with likeminded people and together work towards our aim of helping to create a fantastic experience for those visiting the Robots exhibition. It’s been particularly enjoyable to share what we have learnt, learn more from each other and discuss the themes and ideas that we want to highlight through the objects that we are selecting. We hope that you will enjoy what we have put together.” – Alison