One of the best parts about Kensington Accommodation is its proximity to Exhibition Road, London’s hub for museums by South Kensington tube station. Amongst the Natural History Museum and the V&A Museum is the Science Museum, a worthy destination for those interested in learning about the leaps and bounds of human innovation over the decades. Here are some unmissable exhibitions coming to the Science Museum.
Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security
10 July 2019 – 23 February 2020
Nobody fully understands it, though everyone is dying to. We’re talking, of course, about cyber security.
But, the world of codebreaking, cyphers and secret communications no longer needs to feel like top secret information after a trip to this free exhibition which will be on until February next year. Tracing back the evolution of secret messages goes much further back than one might think from assessing the progression of technology, and this exhibition is an endlessly fascinating deep-dive into the gadgets and devices used to conceal vital messages throughout time and decoding top secret information. Between the 1960’s Cold War espionage and the Bletchley Park codebreakers who broke the Enigma code in 1941, there are also interactive codes to be broken and puzzles to be assembled – a fun day out is guaranteed for all wannabe MI6 agents out there.
Coinciding with the exhibition is an event on 21 February 2020, Trust Machine: The Story of the Blockchain UK Premiere + Q&A. This is an Alex Winter documentary explaining the ways in which Blockchain has promised to revolutionise the global economy and cybersecurity and ensures that we don’t just know that these sorts of things are happening, but have a more thoroughly founded notion of what it means and how technology affects and will affect our daily lives.
Location: Exhibition: Basement Gallery, Level –1
Screening: The Hans Rausing Lecture Theatre, Level 0
Human Nature UK Premiere + Q&A
29 November 2019
For one night only, for two and a half hours at £10 entry, the level 0 IMAX cinema at the Science Museum will be screening Human Nature, an insightful and interesting documentary about revolutionary new gene-editing technology, CRISPR, which has provided scientists with control over the basic building blocks of life that they have never had before. After the premiere screening, there will be an invaluable question and answer session in which Norah Fogarty, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Francis Crick Institute, Tony Nolan, Senior Lecturer at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Sarion Bowers, Head of Policy at Wellcome Sanger Institute will be speaking. These researchers will be chaired by science journalist and author Jo Marchant and ticket-holders will get the opportunity to ask any questions they have regarding this new, state-of-the-art technology.
Starting at 19.30 (with doors opening at 18.15), you will have plenty of time to fit in Park Grand Kensington Afternoon Tea prior to the event.
Location: Level 0, IMAX Cinema
The Art of Innovation: From Enlightenment to Dark Matter
25 September 2019 – 26 January 2020
John Browne has written a new book, Make, Think, Imagine, which has been met with critical acclaim, including being long-listed for the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2019. The book discusses that despite the unfathomable pace of change in the world – evident in the Science Museum throughout – should not be cause to slow down or limit technological advancement. Together with Sir Ian Blatchford and Dr Tilly Blyth, Lord Brown has curated The Art of Innovation exhibition, which explores the way art and science help us interpret the world around us, and their unwavering necessity in human advancement. This is a free event, but buying a ticket is required. The museum is most enjoyable as soon as it opens as it is not as busy as it can be throughout the day, so head to the Science Museum as soon as you have finished up your Park Grand London Kensington Breakfast.
Location: Level 2
The Medicine Galleries Conference
23-24 January 2020
This event is comprised of talks, curator-led tours of the galleries and a keynote lecture from the Director of Culture & Society at The Wellcome Trust, Simon Chaplin. This event is the perfect opportunity to hear from curators, museum professionals, artists and academics about medical collections, museums of medicine and the history of medicine. Though this will function as a widespread, general discussion, they will also delve deeper through a discussion with the team that was responsible for Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries and this event is a commemoration of this long-standing, popular exhibition, featuring 3000 artefacts and spanning an area equivalent in size to 1,500 hospital beds.
Location: The Smith Centre, Level 0
Guardian Live: Building the Hospital of the Future
6 February 2020
For only £10, an evening of discussion, enlightenment and intellectual rigour awaits when you head to the Science Museum for this expert-led panel discussion. It delves into the importance of hospitals harnessing the technology and developments available to them, as well as imagines the future for hospitals in the country and in society at large. Hospitals are a critical part of human society and have been for thousands of years, thus it is infinitely interesting to grapple with the nuances of their relationship with technology and the changing world we live in. It is in partnership with The Guardian Live, as well as chaired by The Guardian’s Healthcare Policy Editor Denis Campbell. The panel of speakers includes: Lord Professor Ara Darzi, co-director at the Institute of Global Health Innovation and the Helix Centre, Natasha McEnroe, Keeper of Medicine at the Science Museum itself, Christopher Shaw, Chair of Architects for Health and Dame Eileen Sills, Chief Nurse and Director of Patient Experience and Infection Control at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Staying in a Grand Park Kensington London room comes with a seemingly never-ending list of benefits – starting with the excellent food available at The Turmeric Restaurant and finishing with it being walking distance from the Science Museum, meaning you have no reason not to enjoy all these amazing upcoming exhibitions.
