Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination
This exhibition is styled like a spaceship, with the assistance of an A.I., where you enter a selection of various scientific equipment/film props and promises to show you how science fiction interlinks and inspires real life science and discovery.
I am a big Sci-fi fan and I was really excited to check this out. I was very reluctant to take My Girl with me, as I wasn’t sure what the benefit will be for her, since she hasn’t watched any of the movies featured.
We did go together in the end and although the age recommendation for this exhibition is 8+, I would say this will work better for teens. There were many film props and pop culture references from films and the majority of these films won’t interest an 8 year old, or even a slightly older child. Even though this is compensated slightly by giving free tickets to under 7’s.
As suspected, she speed-walked through most of it, making it difficult for me to pay proper attention. The only think she found interesting was the “real” version of Star Trek’s warp drive simulation and I don’t blame her at all, as I am a massive fan and the number one reason I wanted to visit. She really took her time there, so I managed to catch up a little bit on the reading and then I realised that they only had a model of the USS Enterprise and the late Nichelle Nichol’s Uhura costume (which was very touching) but I wanted more - where was The Next Generation reference? What about Picard and Data? Soon I realised that it wasn’t just Star Trek that was dealt in an incomplete way but all other features as well.
They were lots of props to spot (unfortunately they were not the original ones), like the Ridley Scott’s hypersleep pod from Prometheus, Darth Vaders helmet, Fifth Element Mondoshawan costume, Astronaut costumes from different movies, a few Aliens from different movies and a Dalek from Doctor Who amongst others.
What I really enjoyed was the look into bionic engineering advances in prosthetic limbs and other bionic parts, which are changing humanity, making science fiction a living reality. Tilly Lockey a meningitis-survivor and Youtuber, discusses her hi-tech hands and argues that we’re entering a cyborg utopia. This is fascinating stuff and this is what I expected more of.
At the end of this voyage, you find yourself on the spaceship’s observation deck, looking down on our pale blue dot, earth. That room was really beautiful. The children most probably will love it.
My final thought is that this exhibition is not worth a separate ticket and it should have been included with the Museum entry.
📍Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD
🎟 Tickets from £15 adult. Children, concession and family package prices available.
📅 extended until 20th August 2023
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