Science Museum to open new Information Age gallery

Universal Design Studio was originally appointed in April 2011 to work on one of two new ‘Treasury’ galleries as part of the Science Museum’s Museum of the Future project.

Plans for the other Treasury gallery – a Making Modern Science Gallery by Casson Mann – were dropped in October 2011.

The £15.6 million Information Age Gallery is now set to open in September 2014 occupying a 2500m2 space – the biggest exhibition space in the museum.

The gallery will be divided into six zones, focusing on the development of information and communication technologies – from the growth of the telegraph network in the 19^th century to the dominance of mobile phones today.

It will showcase objects from the Science Museum’s collection, such as the BBC’s first radio transmitter and the BESM-6 – the only Russian supercomputer in a collection in the West.

It will also showcase the huge Rugby Radio Station tuning coil. Donated to the Science Museum by BT, the coil was once part of the most powerful radio transmitter in the world.

Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum, says, ‘Breakthroughs in communication and information technology have dramatically transformed the way we live and connect.

‘Information Age will bring these innovations to life through the eyes of those who invented, operated and were affected by each new wave of technology. This is a landmark project for the Science Museum and we are grateful to all our founder for making it possible.’