Tuesday 26 March 2024
STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01AM, TUESDAY 26 MARCH
MAJOR NEW SCIENCE MUSEUM GALLERY EXPLORES URGENT ENERGY TRANSITION NEEDED TO LIMIT CLIMATE CHANGE
Today a major new gallery examining the rapid energy transition and decarbonisation needed globally to limit climate change opens at the Science Museum. Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery features historic and contemporary objects and engaging digital exhibits that highlight how we can journey towards a low carbon world. The free gallery showcases how the world can generate and use energy more sustainably, highlighting technologies and projects from the UK and abroad – from hydrogen power on Orkney to terracotta air-cooling façades in India and solar farms in Morocco. The gallery encourages visitors to reflect on past energy transitions and the pioneers who dreamed what might be possible, while imagining the energy use that will shape our low carbon future.
Opening on Tuesday 26 March 2024, the Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery will be a ticketed, free exhibition located on Level 2 of the Science Museum. More information can be found at sciencemuseum.org.uk/energy-revolution.
The gallery was made possible thanks to the support of Adani Green Energy, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies. Mr. Sagar Adani, Executive Director said, “The Science Museum has put together the world’s best curated gallery on energy transition. As one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies, we are dedicated to making progress towards net zero – and there is no greater resource in the fight against climate change than education. Through the sponsorship of the gallery, we aim to inspire young minds, scientists, and innovators to imagine a future powered by clean energy and build a carbon-free world. It is an initiative to stimulate their interest, curiosity and awareness, and encourage their active participation in creating clean technologies. The gallery brings together the global community to enable the shift towards energy efficiency, clean energy adoption and carbon emissions reduction. We hope the museum’s millions of visitors learn about the vital importance of renewable energy in tackling climate change.”
The opening of the Energy Revolution gallery marks a significant moment in the Science Museum’s mission to engage people with humanity’s greatest challenge – the fight against devastating climate change. The museum is on course to welcome three million visits in the year ending on 31 March with more UK visitors than ever before, including 1 million children visiting with their schools or families among the record 2.25 million domestic visits.
Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, said: “In a week when we’re celebrating a record 2.25 million visits by UK residents to the museum, including a million children, this stunning gallery offers even more to ignite curiosity among the millions who will visit in the year ahead – provoking important conversations about the urgent need for the world to generate and use energy more sustainably. Our curators have created an inspirational experience, supported by hundreds of people from artists to those involved in acquiring, conserving and transporting vast objects safely into the gallery, and of course vital funding from our generous sponsor Adani Green Energy.”
The new gallery was designed by award-winning architect and design studio Unknown Works, who also designed the solar-powered classrooms featured in the gallery. A key element of the gallery’s sustainable design was the repurposing of more than 200 redundant metal shelves from the Science Museum’s former object store in west London to create an innovative modular design to display objects in the gallery. Aluminium was also used where possible as it can be easily recycled, with energy efficient LEDs used to light the gallery. The gallery’s digital screens and lighting is also turned off when the museum is closed to reduce energy consumption. The gallery’s carbon footprint has been monitored and together these actions will help reduce the carbon emissions from creating and opening the gallery.
The Science Museum is part of the Science Museum Group, the world’s leading group of science museums that share a world-class collection providing an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical achievements from across the globe. Over the last century the Science Museum, has grown in scale and scope, inspiring visitors with exhibitions covering topics as diverse as robots, codebreaking, cosmonauts and superbugs. The Science Museum was named a winner of the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year prize for 2020. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk. Follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Scottish islands of Orkney are playing an important role in the energy transition, with abundant wind and tidal energy being harnessed to develop an innovative hydrogen economy. Visitors can see a model of hydrogen and renewable energy projects on the islands, from floating offshore wind and tidal turbines to the world’s first large-scale green hydrogen plant, and watch a
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