As of Tuesday 26 March 2024, a major new gallery focused on the urgent energy transition needed to limit climate change is now open at the Science Museum. The Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery is a free gallery that showcases historic and contemporary objects, along with engaging digital exhibits, to demonstrate how the world can generate and use energy more sustainably. The gallery also highlights technologies and projects from the UK and abroad, such as hydrogen power on Orkney, terracotta air-cooling façades in India, and solar farms in Morocco.
Visitors to the gallery are encouraged to reflect on past energy transitions and the pioneers who dreamed of a low carbon future, while also imagining the energy use that will shape our future. The gallery is located on Level 2 and tickets are free, available through sciencemuseum.org.uk/energy-revolution.
The gallery is strictly embargoed until 00.01am on Tuesday 26 March.
The Science Museum’s Lead Curator of Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery, Oliver Carpenter, states, “This gallery shares contemporary stories of individuals, organizations, and communities all imagining the future of low-carbon energy. It also spotlights some of the earliest ideas and technologies created by the imaginations of previous generations. By taking a long view of the energy revolution and showcasing impressive technologies of the past, alongside today’s low-carbon options, we hope to inspire visitors to imagine a low-carbon energy future.”
The gallery is designed to explore this century’s defining challenge through the lens of imagination across three sections. In Future Planet, visitors can examine how climate scientists use mathematics and complex computer-based models to understand our planet. In Future Energy, visitors can explore technologies and the people behind them that are reimagining how energy is supplied and used today, along with historic artifacts that provide a longer view of the energy transition away from fossil fuels. The Our Future section looks forward to a new world that is being dreamt up, featuring children’s creative ideas of how the world will meet its future energy needs, along with expert responses to them.
At the center of the gallery is an art commission called Only Breath, a kinetic sculpture that moves and blooms to around 5 meters in diameter when unfurled. Created by artists Alexandra Carr and Colin Rennie from Torus Torus Studios, the sculpture was made from repurposed mirrors, recyclable stainless steel, and windblown wood and signifies the power of nature to inspire technological change.
The gallery’s Title Funder is Adani Green Energy, a major Indian renewables company. Mr. Sagar Adani, Executive Director, states, “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 Science Museum Group is committed to engaging people with humanity’s greatest challenge – the fight against devastating climate change. The new gallery is part of the Group’s climate-focused public program, which includes the Climate Talks series that has been watched by tens of thousands of people and featured more than 70 global leaders, experts, activists and campaigners. More information about sustainability and the Science Museum Group is available on their website.
The Science Museum Group is the world’s leading group of science museums, with a collection that provides 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 museum was named a winner of the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year prize for 2020. Visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk and follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.
Contact William Dave at pressoffice.SCM@sciencemuseum.ac.uk or 020 7942 4886 for further information and interview requests. High-resolution images of the new gallery can be downloaded here.
