London [UK], October 16 : One million visitors have explored the Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery at the Science Museum since its opening in late March 2024, marking a significant milestone for the award-winning, free exhibition that showcases how the world can generate and use energy more sustainably.
Dedicated to examining one of the greatest challenges of our time - the rapid energy transition and decarbonisation needed to limit climate change - the gallery features striking displays of contemporary and historic objects, engaging digital exhibits and specially commissioned models, which together show how the past, present and future of energy systems are shaped by human imagination and innovation.
The gallery, which highlights technologies and projects from the UK and abroad - from hydrogen power on Orkney to terracotta air-cooling facades in India and solar farms in Morocco - is popular with both families and school groups. More than 10,000 students have now explored the gallery as part of educational visits since it opened.
Sagar Adani, Executive Director, Adani Green Energy, said: "We are honoured to witness Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery inspiring a million minds and igniting conversations around sustainability and innovation. At Adani Green Energy, we believe that a sustainable future is rooted in bold innovation and collective action. This milestone reflects the shared commitment to shaping a greener tomorrow and showcases the power of education in driving meaningful change. We congratulate the Science Museum Group on achieving this significant landmark and are proud to support a gallery that continues to trigger curiosity and nurture solutions for a cleaner, more resilient world."
Ian Blatchford, Chief Executive and Director of the Science Museum Group, said: "We are delighted to have welcomed a million visitors to this stunning gallery, helping ignite curiosity among those who visit and sparking conversations about the need to generate and use energy more sustainably. Reaching this impressive milestone is testament to the gallery's award-winning design and the stories behind the remarkable objects on display. I am grateful to Adani Green Energy for their generous sponsorship which made the gallery possible."
Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery was designed by architect and design studio Unknown Works and recently received a Retrofit and Reuse Award from Architects Journal for its sustainable approach to design and installation.
As part of the award-winning design, more than 200 redundant metal shelves from the museum's former object store were repurposed to display objects in the gallery. Aluminium was used where possible as it can be easily recycled, with energy-efficient LEDs used to light the gallery. Together these actions helped reduce carbon emissions from the creation and continued operation of the gallery.
Through the lens of imagination, the gallery examines this century's defining challenge across three sections. In Future Planet, visitors can examine how climate scientists use mathematics and complex computer-based models to understand our planet, and what these tell us about the range of climate futures that might lie ahead, through an interactive exhibit developed with the UK Met Office. Also on display are instruments used to observe and measure the climate at sea, on land, in the air and even from space.
These include an air-sampling flask used for observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide based on Charles David Keeling's original design and a satellite-based scientific instrument which takes precise observations of sea surface temperature from space.
In Future Energy, vital low carbon technologies that are reimagining how energy is supplied and used today are highlighted alongside historic artefacts which provide a longer view of the energy transition away from fossil fuels.
Visitors can see the first electric taxi, the elegant black and yellow Bersey cab hailed by Londoners in 1897, and cables made for the world's first public electricity network, which was established in London in 1882 and went on to transform the way we live.
On display is a towering five-metre-tall parabolic solar trough mirror used on huge solar farms to concentrate sunlight and generate electricity and a vast seven-metre-long prototype tidal turbine blade used near Orkney in 2016 to help generate enough electricity to power a thousand homes.
A huge quadrant from the Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly is also on display for the first time. This nuclear fusion experiment was created in the late 1950s by British scientists who imagined a world filled with abundant energy thanks to nuclear fusion.
Visitors can also examine a model of a small modular nuclear reactor made by Rolls-Royce SMR, which may power more of our homes in the future, alongside part of a real (but non-radioactive) canister used for storing the UK's nuclear waste.
Our Future looks forward to a new world, with children's creative ideas of how the world will meet its future energy needs displayed alongside expert responses to them. Visitors can see a decarbonisation tracker which is updated annually and displays how the UK is performing on its low carbon journey.
At the centre of the gallery, uniting science and art, is an art commission Only Breath, a kinetic sculpture that moves and blooms, stretching to around five metres 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.
Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery is generously supported by Adani Green Energy, one of the world's leading renewable energy companies. The free gallery opened at the Science Museum on 24 March 2024 on Level 2 in the West Hall.