Robots will open at the Museum of Science and Industry on Thursday 19th October.
The exhibition will explore humanity’s 500-year quest to recreate ourselves in mechanised form. Featuring a unique collection of over 100 robots, from a 16th-century mechanical monk to robots from science fiction and modern-day research labs, this exhibition will enable visitors to discover the cultural, historical and technological context of humanoid robots.
Highlights include an articulated iron manikin from the 1500s, Cygan, a 2.4m tall 1950s robot with a glamorous past, and one of the first walking bipedal robots. Visitors will be able to go behind the scenes to see some recent developments from robotics research, exploring how roboticists are building robots that resemble us and interact in human-like ways.
Robots first opened to the public in London on Wednesday, February 8th at the Museum of Science and Industry’s sister museum, the Science Museum.
Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum Group said:
“This exhibition explores the uniquely human obsession of recreating ourselves, not through paint or marble but in metal. Seeing robots through the eyes of those who built or gazed in awe at them reveals much about humanity’s hopes, fears and dreams.”
“Robots explores the wondrously rich culture, history and technology of humanoid robotics.”
Antonio Benitez, Director of the Manchester Science Festival, said:
“Manchester Science Festival is delighted to announce Robots as our first headline event for 2017. This exhibition will be an extraordinary opportunity for our audiences to explore the ways robots mirror humanity and the insights they offer into our ambitions, desires and position in a rapidly changing world.”
