For an Easter Out of This World – Lucia Ambrosi – Croydon High School

The Science Museum in London is a wormhole of intrigue, with exhibitions on many different things during the year, and, seeing as the Easter holidays have started or about to start, the Science Museum is full of activities. In October 2022, a new exhibition was added to the collection: ‘Science Fiction: Journey to the Edge of Imagination’. It closes on the 20th August (2023), so there is plenty of time to visit. 

The whole exhibit revolves around futuristic ideas of AI and space, and it puts you at the heart of your own Sci-Fi adventure. Though the show is held at the Science Museum, Kate, a visitor, said that the experience was “out of this world”. You start in a shuttle, and are introduced to ALAAN, a female AI with the aim of studying life in space as well as on Earth. There is a countdown, and once you have reached a spaceship orbiting the Earth, you are let out to explore. The exhibition lets you travel beyond the galaxy, whilst looking at authentic items from famous science fiction movies, including Darth Vader’s original helmet and items from the set of Alien. 

Whilst exploring Science Fiction, you are able to look at the real science in these ideas, and how far away we are from making these futures a reality, good or bad. The three rooms in the exhibition look at space exploration, AI and global warming, and compare them to Science Fiction books and films written from a long time ago to recently. The experience warns people about the power of AI and global warming, but also looks at the many positives of a highly technological world. 

During the walk, you encounter a cave. Eerie music plays, and small lights can be seen moving around the ceiling. These are said to be aliens that respond to your movement, by sensing the directions that you walk. Kate says, “many people dismissed the cave, though when we stood and watched the lights for long enough, we began to find a new sort of beauty in them. Like they were really aliens that we were interacting with. It was amazing!”