1001 INVENTIONS EXHIBITION

Transcription

1 1001 INVENTIONS EXHIBITION DISCOVERING OUR PAST INSPIRING OUR FUTURE Exhibition Creative Brief About 1001 Inventions 1001 Inventions is an award-winning educational organization that is leading an exciting international effort to celebrate the creative golden age of Muslim Civilization Inventions produces world-class experiences, blockbuster exhibitions, short feature films, live shows, books and learning products that are being used by hundreds of thousands of educators around the world Inventions is globally recognized for its ability to communicate science and inspire young people and has reached over 70 million people around the world including over 33 million viewers of its films and more than 4 million visitors to its exhibitions Inventions has established a series of international strategic relationships with governments, institutions and organisations, including several major collaborations in the United Arab Emirates. It has produced a world-class range of exciting and engaging educational experiences, productions, products and resources that are all extensively researched by academics and experts from the UK-based Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation It aims to promote awareness of the scientific and cultural achievements of Muslim civilization, during the thousand year period from the 7th century onwards, and how those contributions helped build the foundations of our modern world One of its exhibitions, the touring blockbuster 1001 Inventions exhibition features dozens of interactive exhibits, spread over 1,800 square metres, featuring reproductions of amazing feats of engineering, astronomy, medicine through the use of electronic games and multi-media showcases 1001 Inventions exhibitions showcase the achievements made during Muslim Civilization by Muslims and non-muslims working alongside each other. The exhibition aims to inspire ambition in young people and motivation to strive towards building a brighter and better future, and inspire young people in particular to pursue careers in science, engineering, medicine and the arts, encouraging inquisitiveness and curiosity in the world. Winner of 27 international prestigious awards including Best Touring Exhibition (Museums and Heritage Awards 2011, London) Over 4 million exhibition visitors 33,000,000 online downloads of 1001 Inventions films Over 22,000,000 visitors to dedicated websites

2 2010 to 2014 brand reach was more than 70,000,000 people globally Unprecedented media coverage in over 78 countries Exhibition Zone Summary Descriptions * Library of Secrets 10 minute film repeated every 15 minutes This internationally acclaimed award-winning educational film, starring Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley, introduces the exhibition to visitors. Three school children visit a dusty library to research the story of 'The Dark Ages'. What they find dramatically changes their worldview as ingenious inventors and pioneers of science and technology are vividly brought to life. This astounding movie has won more than 20 international awards including Best Film recognition in London, Los Angeles and Cannes as well as at the New York Festival. The visitor journey continues thought the exhibition in a guided free flow format where they can interact with different zones, different explainers that will perform to visitors every time the cinema door slides and new visitors enter the exhibition. So every performance is repeated every 15 minutes. * Market Zone Discover how travel and trade in Muslim Civilization brought new ideas for farming, supplying energy and producing food. In the zone, see a realistic reconstruction of a thousand year old windmill with vertical blades, and play an interactive game in which you trade goods along the silk route on a journey from Cordoba to Canton. * Hospital Zone Discover how Andalusian physician Al-Zahrawi invented hundreds of surgical instruments and procedures more than a thousand years ago that are still saving lives in our modern hospitals. Meet Lady Montague, who introduced the Muslim world s inoculation techniques to the West. * World Zone Meet Chinese Admiral Zheng He, a Muslim adventurer whose voyages across the seas made him a hero to his people. The nautical theme continues in our modern wind tunnel simulator where you can test the efficiency of different sail designs. Visitors are also introduced to the advances in cartography that took place during the Golden Age of Muslim civilization as they navigate the globe on a touch screen display. * Universe Zone Discover the global heritage of star-gazing, and the development of sophisticated astronomical equipment by pioneers like Merriam Al-Ijliya, the master astrolabe-maker. Soar over the Bosphorus strait with Rocket Man

3 Hasan Celebi. Explore the craters on the moon to uncover their connections to Muslim civilisation. Enter our interactive mini-planetarium and learn the names of constellations in both Greek and Arabic. * School Zone Discover Baghdad s illustrious educational academy, The House of Wisdom, where the world s leading minds absorbed and built upon the knowledge of ancient civilisations. Learn about the connections between the Arabic and English language. Meet Fatima Al-Fihri, the young woman who founded the world s first modern University, which offered free education to men and women of all backgrounds. * Town Zone The architecture of Muslim Civilisation demonstrated a huge variety of new ideas, many of which were reused and adapted all over the world. Meet master architect Sinan who built the earthquake-resistant Suleymaniye mosque in 16 th century Istanbul and use a touch-screen exhibit about the architectural influences of Muslim Civilization around the world. * Camera Obscura Meet Ibn Al-Haytham, the first true scientist, who was also first to explain how our eyes work. Explore a giant camera obscura, to learn how Ibn Al-Haytham laid the foundations for modern photography and film-making. Hear the amazing story of how Ibn Al-Haytham s greatest failure led to his eventual triumphs and changed the very nature of scientific enquiry. * Performance Stage Trained science explainers, in addition to their own station performance, will appear on a special stage section of the exhibition to perform short sketches inspired by Muslim Civilization. Their performances will be repeated at least twice every hour. * Kids Activity Zone A special area designed for kids activities drawing, coloring and hands-on workshops that are directly linked to the content of the exhibition and complement the children s journey throughout the exhibition. This zone will not be operational during organized school visits. For further information about 1001 Inventions, images, video etc. please visit or info@1001inventions.com

4 1001 Inventions Objectives: Main Narrative Scientists, medics and engineers strive to solve grand societal challenges that face our modern world such as disease, renewable energy, environmental conservation, famine, draught and in general most try to improve the quality of our lives. The Middle East has a legacy of over a thousand years of men and women who worked in very much the same way addressing the issues facing their societies. The impact of their achievements can be seen all around us today. This is a message that: Helps inspire ambition in Emirati citizens and motivation to strive towards building a brighter and better future. Inspires young people to pursue careers in science, engineering, medicine and the arts, encouraging inquisitiveness and curiosity in the world. Promotes cross-cultural appreciation through the research and promotion of the Muslim World s contribution towards building the foundations of Modern Civilization. Aims Communicate the rich scientific and cultural legacy of the local and wider region, to the vast majority of people in Jeddah, through a series of highly engaging world-class events, high profile media campaign and outreach programmes to raise public awareness of science heritage making a clear and measurable impact on public perception. To create a lasting legacy using this national celebration as a springboard for long-term educational initiatives for science heritage education in Sharjah and wider UAE. To communicate the rich scientific and cultural legacy of the local and wider region to help inspire ambition in Saudi citizens and motivate them to strive towards building a brighter and better future. To raise public awareness of science heritage and inspire young people to pursue careers in science, engineering, medicine and the arts, encouraging inquisitiveness and curiosity in the world.

5 Introduce the 1001 Inventions success story to Sharjah, and with it the best practices, event management skills and educational engagement expertise that has been developed by 1001 Inventions over the past decade. The objectives of the 1001 Inventions Exhibition Sharjah 2014 are to: Promote an accurate understanding of the thousand years of exceptional advances in science, technology and the arts made by men and women in Muslim civilization, from the 7 th century onwards, which is not well known to the public. Promote the important role translation, trade and diplomatic relations played in facilitating the flow of knowledge between civilizations, bridging themes in the history of science, industry and art with numerous contemporary developments. Inspire young people from all backgrounds to find career role models in science and engineering. Promote cross cultural dialogue through the research and promotion of the Muslim World s contribution towards building the foundations of Modern Civilisation, and showcase the extraordinary European movement of the 17 th century to use these contributions in the development of modern science. Promote the concept of scientific and technological innovation as a positive and constructive channel of personal expression of beliefs. Work with educators to ensure science heritage is accurately and fairly represented within education curricula. Leave a lasting legacy so that the 1001 Inventions brand, its message and educational value continue to have a positive impact after the 1001 Inventions exhibition leave Jeddah. Key messages that audiences should be able to identify from the exhibitions: Discoveries made during a thousand year period from the 7th century onwards by multi-faith scientists in Muslim civilization have had a huge but hidden influence on the modern world. Men and women scholars advanced science by building upon ancient knowledge and by making significant discoveries that contributed to the European Renaissance.

6 The heroes of science and technology from the history of Muslim civilisation can provide role models to inspire young people and encourage inquisitiveness and curiosity in the world around them. Knowledge from African, Assyrian, Babylonian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Persian and Roman civilisations was highly prized in the Muslim world. Much of this Golden Age of Discovery in the Muslim World (southern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and to China) took place during the so-called Dark Ages of Europe. Target Primary: Arabic speaking families and kids Secondary: expat community and tourists On arrival visitors are guided by ushers and are invited to enter the cinema space where they will experience the 1001 Inventions and The Library of Secrets film starring Sir Ben Kingsley. The film is repeated every 15 minutes. Once the short film is finished visitors are directed to the main exhibition space where there will have the opportunity to interact with the different exhibits, games, kids activity area, short stage performances with the help of science explainers and ushers (see zone and exhibit details below) Visitors exit through a shop where they can purchase a memorabilia or educational item related to the experience. Average dwell time is 40 minutes. Compressed tours can be arranged for organized school visits.