More than twenty thousand people have rushed to visit a recently opened exhibition at London ’s Science Museum . Launched on the 21st January, the landmark 1001 Inventions exhibition highlights the scientific heritage the world has inherited from Muslim civilization, and is free of charge thanks to the generous support of the Abdul Latif Jameel Foundation. The venue has been inundated with visitors and the Museum’s Director has described their latest attraction as a “blockbuster”.
1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World, which is sponsored by the Jameel Foundation, traces the forgotten story of a thousand years of science from the Muslim world, from the 7th century onwards.
The free exhibition, which runs from the 21 January to 25 April 2010, uncovers the social, scientific and technical achievements that are credited to the Muslim world, whilst celebrating the shared scientific heritage of other cultures. It features a diverse range of exhibits, interactive displays and dramatisation – all of which acknowledge the Muslim world’s contribution to many modern inventions spanning fields such as engineering, medicine and architecture.
The launch of the exhibition marks the beginning of a global tour that will visit the world's most respected museums and centres of learning over the next four years.
Fady Jameel, speaking on behalf of the Abdul Latif Jameel Foundation, said: “One of the most important aims of our foundation is to promote global education projects. This fantastic attendance at the 1001 Inventions exhibition at one of Europe ’s most prestigious museums is achieving this in a spectacular manner. I look forward to 1001 Inventions continuing to increase everyone’s understanding about a fascinating period of history and discovering how it impacts us in today’s modern word”.
One of the iconic focal features of this exhibition is a five-metre high replica of the ‘Elephant Clock’- a visually striking early 13th century water clock, the body of which contains symbols referring different cultures and is featured alongside a short feature film starring Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley as Al-Jazari, inventor of the fabled clock.
Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani, Chairman of 1001 Inventions, explained: “The Elephant Clock is an early 13th century machine which gives physical form to the concept of multi-culturalism. This engineering marvel featured an Indian Elephant, Chinese Dragons, a Greek water mechanism, an Egyptian Phoenix, and wooden robots in traditional Arabian attire. It embodies cultural and scientific convergence of civilisations and is an appropriate centre-piece for an exhibition about the roots of science and technology.”
Other striking exhibits featured in this interactive exhibition include:
· Model of an energy efficient and environmentally-friendly Baghdad courtyard house.
- A large 3 metre reproduction Al-Idrisi’s 12th-century world map.
- Model of Zheng He’s Chinese junk ship – originally a 15th century wooden super structure over 100 metres long.
- Medical instruments from a thousand year ago, many of which are still used today.
- Model of a 9th-century dark room, later called Camera Obscura, which Ibn al-Haytham used to change our understanding of vision and optics.
The exhibition will run from 21st January until 25th April 2010 (with a short closure between 25th February and 12th March 2010 inclusive). Further information about the exhibition is available at www.1001inventions.com. |