Tinkering Space opens in At-Bristol

At-Bristol’s brand new exhibition is for creators, inventors, dreamers and anyone who has ever wanted to have a go at making something.

Within the Tinkering Space on the science centre’s first floor, visitors can turn their ideas into something they can touch, design and modify, and even rebuild elements of the space itself.

The permanent exhibition includes a ‘Baxter’ robot (the first in a UK science centre), two 3D printers, an air table for testing flying devices, shadow theatres and make-your-own ball runs, and more.

The space is open all day every day from Saturday, July 23, and will include some guided activities with the Live Science Team which will run for visitors and school groups.

Tapping into the growing ‘maker’ movement, The Tinkering Space is the latest in a growing portfolio of new exhibitions and programming spaces designed and developed by At-Bristol’s in-house exhibitions and learning teams. 

For this project, At-Bristol collaborated with The Factory run by Knowle West Media Centre for the build of key parts of furniture and exhibit housing for the space. 

The Tinkering Space – with Beth Cotterell returning to the science centre and holding the job of official tinkering officer – will focus on visitor generated content, with the exhibition changing form as visitors make and create their inventions.

A series of ‘Robot Encounters’ activities across the venue will be taking place throughout the summer, which will include meeting the larger-than-life Baxter and pint-sized ‘Nao’ robots, a swarm of ‘Thymio’ robots, getting to grips with 3D printed bionic hands in Superhuman Lab, and taking part in the ‘The Nearly Not Quite Impossible Luminous Robot Circus’ family show, a visually spectacular show with a cast of robot performers.

At-Bristol creative director Anna Starkey said: “Bristol is an incredible city full of creative makers and thinkers and The Tinkering Space has grown from that energy – it’s a ‘what if’ kind of a space, where we welcome everyone to unleash that very human instinct to lift the lid, poke around inside the box, pull apart and create.  

“The Tinkering Space occupies a zone of thinking and doing at the intersection of art, design, technology and science – and that’s where new ideas can emerge, whether it’s your first time making something or you’re a lifelong inventor.

“Connecting this with the launch of our Robot Encounters programme provides a fascinating context for people to get curious about how things are made, designed and built, and to discover how we all have a part to play in designing the future.” 

The Tinkering Space and all Robot Encounters activities are included in general entry tickets to At-Bristol, which is open from 10am to 6pm during the summer holidays. For more information, visit www.at-bristol.org.uk

Read more: Behind the scenes at At-Bristol