National Science and Media Museum
Exploring Photography, Film, Television, and Gaming
Posted on 29th October
The National Science and Media Museum is located in Bradford city centre and operates as part of the national Science Museum Group. Established in 1983 as the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, the institution explores the science, technology, and cultural impact of image and sound technologies across multiple public galleries.
The museum cares for over three million items of historical and cultural significance, encompassing the National Photography Collection, the Daily Herald Archive, and pioneering television, cinematography, and computing apparatus.
Highlights / What to See 🎥
The permanent collections and interactive galleries span several floors of visual, audio, and digital media technologies:
- Wonderlab: An interactive, hands-on gallery investigating the core science of light and sound through live experiments, giant mirrors, ultraviolet light displays, and laser exhibits.
- Kodak Gallery: A chronological journey tracking the evolution of photography from the world's earliest photographic negative by William Henry Fox Talbot to digital cameras and personal smartphones.
- Games Lounge: A dedicated, playable history of video games featuring vintage arcade cabinets, retro home consoles, and classic home computers from the 1970s onwards (a small separate admission fee applies).
- Television & Broadcasting Galleries: Displays detailing the emergence of broadcast television, featuring early John Logie Baird transmission apparatus, vintage camera studio sets, newsrooms, and original broadcast equipment.
- Animation & Cinematography Exhibits: Artifacts exploring the mechanics of motion pictures, from 19th-century zoetropes and magic lanterns to early cinema cameras and modern stop-motion puppets.
- Horror Film Displays: A focused exhibition section dedicated to the horror cinema genre, showcasing rare film props, prosthetic makeup effects, promotional materials, and artifacts from iconic British and international horror classics.
- Pictureville Cinema & IMAX: An independent three-screen cinema complex housed within the museum building, featuring Europe's first permanent IMAX screen alongside Pictureville Cinema, capable of screening 35mm, 70mm, and Cinerama film formats.