Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery opens at The National Railway Museum

This new, interactive gallery in York embodies the Science Museum Group’s vision to build creative STEM confidence and ignite the engineering curiosity of future generations. It will equip and inspire the target audience of 7-14-year-olds with the skills and aptitudes needed to meet and embrace the potential engineering challenges and opportunities of the future.

Railways, locomotion and simple engineering concepts hold a special place in children’s imagination. Handson experimentation and creative exploration will excite and challenge young minds, bringing awareness to sustainability and energy. The gallery’s 18 bespoke interactive exhibits showcase different engineering and railway concepts and processes. Visitors are encouraged to think like engineers and develop skills as they design, build and test in a permissive and playful manner. 

To create the 18 bespoke interactive exhibits, a process of testing and prototyping involved more than 1,300 individuals, including experts within the rail industry, education, local community groups and members of the public. The Science Museum Group’s Audience Research team conducted 16 months of prototype testing, working directly with families and schools visiting the museum. Prototyping was essential to make sure that visitors were engaged by and could use and understand the exhibits. The team learned from visitors’ experiences, finding changes that improved the exhibits and ensured that the gallery meets the needs, wants and expectations of audiences. 

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