You know how these things happen when you’re surfing the ‘net. While researching some imagery for a comic strip I’m working on with Ross Dearsley, completely by fortuitous accident I came across information about a touring exhibition organised by the V&A Museum of Childhood named Space Age: Exploration, Design and Popular Culture.

Currently at Truro’s Royal Cornwall Museum until 19th April (this museum being what I was actually looking for at the time), this major exhibition explores people’s fascination with space, and how that fascination has influenced popular culture, from literature and comics to film, design and merchandising, including toys.

To help exhibition visitors explore the relationship between reality and fantasy a range of real space objects are displayed together with classic space-inspired designs and childhood objects,hoping to show the reality of how space exploration has developed and how space fantasy and science fiction worlds have been created in people’s imaginations.

The development of the exhibition was assisted by a “Scientist-in-Residence” originally funded by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (now the Science and Technology Facilities Council). The exhibition also features online learning resources and some venues offer space-related teaching sessions, along with a series of family events (e.g. planetarium shows, popular science talks, rocket making workshops, etc) supported by the Institute of Physics.

Tour Dates

• Royal Cornwall Museu, Truro
Until 19 April 2009
• City Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth
9 May – 26 July 2009
• Bradford One Gallery, Bradford
15 August – 1 November 2009
• Stockwood Discovery Centre, Luton
21 November 2009 – 7 February 2010
• South Shields Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne
27 February – 16 May 2010
• New Walk Museum, Leicester
6 June – 29 August 2010

• Read more about the Space Age on the V&A web site

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Exhibitions

Tags: Space, Technology News, Toys