National Museum of Photography, Film and Television The museum (throughout its name changes and to the present) occupies a site originally proposed for a theatre in central Bradford, for which work had been begun in the 1960s but which remained unfinished. Discussions and a decision between
Dame Margaret Weston of the
Science Museum, London, and Bradford's city councillors Local funding for architectural work complemented the Science Museum's funding to convert the building to its new use, with the bars and dressing rooms of the original theatre layout being converted to galleries, and with the conflicting demands of a theatre building occupying multiple storeys and a museum that would ideally reside on a single level needing to be accommodated. The museum's centrepiece was its auditorium with
IMAX cinema, and its opening launched "the largest cinema screen in Britain": the
IMAX screen was five storeys high with six-
channel sound. During this period the museum specialised in the art and science of images and image-making.
Colin Ford, its first director, believed that understanding how images are made led to better appreciation of the ideas expressed, the intentions and skills of the image-makers. In 2009 the museum partnered with other bodies from the Bradford district in a successful bid to become the world's first
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation)
City of Film. In February 2010, the museum unveiled a major revamp of the foyer. The remodeling included a brand new Games Lounge, a new gallery that drew on the
National Videogame Archive established in 2008 in partnership with
Nottingham Trent University. It was originally intended to be temporary, but one in five visitors to the Games Lounge named it as their favourite part of the museum, resulting in the creation of a permanent version in another part of the museum. In March 2012 the museum opened Life Online, the world's first gallery dedicated to exploring the social, technological and cultural impact of the Internet. The permanent gallery was initially accompanied by a temporary exhibition, "[open source]: Is the internet you know under threat?" The exhibition was an exploration of the
open source nature of the Internet, and the current threats to both
net neutrality and the general continuation of the
open source culture. In October 2014 the museum entered into a partnership with
Picturehouse Cinemas, with the national chain taking over the running of the three cinema screens in a bid to boost audience figures and revenue. The partnership was designated "Picturehouse at the National Media Museum". Despite sustained growth in ticket sales, the museum cancelled its participation in the 2015 Bradford International Film Festival and followed up by totally withdrawing from the festival the following year. This move, together with the 2016 transfer of a major photographic collection to London's
Victoria and Albert Museum was very controversial. In August 2016, the museum confirmed plans to permanently close their Experience TV gallery, after ten years, on 30 August 2016. A new gallery would open in the spring of 2017, called Wonderlab, which allows visitors to explore the sciences of light and sound in interactive exhibits. The television collection previously on display in Experience TV were made available for viewing through the Insight Centre at the museum.
National Science and Media Museum In March 2017, the museum opened its £1.8 million interactive gallery Wonderlab. It also announced the second change of its name, to the National Science and Media Museum. Wonderlab is based on the principles of light and sound; attractions include a mirror maze, a 15-metre echo tube and a musical laser tunnel, as well as the world's first permanent 3D-printed
zoetrope. On 7 August 2017, The Magic Factory, a permanent interactive exhibition that lets visitors "get hands-on with light, lenses and mirror trickery to discover the science behind how we see the world around us" closed. According to the museum, its space on Level 4 was refurbished as its new activity and picnic area, Makespace. Amongst the exhibits were a camera obscura, and pinhole camera providing views over Bradford city centre. In September 2017,
Soyuz TMA-19M – the space capsule that brought British astronaut
Tim Peake back to Earth after his months-long stint on the
International Space Station – was displayed at the museum. This was the first time the capsule had been displayed outside London. In April 2018 the museum reported 505,000 visits in the 2017/18 financial year, a 25% increase on the previous year and the highest number since 2009. In September 2019 the museum announced the end of its partnership with Picturehouse Cinemas and its return to an independent cinema operation. The operation was officially launched on 1 November 2019 under the name Pictureville. On 5 June 2023, the museum temporarily closed for a major refurbishment. Life Online was closed for improvements to access and an enhanced foyer. The TV Gallery and Animation Gallery were closed for redevelopment as the new Sound and Vision Galleries. The museum is scheduled to reopen in 2025. ==Past exhibitions==