Bradford museum exhibit changes - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

emeritus · 18th Sep 2022, 9:45 pm

Anyone visited the Museum of the Moving Image at Bradford recently?

A friend who visited last week said he was horrified to find that most of the early TV exhibits (including Baird's Televisor, and 1950's TVs) that he had seen on his previous visit a decade earlier, were no longer on display. He said he was sufficiently concerned at their absence to speak to a manager, who apparently said they had been removed because children didn't relate to them. His comment that surely a purpose of a museum was to show the public how technology had developed, apparently cut no ice.

However, it seems that the hands-on working exhibits of early video games that I remembered from my visit around 12 years ago, are still there.

KeithsTV · 18th Sep 2022, 10:25 pm

I visited the museum 3 years ago and was disappointed by not what I saw but what I didn't see. Most of the museum has been dumbed down. All the early TV stuff had been replaced by stuff to keep the kids amused.

The most interesting part was actually the photographic section in the lower part of the museum where there were real exhibits. At least that hasn't changed.....yet.

Keith

emeritus · 18th Sep 2022, 10:45 pm

The photographic section essentially consts of the former Kodak museum, the contents of which were donated to Bradford when Kodak closed its own museum at Harrow in 1984.

AC/HL · 18th Sep 2022, 11:37 pm

As is the way, I live fairly close but only visit occasionally. Last time was to see the Soyuz space capsule. The TV exhibits were there then, but the clue may be in the gradual rebranding of the museum. The permanent public exhibits are oriented more towards media than science, and in a relatively small city public appeal is more attractive than pure history.

beamcurrent · 19th Sep 2022, 9:53 am

Hello There is ( or was 2017 ) a reserve collection of television equipment in a large back room. This could be viewed if you contacted them before your visit and arranged a time when a member of staff was available to show you round.

The attached picture was taken in 2015.

I am very unhappy with the need of museums to have "footfall" to justify their funding, which leads to the current lack of serious exhibits as you might hope to see.

Their website is much better and has many virtual exhibits. Have a look round https://collection.sciencemuseumgrou...card-generator

I have one of these in my collection except it makes a Eurovision logo!

sortedradio · 19th Sep 2022, 10:33 am

In September 2018 I was lucky enough to be invited to an unofficial private tour of the basement, where the "interesting stuff" is stored. It was strictly hands off, but photographs were allowed. Towards the end of 2019 I was looking into the possibility of an official viewing with a group of interested people, and the museum seemed open to the idea. Of course then Covid arrived and ruled that out! I will see if it's still a possibility.

Roger Ramjet · 19th Sep 2022, 10:34 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by beamcurrent

Hello There is ( or was 2017 ) a reserve collection of television equipment in a large back room. This could be viewed if you contacted them before your visit and arranged a time when a member of staff was available to show you round.

The attached picture was taken in 2015.

I am very unhappy with the need of museums to have "footfall" to justify their funding, which leads to the current lack of serious exhibits as you might hope to see.

Their website is much better and has many virtual exhibits. Have a look round https://collection.sciencemuseumgrou...card-generator

I have one of these in my collection except it makes a Eurovision logo!

Hi Brian, I am not a TV collector but I do like that set in the bottom LH corner of you piccy... is it a TV plus Radio ?
Rog

beamcurrent · 19th Sep 2022, 2:09 pm

Hi Rog looking at the original I can just see it's a Sony set and I don't think it is a radio/TV I can also make out a clock in the control group.

Brian

Paul_RK · 19th Sep 2022, 2:20 pm

Looks like one of these, Sony TV plus Betamax VCR:

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sony_v...r_lv_1901.html

Paul

emeritus · 19th Sep 2022, 3:17 pm

Yes, sadly I can understand how the need to demonstrate sufficient footfall to maintain funding when money is tight would affect what gets displayed. Signing up to my evening class last month involved not just form-filling, but the production of residency entitlement evidence and identity (driving licence or passport), apparently required to ensure that the local authority would get government funding.

stevehertz · 19th Sep 2022, 3:40 pm

I wouldn't mind but on quite a few occasions of watching kids use interactive displays at exhibitions and the like, they're often mistreating it. I don't think a lot of these interactive displays achieve their goal of educating and informing, kids see them more as some kind of game to get rough with, and then walk by the real stuff as if it's not there, or similarly if it's accessible, bang on it. Then again, are their parents not trying to educate them as they view the exhibits? many aren't. Sad but true of an increasingly large section of the population who get their kicks below the waistline and seemingly have little time for education, hobbies and interests. Yours, Mr Angry, Rugeley.

alfatangowhisky · 19th Sep 2022, 6:33 pm

I last went, oooh, 25 years ago maybe when there were many Tim Hunkin designed interactive exhibits (I particularly liked the CRT with a scrubbed off patch of phosphor in the centre where you could steer the electron beam with a couple of potentiometers and watch it disappear when it went into the 'void' - I wonder how they made it? Just left a high-intensity unfocussed beam burn off the phosphor in the centre?).

My most recent museum visit was to the National Space Centre and as rightly summarised, the interactive exhibits got 90% of the attention whereas the actual displays of flown space paraphanalia got a couple of seconds glance by the parents who then moved on to the next flashing lights and LCD screens without even reading the information cards or standing a while and pondering what was actually infront of them.

But what do we need museums for anyway... we have Wikipedia !?

Mike Phelan · 20th Sep 2022, 8:54 am

Though we're only about ten miles from there, last time we went was about twelve years ago and it had really been dumbed down then, so we'll not bother going again. London's Science Museum is much better!

Alan, seeing them on Wiki isn't the same as being able to watch things in person

PaulM · 20th Sep 2022, 11:09 am

The 'demise' of the TV side of the Bradford museum was one of the things that inspired us to form the Broadcast Engineering Conservation Group (BECG) and to establish our own museum building (owned by the BECG). This last weekend was our first trial opening under the national Heritage Open Days scheme. It went very well and there's some pictures in this thread here:
https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...99#post1500799

As a taster, here's a couple more pictures (taken by Dave Higginson).

Telecine machines (5 more yet to be delivered!)
Roland Rat's TV-AM Marconi MkIX TV camera

Best regards,

Paul M

emeritus · 20th Sep 2022, 11:26 am

When opened in 1980, it was called the " National Museum of Photography, Film and Television". I see that its name is now the "National Science and Media Museum", no doubt reflecting the reduced prominence of its TV exhibits.

Maarten · 22nd Sep 2022, 12:23 am

Dumbing down museums (for apparently no good reason as showing old stuff is the main goal of a museum anyway) seems sort of a pandemic that has been going on for years, maybe decades by now. Teyler's museum in Haarlem, The Netherlands (nevertheless much recommended!) did the same, with many items of the permanent exhibition gone missing, presumably "for a cleaner look". Even a friendly question to the then director (who only a few minutes before had invited everyone to ask questions, but was already trying to sneak out) as to why some items that would provide a link between old and new weren't included in a theme exhibition made her quite snappy, as if she had had that discussion before...

AC/HL · 22nd Sep 2022, 12:34 pm

Bear in mind that this museum, although part of the Science Museum, was created during the drive to decentralise the UK. It isn't on the scale of the London museums, being in a medium sized post industrial city. It also suffers from having no on-site car parking and poor rail connectivity, although next year's city of culture events should help with footfall.

stevehertz · 22nd Sep 2022, 1:22 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by AC/HL

Bear in mind that this museum, although part of the Science Museum, was created during the drive to decentralise the UK. It isn't on the scale of the London museums, being in a medium sized post industrial city. It also suffers from having no on-site car parking and poor rail connectivity, although next year's city of culture events should help with footfall.

But how does that impact on the OP's concern that was based on: "A friend who visited last week said he was horrified to find that most of the early TV exhibits (including Baird's Televisor, and 1950's TVs) that he had seen on his previous visit a decade earlier, were no longer on display. He said he was sufficiently concerned at their absence to speak to a manager, who apparently said they had been removed because children didn't relate to them. His comment that surely a purpose of a museum was to show the public how technology had developed, apparently cut no ice."

The issue being about a choice of exhibits on display.

Nuvistor · 22nd Sep 2022, 1:45 pm

Make of this this what you will.
https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news...-agents-change

TonyDuell · 22nd Sep 2022, 3:57 pm

If it's associated with the London Science Museum, then that probably explains it.

Said musuem is dumbed-down beyond belief. The last couple of times I visited I left almost in tears due to the lack of science (or engineering) on display, the poor (and sometimes downright wrong) descriptions of the exhibits, and my memories of how good it was 40-50 years ago.

18th Sep 2022, 9:45 pm	#1
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,339	Bradford museum exhibit changes Anyone visited the Museum of the Moving Image at Bradford recently? A friend who visited last week said he was horrified to find that most of the early TV exhibits (including Baird's Televisor, and 1950's TVs) that he had seen on his previous visit a decade earlier, were no longer on display. He said he was sufficiently concerned at their absence to speak to a manager, who apparently said they had been removed because children didn't relate to them. His comment that surely a purpose of a museum was to show the public how technology had developed, apparently cut no ice. However, it seems that the hands-on working exhibits of early video games that I remembered from my visit around 12 years ago, are still there. Last edited by emeritus; 18th Sep 2022 at 9:47 pm. Reason: typos

18th Sep 2022, 10:25 pm	#2
KeithsTV Nonode Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: South Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 2,573	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes I visited the museum 3 years ago and was disappointed by not what I saw but what I didn't see. Most of the museum has been dumbed down. All the early TV stuff had been replaced by stuff to keep the kids amused. The most interesting part was actually the photographic section in the lower part of the museum where there were real exhibits. At least that hasn't changed.....yet. Keith

18th Sep 2022, 10:45 pm	#3
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,339	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes The photographic section essentially consts of the former Kodak museum, the contents of which were donated to Bradford when Kodak closed its own museum at Harrow in 1984.

18th Sep 2022, 11:37 pm	#4
AC/HL Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 9,642	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes As is the way, I live fairly close but only visit occasionally. Last time was to see the Soyuz space capsule. The TV exhibits were there then, but the clue may be in the gradual rebranding of the museum. The permanent public exhibits are oriented more towards media than science, and in a relatively small city public appeal is more attractive than pure history.

19th Sep 2022, 9:53 am	#5
beamcurrent Heptode Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Camberley, Surrey, UK. Posts: 805	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Hello There is ( or was 2017 ) a reserve collection of television equipment in a large back room. This could be viewed if you contacted them before your visit and arranged a time when a member of staff was available to show you round. The attached picture was taken in 2015. I am very unhappy with the need of museums to have "footfall" to justify their funding, which leads to the current lack of serious exhibits as you might hope to see. Their website is much better and has many virtual exhibits. Have a look round https://collection.sciencemuseumgrou...card-generator I have one of these in my collection except it makes a Eurovision logo! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Regards Brian Visit the Virtual Broadcast TV Camera Museum

19th Sep 2022, 10:33 am	#6
sortedradio Heptode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 656	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes In September 2018 I was lucky enough to be invited to an unofficial private tour of the basement, where the "interesting stuff" is stored. It was strictly hands off, but photographs were allowed. Towards the end of 2019 I was looking into the possibility of an official viewing with a group of interested people, and the museum seemed open to the idea. Of course then Covid arrived and ruled that out! I will see if it's still a possibility. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Martin BVWS member GQRP Club

19th Sep 2022, 2:09 pm	#8
beamcurrent Heptode Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Camberley, Surrey, UK. Posts: 805	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Hi Rog looking at the original I can just see it's a Sony set and I don't think it is a radio/TV I can also make out a clock in the control group. Brian __________________ Regards Brian Visit the Virtual Broadcast TV Camera Museum

19th Sep 2022, 2:20 pm	#9
Paul_RK Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 4,256	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Looks like one of these, Sony TV plus Betamax VCR: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sony_v...r_lv_1901.html Paul

19th Sep 2022, 3:17 pm	#10
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,339	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Yes, sadly I can understand how the need to demonstrate sufficient footfall to maintain funding when money is tight would affect what gets displayed. Signing up to my evening class last month involved not just form-filling, but the production of residency entitlement evidence and identity (driving licence or passport), apparently required to ensure that the local authority would get government funding.

19th Sep 2022, 3:40 pm	#11
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,831	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes I wouldn't mind but on quite a few occasions of watching kids use interactive displays at exhibitions and the like, they're often mistreating it. I don't think a lot of these interactive displays achieve their goal of educating and informing, kids see them more as some kind of game to get rough with, and then walk by the real stuff as if it's not there, or similarly if it's accessible, bang on it. Then again, are their parents not trying to educate them as they view the exhibits? many aren't. Sad but true of an increasingly large section of the population who get their kicks below the waistline and seemingly have little time for education, hobbies and interests. Yours, Mr Angry, Rugeley. __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

19th Sep 2022, 6:33 pm	#12
alfatangowhisky Pentode Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK. Posts: 116	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes I last went, oooh, 25 years ago maybe when there were many Tim Hunkin designed interactive exhibits (I particularly liked the CRT with a scrubbed off patch of phosphor in the centre where you could steer the electron beam with a couple of potentiometers and watch it disappear when it went into the 'void' - I wonder how they made it? Just left a high-intensity unfocussed beam burn off the phosphor in the centre?). My most recent museum visit was to the National Space Centre and as rightly summarised, the interactive exhibits got 90% of the attention whereas the actual displays of flown space paraphanalia got a couple of seconds glance by the parents who then moved on to the next flashing lights and LCD screens without even reading the information cards or standing a while and pondering what was actually infront of them. But what do we need museums for anyway... we have Wikipedia !?

20th Sep 2022, 8:54 am	#13
Mike Phelan Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 4,609	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Though we're only about ten miles from there, last time we went was about twelve years ago and it had really been dumbed down then, so we'll not bother going again. London's Science Museum is much better! Alan, seeing them on Wiki isn't the same as being able to watch things in person __________________ Mike.

20th Sep 2022, 11:09 am	#14
PaulM Hexode Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Near Lincoln, UK. Posts: 483	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes The 'demise' of the TV side of the Bradford museum was one of the things that inspired us to form the Broadcast Engineering Conservation Group (BECG) and to establish our own museum building (owned by the BECG). This last weekend was our first trial opening under the national Heritage Open Days scheme. It went very well and there's some pictures in this thread here: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...99#post1500799 As a taster, here's a couple more pictures (taken by Dave Higginson). Telecine machines (5 more yet to be delivered!) Roland Rat's TV-AM Marconi MkIX TV camera Best regards, Paul M Attached Thumbnails

20th Sep 2022, 11:26 am	#15
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,339	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes When opened in 1980, it was called the " National Museum of Photography, Film and Television". I see that its name is now the "National Science and Media Museum", no doubt reflecting the reduced prominence of its TV exhibits.

22nd Sep 2022, 12:23 am	#16
Maarten Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Haarlem, Netherlands Posts: 4,199	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Dumbing down museums (for apparently no good reason as showing old stuff is the main goal of a museum anyway) seems sort of a pandemic that has been going on for years, maybe decades by now. Teyler's museum in Haarlem, The Netherlands (nevertheless much recommended!) did the same, with many items of the permanent exhibition gone missing, presumably "for a cleaner look". Even a friendly question to the then director (who only a few minutes before had invited everyone to ask questions, but was already trying to sneak out) as to why some items that would provide a link between old and new weren't included in a theme exhibition made her quite snappy, as if she had had that discussion before...

22nd Sep 2022, 12:34 pm	#17
AC/HL Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 9,642	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Bear in mind that this museum, although part of the Science Museum, was created during the drive to decentralise the UK. It isn't on the scale of the London museums, being in a medium sized post industrial city. It also suffers from having no on-site car parking and poor rail connectivity, although next year's city of culture events should help with footfall.

22nd Sep 2022, 1:45 pm	#19
Nuvistor Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK. Posts: 9,433	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes Make of this this what you will. https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news...-agents-change __________________ Frank

22nd Sep 2022, 3:57 pm	#20
TonyDuell Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK. Posts: 5,208	Re: Bradford museum exhibit changes If it's associated with the London Science Museum, then that probably explains it. Said musuem is dumbed-down beyond belief. The last couple of times I visited I left almost in tears due to the lack of science (or engineering) on display, the poor (and sometimes downright wrong) descriptions of the exhibits, and my memories of how good it was 40-50 years ago.