14 October 2021
New miniatures in the shop! See the new St Legers miniatures in our shop.
11 October 2021
Last Chance to book! Join us for some tinkering with technology. We have a few places left on the Computational Contraptions Global Workshop closing on Friday 15 Oct. Discover & share automata making ideas & mechanisms in an online workshop. Every Wednesday from 3 Nov to 8 Dec 2021 4-6 pm (UK time). You will get a comprehensive kit in the post before the sessions of hands-on making. For more info go to Eventbrite.
29 September 2021
Coming Soon! Our exhibition Mechanics Alive! opens at The Fleet Science Centre in San Diego, CA, USA on Saturday 9 October. They are open every day and have free entrance every first Tuesday for local residents. Go and see exhibits by Peter Markey, Keith Newstead, Carlos Zapata, Paul Spooner and Ron Fuller and find out how they work by trying out the interactive displays. Click for more information.
27 September 2021
There are a few spaces left on our Computational Contraptions Global Workshop that starts on 3 November. Join us to explore integrating simple technology with your automata projects by adding motors, lights, switches & sensors. Meet inspirational artists and makers from across the globe and be part of our growing tinkering community through our online workshop. Supported by Ryan Jenkins and his skilled team of facilitators you will be able to experiment and create your own prototypes over the 6 weekly sessions with a specially designed kit of materials and components mailed to you ahead of the workshop. See our EventBrite page for more information and booking.
22 September 2021
Cabaret Mechanical Marvels exhibition opens at The Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock on the 25 September. It’s free entry every day except Monday and there’s no need to book. Come and see iconic automata such as Paul Spooner’s Barecats as well as other pieces from our collection of the UK’s finest contemporary makers. Try out the interactive displays and explore mechanisms and learn more about CMT’s history and origins from the early days in Falmouth, Cornwall. Something for everyone! Click for more information.
13 September 2021
Visiting the Museum of Making in Derby.
6 September 2021
Update: Last chance for Early Bird tickets for our next online Computational Contraptions Global Workshop. 6 weeks from 3 Nov to 8 Dec 2021 combining programming, simple electronics and crafting. Brilliantly facilitated by Ryan Jenkins. See our EventBrite page.
10 August 2021
We’ve uploaded a new video of The English Spring by Paul Spooner:
The English Spring by Paul Spooner. Currently in Hastings Museum and Art Gallery (until 29 August 2021). Paul informs us that the message appearing in the “chasm between the two parts of the machine” is a saying attributed to Leopold II of Belgium: “What is wrong with you? Are you not happy?” or words to that effect. Apparently old Leo was one of the most unpleasant monarchs in history.
26 July 2021
We only have 3 places left on our Automata Tinkering Global Workshop. To find out more and book please visit the EventBrite page.
15 July 2021
We are opening at Poole Museum with Cabaret Mechanical Marvels on the 17th of July. It’s free, open everyday and you don’t need to book. It runs until the 5th of September. See the Poole Museum website for more details.
13 July 2021
We only have a small number of places left on our Automata Tinkering Global Workshop. To find out more and book please visit the EventBrite page.
3 July 2021
We are delighted to announce our exhibition opens on Sat 3 July at the wonderful Te Manawa museum in New Zealand. Curious Contraptions includes 30 exhibits from our collection together with works by Blair Somerville, an amazing automata maker from New Zealand who set up The Lost Gypsy Gallery.
28 June 2021
Last chance to book a place on our next Automata Tinkering Global Workshop with the ‘early bird’ discount. For more information or to book, see the Eventbrite page.
22 June 2021
If you are visiting Cornwall this summer Ingenious? has just opened and runs until 11 September with something for everyone. Falmouth Art Gallery’s exhibition is a celebration of invention and innovation in Falmouth and Cornwall with archival work and new automata together with choice exhibits from our collection. Follow this link to book your tickets. It’s free!
21 June 2021
Last chance to see Cabaret Mechanical Marvels at St. Albans Museum & Gallery. Make sure you book a ticket on their website as places are limited. Last day is Saturday 27 June.
14 June 2021
Announcing our next Automata Tinkering Global Workshop. For more information or to book, see the Eventbrite page.
8 June 2021
Stephen Guy will be sharing some ingenious ideas in an hour long webinar on making automata from everyday material. £5! Saturday 19 June 11am-12pm. Book here.
Part of our Ingenious Contraptions exhibition at Hastings Museum. On until 29 August, free entry but booking necessary.
24 May 2021
Our new exhibition Ingenious Contraptions is now open at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery. We’re showing more exhibits from our collection following our Automata on the Pier Exhibition in April 2018. You can also see The English Spring by Paul Spooner and ingenious items from Hasting Museum’s collection. It’s free although you need to book on their website. Open Thur-Sun 10am-12.30pm & 2-5pm until 29 August.
18 May 2021
Cabaret Mechanical Marvels at St. Albans Museum & Gallery has reopened! Make sure you book a ticket on their website as places are limited. Runs until 27 June.
28 April 2021
A new one-off piece by Paul Spooner, available here (now sold).
21 April 2021
Paul Spooner in conversation with Rosemary Hill, recorded at The London Review of Books Bookshop on 21 Sep 2019 but the podcast only recently surfaced (as far as we know). Listen here.
8 April 2021
A Town Explores A Book – you can watch the video here.
8 February 2021
Online talk with Sarah Alexander for St Albans Museum. More information and tickets (£5).
14 January 2021
Online workshops with St. Albans Museums – see their What’s On page.
To learn about our new tool for experimenting with mechanisms, sign up for our new Makers email list. We’ve added a page to gather all the tinkering kit posts.
To learn about our new tool for experimenting with mechanisms, sign up for our new Makers email list.
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