A new permanent display based around the life and work of Lord Kelvin - Glasgow's greatest scientist ﾖ is to be unveiled at the University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum on Saturday 30 October.

An exciting mix of hands-on activities, original scientific instruments, demonstrations and computer-generated images will bring this new display to life. Visitors will get the chance to investigate how solving problems in physics 150 years ago led to practical inventions which have transformed all of our lives today.

The display is aimed very much at a non-specialist audience, especially young people, while also creating an easy route into the riches of the Hunterian collection for those who want to know more.

Although born in Belfast, he came to Glasgow at a very young age and made the city his life-long base. 'Lord Kelvin' was the title William Thomson took when he was made the first 'science lord'. He taught at the University of Glasgow for fifty-three years and became its Chancellor. In Glasgow his contribution to safety at sea was probably most profoundly appreciated because of the shipbuilding and international trading connections.

'We wanted to show what Lord Kelvin did for us, and to bring this revered but little known figure to life,' explains Dr Evelyn Silber, Director of the Huntarian Museum and Art Gallery. 'We have over 200 of his instruments and teaching demonstrations, some of which were in use until very recently. But it is not enough just to put them on show. We wanted to enable our visitors to be able to engage much more directly, to re-experience some of his experiments.

'Victorian scientific instruments are often beautiful objects, finely crafted, but how they worked and what they did can be mystifying if you're not a scientist or engineer. We want to demystify them and bring them to life so that we can grasp just what Lord Kelvin did and how it still affects our lives today.'

The new Huntarian donations box ﾖ the 'Kelvin's Universe' automation ﾖ will also be on display for the first time. Insert a 20p coin and this life-sized bust of Lord Kelvin slowly rotates and comes to life.

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

For more details please phone Harriet Gaston on 0141 330-3310 or email: h.gaston@museum.gla.ac.uk.

Press are invited to attend the preview of the exhibition on Wednesday 27 October, between 11am ? 2pm. Please contact Harriet at the Huntarian to confirm your attendance.

First published: 25 October 2004