The Science Museum in South Kensington, alongside London-based event caterer Tonic and live event AV company Matrix UK Solutions, last night (19 January) welcomed 300 event professionals to an evening of spectacle and discovery to launch its new spaces including Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery and Mathematics: The Winton Gallery.
Guests attending the exclusive event were able to experience three of the museum’s stunning spaces – the Media Gallery, Mathematics gallery and Wonderlab, all in one evening. The event also saw the launch of Tonic’s new brand and its experiential catering and service concept.
The event journey began for guests in the Media Gallery, where they were able to discover the very latest event production technologies courtesy of Matrix UK Solutions. This included a small but very impressive selection of the leading-edge technology they own. This ranged from their Meru Interactive servers, intense LED displays, networking and lighting capabilities, as well as a number of new and adaptable PA and video displays in the event space.
Next up for guests to explore was Mathematics: The Winton Galley. Opened in December 2016, the gallery has been designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and is the first of their projects to open in the UK since Dame Zaha Hadid’s sudden death in March 2016. An a cappella group – the Lips – kept guests entertained in the gallery, alongside Psio, a practitioner of the ancient science of Chaldean Numerology who can reveal the truth of an individual’s personality and future via the numbers hidden in their personal details (both acts were provided courtesy of Sternberg Clarke). Guests were also treated to Tonic’s bespoke cocktails and canapés, all themed with mathematics in mind.
Finally, it was on to Wonderlab – the museum’s most interactive, immersive and experiential gallery, where the main party commenced. Here, guests were able to discover more than 50 exhibits in seven zones covering incredible science phenomena that occur around us every day.
Once in Wonderlab, guests were presented with ‘The Theory of Food’ – a thought-provoking and highly innovative science-inspired menu provided by Tonic. Tonic’s interactive live food stalls and science-based food concepts provided non-stop drama and surprise throughout the night. Toying with the physics of food while introducing new concepts and flavours, Tonic took catering to another level to showcase its new brand.
Some classic flavour combinations, enhanced with innovative cooking techniques, provided out-of-this-world dishes that fitted perfectly with the spectacular venue. One particular favourite was a ‘levitating’ petri dish of delicate pasta pillows filled with flavoured butters, gin bubbles with a tonic cloud and samphire, topped off with tomato water bubbles. Guests also played hide and seek using infrared thermal cameras to ‘forage’ for cheddar doughnuts with cep sugar, BBQ duck doughnuts with HP gravy and puffed salmon skin with frozen salmon milk. Sweet and savoury lollipops were frozen before guests’ eyes and included flavours such as green apple and tuna katsuobushi and Seville orange and salted duck skin.
Tonic also added to the evening’s food spectacle by providing a dash of artificial intelligence, courtesy of Robots of London. Pepper, a humanoid robot, interacted with guests before they departed the event, while a Socibot was on-hand to entertain guests outside of the Mathematics gallery before they entered Wonderlab.
The Science Museum championed a range of new and exciting suppliers on the night, including Drinks Fusion, an innovative drinks company who created sublime bespoke cocktails; Smith & Sinclair who wowed guests with edible vapour orbs and edible perfumes; and Guinea Pig, whose interactive Thought Bubbles – levitating orbs – were a real crowd-pleaser.
Lucy Mears, Group Sales Manager at the Science Museum says: “This showcase, in association with Tonic and Matrix UK Solutions, was the perfect opportunity for event professionals to experience all three of our new spaces in one evening. Each of our new spaces offers something different for clients – event bookers are always looking to create spectacle and wonder among guests to ensure a memorable event experience, and our new spaces are guaranteed to achieve this.
“Our new spaces, in particular Mathematics: The Winton Gallery and Wonderlab, have added an extra dimension to our offering at the Science Museum and we are looking forward to hosting a more diverse range of creative and innovative events going forward in collaboration with our fantastic approved suppliers.”
Alastair Moir, Director of Tonic adds: “We are incredibly proud to have been given the opportunity to showcase our new brand at the launch of the Science Museum’s exciting new event spaces. We wanted to create a menu that could fit with the spectacle of using part of this superb British institution as an events space. A Tonic event focuses on the three Cs – creative, conceptual and committed – and we feel we achieved this on the night with our highly innovative ‘science inspired’ menu full of surprises that kept guests talking and asking questions. Above all, it was an evening to remember.”
Jamie Gaskins, Technical Director at Matrix says: “This was a great event to be a part of and the whole team thoroughly enjoyed it. Matrix is at the forefront of delivering AV solutions on a range of global events and this was an amazing opportunity to showcase our existing and newly purchased equipment to event professionals. Not only have we been able to exhibit our AV portfolio, but we’ve also been able to demonstrate our long running and firmly established live event capabilities, knowledge and experienced creative technical team. It was a night brimming with great technology, industry experts and tremendous food. We are proud to have had this opportunity to work with the Science Museum.”
