New £3 million interactive gallery to open at NMPFT

The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford has announced that Experience TV, a new £3 million interactive gallery exploring the world of television, will open in Summer 2006.
As well as allowing the Museum to display a substantial part of its world class television collection - in some cases for the first time - Experience TV will allow visitors to walk into a replica studio and find out how television is made, as well as trying their hand at reading the news or presenting the weather.
From John Logie Baird's original apparatus to a Jim'll Fix It badge, Experience TV will contain many of the objects that make up the story of TV. Important televisions and studio cameras will sit alongside the likes of Wallace & Gromit and the Play School toys - reunited with their famous windows - to create the only gallery of its kind in Europe with hundreds of objects from NMPFT's collections on display. The production zone will include a working quiz show set, demonstrating everything from studio lighting effects to vision mixing while a virtual studio will allow visitors to find themselves in various scenarios that reflect modern TV techniques.
Kathryn Blacker, the NMPFT's Project Director for Experience TV, said: "This won't just be an opportunity to enjoy some fantastic telly nostalgia - though there will be plenty on show. The gallery will also allow people to have a go in front of the camera and try behind the scenes tasks to really get under the skin of television. We also plan to have live interpretation and formal and informal workshops for people who want to take things a little bit further and participate in making their own TV."
In addition to half a million pounds (£500,000) of private sector funding from Bradford & Bingley plc, the project's major public sector funders include regional development agency Yorkshire Forward (£900,000), the European Regional Development Fund (£700,000), The Heritage Lottery Fund (£400,000) and the DCMS/Wolfson fund (£200,000). Experience TV is also supported by the BBC.
The Gallery will be designed by Redman Design Associates.
(GB)