The Sun: Living With Our Star Exhibition at The Science Museum London

Animations, archive recordings and film bring to life a unique collection of scientific instruments, technological innovations and historic artefacts. Highlights from the Science Museum collection include the original orrery, made for the Earl of Orrery in 1712 to demonstrate the motions of the Earth and Moon around the Sun, and an astronomical spectroscope made for Norman Lockyer, founder of the Science Museum, who used it to identify the element helium in 1868.
The exhibition also looks at the ongoing work to recreate the nuclear reactions that power the Sun here on Earth. Visitors can get up close to a Tokamak ST25-HTS, a prototype nuclear fusion reactor which successfully created and sustained plasma for a record-breaking 29 hours in 2015.
The exhibition includes several unique interactive experiences designed for visitors to experience and explore the power of the Sun, including a huge illuminated wall display that allows visitors to see the sun rise in different seasons and different locations around the world, and a digital mirror that lets visitors virtually try on a range of sunglasses from the Science Museum collection.