The world of James Bond comes to life in the Science Museum's latest exhibition.
| The reactor room was so realistic, we actually felt as though it was up to us to save the world. |
If you thought James Bond was only for people born - well a very long time ago - then think again.
He may have been around for 40 years but he's still the most famous secret agent in the world and the caped crusaders and action men of the 21st Century don't even come close.
That's why we were more than happy to attend the launch of the Science Museum's latest exhibition, 'Bond, James Bond', dedicated entirely to 007.
We knew from the moment we set foot in the exhibition that just like his films, we were in for a very fast ride.
With flashing lights, movie clips playing in the background and even a reconstruction of M's office, it was like stepping onto the set of all 20 Bond films rolled into one.
After registering our secret agent cards (which we collected at the front door) we were then given our mission - to make it to the end of the exhibition, cracking as many codes as we could along the way and learning as much about the world of 007 as possible.
Unlike other boring exhibitions we were actually encouraged to play with the objects and gadgets and what wicked gadgets they were. Everything from secret cameras to voice activated doors.
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The car's the star - Bond's Aston Martin takes to the air in Die Another Day. © Keith Hamshere, Danjaq LLC and United Artists Corporation. | |
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Even the things we couldn't touch, like the golden gun, the crocodile submarine and Acrostar from Octopussy were fascinating.
For us the best thing about the exhibition was that it made us feel as though we'd actually stepped into James Bond's shoes and for a couple of hours and that we were real secret agents.
The reactor room, where we had 60 seconds to diffuse a bomb, was so realistic with its control panel and fluorescent lights, we actually felt as though it was up to us to save the world. And we probably would have, had we not cracked under the pressure and pushed all the wrong flashing buttons!
Another highlight was seeing some of the cars driven by the many actors who have played 007 over the years. Our favourite by far was his latest model, the Aston Martin Vanquish, which Pierce Brosnan drives in the upcoming 'Die Another Day'.
At the end of the exhibition we scanned our secret agent cards through a state of the art computer to see how well we rated as spies. We won't go into too much detail about the results but lets just say we don't think there'll be jobs waiting for us at M16.
Still, the James Bond exhibition is definitely one of the best we've ever been to and we'd recommend it to anyone, no matter what age you are.
We also reckon it doesn't matter whether you're male or female, there's something for everyone and if you weren't a huge 007 fan before you went, you'll probably leave as one.
About the team
This story was produced by Ashleigh Jordan, 12 and Nestor Sayo, 11. It was published in the Clerkenwell and Islington News.
Photo Credit: © Keith Hamshere. © 2002 Danjaq LLC and United Artists Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
