The Industrial Cradle

Liaoning Province is China’s home of machinery. This local industry has made a huge contribution in China’s early years, and continues to play an important role at this time. Nowadays, China has gained the reputation of a world player in different fields of industry. For this exhibition, NorthernLight was challenged to create an experience that celebrates and shows the importance of technology in the historical, modern and future industry in China and the rest of the world.

Most museums showcase the history and heritage of industry, focusing on goods and machinery. While these are also an important factor in this exhibition, the focus lies on the technological developments that produced these stories and artefacts. Desk research, expert consultations and site visits to local factories led to the design of the interactive experience: the Industrial Cradle.

In this exhibition, visitors interact with the technology behind the western industrial revolutions before looking into the origin of the local industry. The largest part of the exhibition is an interactive factory that highlights contemporary industrial achievements through interactive models and simulators. At the end of the exhibition, Liaoning’s latest feats in technologies of the future are showcased: artificial intelligence and robotics.