Never Alone closed on 10 February 2019. For details of our current exhibitions, take a look at our what’s on page.
What happens when everything is connected? This exhibition investigated the stories behind the rapidly expanding ‘Internet of Things’.
There are now more devices connected to the internet than there are people on the planet. Smart homes, virtual assistants and connected toys offer more ways to be online than ever before.
These devices can make us safer, bring people together, and make everyday tasks easier. Yet for many, the connected world is uncharted territory. Does being permanently online make you feel safe—or suspicious?
At this exhibition, we invited you to think about the decisions you make when you click ‘OK’, discover how the newest smart devices might improve your life, and see objects from our collection that prove concerns about privacy and surveillance are not unique to the internet age.
Never Alone showed how being connected is changing the world—and what it means for you.
Model with internet connected devices (l-r): e-reader, My Friend Cayla, Fitbit, security webcam, Amazon Echo, Disney World MagicBand, Hello Barbie, Amazon Echo Dot, Fisher Price Smart Bear
CCTV watches over children in a Berlin playground, 1964
© United Press International, Daily Herald/Science Museum Group
Ticka Camera (1906), designed to look like a pocket watch
© National Science and Media Museum/SSPL
Dima Yarovinsky’s artwork I Agree
BBC flesh tone reference card for colour television cameras, featuring ‘Cardboard Kate’, 1976–1977
© Science Museum Group collection
Models with internet connected devices
Stirn’s waistcoat camera, 1886–1896
Kodak collection © Science Museum Group collection
A page from an album of criminal register photographs, about 1890
© Science Museum Group collection
