1851der tent at the Great Exhibition Road Festival

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a free three-day celebration of curiosity, discovery and exploration in South Kensington, with partners and institutions across the South Kensington Estate hosting special events and exhibitions during that time.

In 2019, Big Ideas acted on behalf of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to build and curate their festival tent and exhibition content: The ‘Original’ Great Exhibition Road festival. 

Following a pause during the height of the pandemic, the festival returns in 2022 with a new inspiring and engaging tent for the public to interact with and discover how innovations today are changing the world. More details soon.

In 2019, the 1851der tent told the story of Prince Albert’s ‘original’ Great Exhibition to the public sparking excitement and interest in science and engineering.

Festival-goers were invited to experience some of the marvels from 1851 with help from the cutting edge technology of 2019. This included the live 3D printing and construction of the iconic Crystal Palace as well as the chance to step inside the original exhibition with help from our 1851der app.

This allowed stereographs from both 1851 and 2019 to come alive in 3D when looked at through our cardboard viewers – the original Victorian virtual reality!