Power Up
I have fond memories as a child playing Mario Kart and Super Mario Brothers on the Nintendo NES at Christmas time with my family and being jealous of my friends who had Sega Mega Drives. Other than that I don’t remember being obsessed with video games as my peers, so when I was invited along to the VIP launch of ‘Power UP’, the Science Museum’s new Hands On Video Games Collection, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I figured the exhibition would be less hands on and more of a historical journey from the Atari to the Xbox One. Boy was I wrong. When the Science Museum says the exhibition is hands on, they weren’t lying.
My cousin and I lost her husband upon entry into the exhibition, because it really is a gamer heaven. There’s over 160 gaming systems preloaded with hundreds of games which guests are allowed to play on during their time spent inside this gamer’s paradise.
The three hours we spent inside ‘Power UP’ really wasn’t enough time, especially after I discovered games I hadn’t remembered I used to play when I was younger. Quake, Earthworm Jim, Lemmings, Rayman, Spyro, Aladdin, Crash Bandicoot and Jazz Rabbit! So many memories came flashing back and I realised I was more of a gamer when I was younger than I remember. The Rabid VR Ride (Oculus Rift), it is the so cool and definitely the new frontier of gaming. It’s sensory overload and such a cool experience. Definitely not one for those who get motion sickness though.
It’s such a shame that this exhibition is only open until the 7th of August as it is definitely one that will have gamers attending over and over again. My cousin’s husband was already trying to organise me to take her on a girl’s day out, so he could organise a boy’s day out spent playing video games. He was ecstatic that he set the highest score on all the racing games before spending time bonding with other gamers in a Goldeneye shootout.
Overall we had an absolute blast in this exhibition and its very family friendly. It was awesome seeing kids and adults alike enjoy the evolution in gaming technology and reliving childhood memories. It’s really cool that adults can also enjoy adult only evening events, if they want to escape the younger generation. Ticket prices are quite reasonable as well. £8 for an hour and a half or £28 for a full day pass. So this summer holidays, grab your gamer friends, kids or partner and head down to the Science Machine to ‘Power UP’, though don’t be surprised if they never want to leave.
Reporter: Tegan LeBon. Twitter/Instagram: toogs1
Twitter/Instagram:ScienceMuseum #PowerUP
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
The Science Museum
Exhibition Road
South Kensington
SW7 2DD
Daily 90 minute sessions: 11.00, 12.45, 14.30, 16.15
Adults £8, concessions, senior and family tickets available
Day passes – entry to all four sessions: To book an all-day ticket please call 0207 942 4000 or 0331 241 4000
Adults £28, concessions £23.50
60 minute sessions at Science Museum Lates on 27 July: 18.15, 19.30, 20.45
£5 – over 18s only
Adult only evening sessions on 29 July, 30 July and 5 August: 19.30–22.00
£12 – over 18s only
Games added for the adult-only Lates sessions include: Grand Theft Auto series, Call of Duty (Multiplayer Console LAN), Quake 3 (Multiplayer PC Lan), Left for Dead 1 & 2, Army of Two, Dead Rising 2, Alien Isolation, Dead Island amongst others.
