Discover Steampunk at the Science Museum of Virginia

After diving into the realm of makerspaces, I feel we need to elaborate on this even more by talking about something I know many of you adore: Steampunk! Steampunk has been brought to life here in Richmond, Virginia at the Discover Steampunk exhibit. Watch our video below where Jennifer Guild discusses the Discover Steampunk traveling exhibit at the Science Museum of Virginia, and read on for more:

Discover Steampunk is a traveling exhibition that showcases… you guessed it. Steampunk! Steampunk is such a fun and intriguing topic, likely because it combines the mystery of the past with the potential of the future. It’s a mix of Victorian style and steam-powered technologies that show us what a different future could look like, one with the technology of steam power running the show. Inspired by the works of H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley, Thomas Blanchard, Jules Verne, Jan Matzeliger, Isaac Singer, and George Eastman, this exhibit shows us the rich history that steampunk has, showcases examples of the style, and presents several inventions and aesthetic pieces that bring the idea to life in a fun and engaging way.

Perhaps, my favorite takeaway from this piece was that H.G. Wells had predicted the idea of the internet in 1937. He saw a form of connection that would exist in the future that would provide information to anyone anywhere in the world at any time. However, he thought it would bring forth world peace, to get information readily available to the world, a much more optimistic outlook than what the future of the internet actually revealed.

This exhibit does a great job highlighting and celebrating the retro futuristic ideals of steampunk. It projects a futuristic outlook that one might have had in the Victorian era. While it was informative and offered many visual cues, I also liked that it had a section that was hands on, encouraging guests to touch and play with scientific electrical tools such as the theremin, which makes sounds based on your body’s vibrations.

Steampunk and the makerspace movement

In our interview at Discover Steampunk, we learned that the heart of steampunk really lies in the want to build and learn and discover, not in the final product of any invention. That will and want to try and create something new is the essence of steampunk, itself. This is why steampunk and the makerspace movement are so well intertwined today. The makerspace movement has emerged to help people get creative to try and merge different mediums to make something new. It offers a space for people to come and build whatever they’d like to. It offers a safe space for them to try and fail and try again. The heart of building and invention lies in both the steampunk and makerspace movements.  

As of August 2024, the Discover Steampunk exhibit can be found at the Science Museum of Virginia. If you’re reading this after then, follow the exhibition to see where it’s heading next!