It's hard to know who's going to enjoy Motat's newest exhibition more - children, who will be gobsmacked by the prehistoric technology of the past, or adults who'll love looking at treasured gadgets from their youth. For me, Get Smart was a nostalgic trip to a past made magical thanks to the Walkman, flip phones and Videosport game consoles.
For my son, it was a parade of impossibly old-fashioned gizmos - and a chance to enjoy free rein on all manner of arcade games. The Get Smart exhibition is what people in the museum trade describe as having intergenerational appeal, and there really is so much to sigh and marvel over.
The approach to the exhibition area (formerly an aviation display hall) is via an avenue of towering pillars lit from within by ultraviolet lights. Immediately, there's a sense of the future embracing the past.
The focal point of the space is a 10m tall tower made of moving lights with a massive wraparound screen covered in a patchwork of photos. Visitors can upload selfies taken on-site in the photo booth. "wonderwall of gadgets" - a series of alcoves that include wind up gramophones, an Edison wax cylinder, music boxes, a magic lantern, the grooviest old TVs (including a Formica wood-look beauty), ghetto blasters and reel to reel audio equipment. I especially coveted the snazzy briefcase that housed a 3-in-1 record, radio and cassette player. Then it was on to the telephone section where the "ultra-sleek" brick hangs out with the Motorola carphone. The ubiquitous Nokia 3210 (one of the most popular phones of all time) reminded me of happy days when a ringing mobile literally thrilled when it trilled. From personal digital organisers, dictaphones, palm pilots, a Blackberry, the trail of technology eventually reaches the nanotech of the present.
Kerry Jimson, Motat's concept leader, explains how Get Smart originated as telling the story of the evolution of the smartphone.
