On a short break to Stratford-upon-Avon, home of William Shakespeare, poet, playwright and actor, we paid a visit to the MAD Museum. The acronym MAD stands for 'Mechanical Art and Design' where members of the public can interact with art.
The museum is the brainchild of founder, Richard Simmons and with the help of his son and nephew opened the very first mechanical museum in the UK in 2012. On their website it states there are 60 pieces of art work made by inventors all around the world. Dont you just love a geek!
I used to hate Shakespeare with a passion at school but I enjoyed the film 'Gremlins,' so I quite liked the 'Gremlins Vandalise Shakespeare' exhibit! Looking back there wasn鈥檛 much I liked about school.
There were all kinds of pieces, from moving models, marble runs, and a big wheel made out of Meccano, which for me, was a blast from the past.
Nearly all of the exhibits were interactive, either by pushing a button, clapping (like a seal 馃榿), or using a foot pedal to bring the piece alive. I'm sure the adults present found it just as much fun as the children.
The museum is reasonably priced at:
Adult: 拢8.80
Concession: 拢7.50
Child (6 -15 years): 拢6.50
Child 5 years and under: Free
Family (2 Adults and 2 Children): 拢25.00
Extra Child with Family: 拢4.00
It's not very often you can visit anywhere under 拢10 these days. You don't even have to book, you can just turn up. A good one to two hours well spent!