My father’s job and mine appear to have little in common. He’s a mechanical engineer and I’m an illustrator. However, I’ve inherited his engineer’s fascination with the way machines operate. It runs through my work in a rich vein, whether I’m illustrating how SpaceX sends astronauts to the International Space Station or how a virus’s spread is tracked by logging its genetic mutations.
London’s Science Museum in South Kensington is packed with thousands of exhibits conceived by skilled people with the same fascination, and it’s the reason I love visiting it. Here I’ve highlighted a preferred walk through, starting on the third floor, progressing down to the main entrance on Exhibition Road — and illustrated with some favourite items on the way. It can be completed in three hours but, personally, I’d set aside a whole day for it.
