Thumbs Up For Turing
Through storytelling and visual art we explore the impact Alan Turing’s work and life has had on our lives today
Remembering Alan Turing
Commissioned by The Museum of Science and Industry for young children to teenagers, Thumbs Up For Turing is an interactive exhibition and workshop. Its aim was to share knowledge about Alan Turing; the father of modern computing who was persecuted for his sexuality.
Through storytelling and visual art we explore how his work has impacted on our lives today, with activities tailored to wide-ranging age groups. Younger children engaged in conversation about Alan Turning using an image of his statue in Sackville Park in Manchester, discussing how he helped crack codes in World War II. Young teens engaged in conversations about the controversy around his death and that homosexuality was historically a crime.
Conversations explored difference, isolation and how positive our world can be when we celebrate diversity. Hundreds of young people coloured a print of Alan’s statue using their thumb prints offering a ‘thumbs up’ in his memory, some wrote poems dedicated to Turing and others created flags to reflect their personal identity. They were all exhibited at The Museum of Science and Industry.