National Media Museum

As part of the Science Museum Group, the decision to locate the Museum in Bradford was driven by the city's historic contribution to the development of cinema and film-making in the UK, and the desire to make the National Collections accessible to a wider audience.

From its outset the Museum has set new standards in display and interactivity. Visitors can obtain a hands-on experience of the media, learning how television cameras work or trying their hand at animation among other activities. Special events bring you face-to-face with leading photographers, stars and programme makers, allowing you to ask the questions you want answered. Three film festivals bring you the very best in new and classic film. Above all, the Museum invites you explore the media, the world it presents and to think again.

The Museum's renowned collection includes more than three million items of historical, social and cultural value. These include three key 'firsts': the world's first negative, the earliest television footage and what is regarded as the world's first example of moving pictures – Louis Le Prince's 1888 film of Leeds Bridge. Alongside this you will find the Playschool toys, the longest-established IMAX cinema and the only publicly accessible Cinerama cinema in the world.

Collection details

Archives, Film and Media, Personalities, Photography, Science and Technology, Social History

Key artists and exhibits

• The world's first negative
• The earliest television footage
• Louis Le Prince's 1888 film of Leeds Bridge (regarded as the world's first example of moving pictures)
• The Playschool toys (Humpty, Jemima, Big Ted and Little Ted) and Dapple the rocking horse, as well as the three windows (round, square and arched) and the cuckoo clock from the BBC TV programme.