- JEDDAH: What is the story behind the modern Arabic numerical system? Who was the first person to attempt flight in 852 AD? Who invented the first instrument for finding cardinal directions based on the position of the sun in the sky? How did hospitals become centers of healing rather than hospices for the dying?
These and other questions are answered in “1001 Inventions,” which reviews ten centuries of scientific innovation in the Muslim world.
The exhibition — sponsored by the Abdul Latif Jameel International Foundation, a program of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Programs (ALJCSP) — runs through Feb. 24 and again from March 13 to April 25 at the Science Museum in South Kensington, London.
ALJCSP President Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel attended recently the screening of the short film produced for the exhibition that stars Sir Ben Kingsley, who plays the role of a cantankerous librarian who takes schoolchildren on a journey to meet some of the Ummah’s most famous historical scientific figures.
The exhibition uses interactive technology to provide visitors with a high-tech tour of old-tech innovations
The exhibition will later tour countries in Europe, North America, East Asia, Africa and the Middle East. For more information, please visit http://1001inventions.com.