29-422: National Motor Museum may refer to: National Motor Museum, Beaulieu , England National Motor Museum, Birdwood , South Australia Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title National Motor Museum . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
58-469: A gallery of Hollywood memorabilia and "American Painting Now", an exhibit of 22 large-scale works by contemporary American artists. A 300-seat theater screened A Time to Play , a multi-screen film by Art Kane showing American schoolchildren playing various playground games . After the Expo, the site continued to operate as Man and His World, an ongoing exhibition held every summer. Like most countries at
87-526: A personal mascot for the bonnet of his Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. Sykes originally crafted a figurine of a female model, Eleanor Thornton , in fluttering robes, pressing a finger against her lips – to symbolise the secret of the love between John and Eleanor, his secretary. The figurine was consequently named The Whisper . Additional attractions include the National Motor Museum Monorail , veteran bus ride, playground, restaurant and
116-404: A recreational area named Man at Play, but they did not come to fruition. By 1980, the building's future was still unclear, as the city was cleaning it up in hopes of finding a partner to redevelop it. Ultimately, the building remained closed and unused until 1990. In August 1990, Environment Canada committed $ 17.5 million to turn Biosphere into an interactive museum showcasing and exploring
145-486: A substantial part of the Palace House and grounds, including the partially ruined Beaulieu Abbey . Among the monastery buildings to have been preserved are the domus (now used for functions and exhibitions), and the refectory, which is now the parish church. The National Motor Museum is one of several attractions on Lord Montagu's Beaulieu estate which are marketed jointly as "Beaulieu". One admission ticket includes
174-417: Is a double-layer dome in which the inner and outer layers are connected by a latticework of struts. A complex system of shades was used to control its internal temperature. The sun-shading system was an attempt by the architect to reflect the same biological processes that the human body relies on to maintain its internal temperature. Fuller's original idea for the geodesic dome was to incorporate "pores" into
203-798: The COVID-19 pandemic . In June 2022, the museum lit up in green in support of World Environment Day . In 2021, control of the Biosphere was transferred from Environment Canada to Space for Life , the City of Montreal's complex of nature museums. The museum is housed in the former pavilion built by the United States for Expo 67 . The architectural engineer of the geodesic dome was Buckminster Fuller. The building originally formed an enclosed structure of steel and acrylic cells, 76 metres (249 ft) in diameter and 62 metres (203 ft) high. It
232-554: The George A. Fuller Company , began in December 1965. The Expo opened on 27 April 1967 and ran until 29 October 1967 - Canada's Summer of Love. Upon entering the pavilion, visitors ascended a 135-foot (41 m) escalator, reported to be the longest unsupported escalator in the world, to reach the exhibit platforms. The two uppermost platforms held "Destination: Moon", an exhibit on NASA 's space programs; spacecraft were hung from
261-659: The Montagu Motor Museum ) is a museum in the village of Beaulieu , set in the heart of the New Forest , in the English county of Hampshire . The museum was founded in 1952 by Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu , as a tribute to his father, John, 2nd Baron Montagu , who was one of the pioneers of motoring in the United Kingdom, being the first person to drive a motor car into
290-563: The United States Travel Service and the Smithsonian Institution . The pavilion reverted to its nature theme in 1972, with the addition of a troop of baboons, a Japanese garden, and a children's adventure area, Sleeping Beauty's Fantasy Land. In 1973, Biosphere was converted to an anti-pollution exhibit titled "Man and His Environment", sponsored by Hydro-Québec . On 20 May 1976, Biosphere
319-480: The 2003 animated Jacob Two-Two TV episode "Jacob Two-Two and the Notorious Knit Knapper", in which it is used as the headquarters for a group of seniors who plan on knitting a giant tea cosy to cover Montreal. The Biosphere made an appearance during the finales of The Amazing Race: Family Edition and The Amazing Race Canada 4 . The Biosphere appears in the game Civilization VI (in
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#1732776145447348-575: The BBC series. It closed on 3 November 2024, and the BBC have now reclaimed all the vehicles. The museum also hosts a collection of the well-known Rolls-Royce radiator mascots – the Spirit of Ecstasy – also known as the Flying Lady . The collection includes The Whisper, a figurine commissioned by John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, the 2nd Baron to his friend Charles Robinson Sykes who sculpted
377-399: The Expo, the United States donated its pavilion structure to the City of Montreal for use in the exhibition. The pavilion was renamed to Biosphere and opened in 1968 as an aviary and arboretum , featuring four suspended gardens and hundreds of birds. For the 1971 season, the United States returned to use Biosphere as its national pavilion, with a display titled "Visit USA", sponsored by
406-669: The UK motor industry. The museum is run by the National Motor Museum Trust Ltd, a registered charity. An unusual feature of the new museum building in 1972 is the National Motor Museum Monorail passing through its interior. This was inspired by the light railway running through the US Pavilion at the Montreal World's Fair , Expo 67 . Today, in addition to around 285 vehicles manufactured since
435-469: The architect Sir Hugh Casson was created to drive the project, and the architect Leonard Manasseh was given the contract for the design of the building which was primarily the work of his partner Ian Baker . By 1972, the collection exceeded 300 exhibits. In a ceremony performed by the Duke of Kent the new purpose-built museum building in the parkland surrounding Palace House was opened on 4 July 1972:
464-691: The cars used in various James Bond films were displayed in the Bond in Motion – No Time To Die exhibition in 2022. A Jaguar XKR Convertible used in the Bond film Die Another Day is part of the museum's permanent collection. The exhibit "World of Top Gear " showcased cars created and used by Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond , James May , Matt LeBlanc , Rory Reid , Chris Harris , Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff from June 2009 until November 2024. The exhibit welcomed over five million visitors, showcasing both vehicles and props from
493-529: The design of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World . Disney designer John Hench expanded on Biosphere's three-quarter-sphere to create a full sphere appearing to be balanced on legs. The structure was used prominently in the original Battlestar Galactica television series episode " Greetings from Earth ". Scenes for Robert Altman 's post-apocalyptic ice age film Quintet were shot on site as well. The Biosphere appears in
522-464: The dome's steel frame, including the Freedom 7 , Gemini 7 , and Apollo AS-202 capsules. On the mezzanine level, the "American Spirit" exhibit displayed a wide variety of artifacts, including American Indian crafts, folk art objects, guitars owned by famous musicians, a collection of dolls, and an array of almost 300 hats, representing a range of regions and occupations. Other attractions included
551-442: The enclosed system, further likening it to the sensitivity of human skin, but the shading system failed to work properly and was eventually disabled. Architects from Golden Metak Productions designed the interior exhibition space. Visitors had access to four themed platforms divided into seven levels. The building included a 37-metre-long (121 ft) escalator, the longest ever built at the time. The Minirail monorail ran through
580-536: The following attractions: Montreal Biosph%C3%A8re The Biosphere , also known as the Montreal Biosphere ( French : Biosphère de Montréal ), is a museum dedicated to the environment in Montreal , Quebec , Canada. It is housed in the former United States pavilion constructed for Expo 67 located within the grounds of Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's Island . The museum's geodesic dome
609-403: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Motor_Museum&oldid=933011372 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages National Motor Museum, Beaulieu The National Motor Museum (originally
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#1732776145447638-509: The late-19th century, the museum has a collection of motoring books, journals, photographs, films, and automobilia of the world and is affiliated to the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust . The "On Screen Cars" exhibit has a display of TV and film cars including Del Boy's Reliant Regal as featured in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses , Mr. Bean ’s lime green Mini and Doctor Who ' s Bessie. Some of
667-460: The name was changed to the "National Motor Museum", reflecting a change of status from a private collection to a charitable trust and highlighting Montagu's stated aim to provide Britain with a National Motor Museum "worthy of the great achievements of its motor industry". The opening of the museum coincided with the UK launch of the Jaguar XJ12 which made it an appropriate week for celebrating
696-413: The pavilion. In 2021, The New York Times picked the dome as one of "the 25 Most Significant Works of Postwar Architecture". The carbon molecule buckminsterfullerene was named for Biosphere's architect, R. Buckminster Fuller, because the molecule's structure, resembling a geodesic sphere, reminded its co-discoverer, Harold Kroto , of his visit to the pavilion at Expo 67. The structure influenced
725-701: The water ecosystems of the Great Lakes - Saint Lawrence River regions. The museum opened on 6 June 1995. It inhabits a set of enclosed buildings designed by Éric Gauthier, inside the original steel skeleton. The Biosphere changed its name in 2007 to become an environment museum. It offers interactive activities and presents exhibitions about the major environmental issues related to water, climate change , air, ecotechnologies, and sustainable development . The museum shows support for multiple causes by lighting up in different colors on special occasions. In April 2020, it lit up in multiple colors to show support during
754-506: The yard of the Houses of Parliament , and having introduced King Edward VII (then the Prince of Wales ) to motoring during the 1890s. At first, the museum consisted of just five cars and a small collection of automobilia displayed in the front hall of Lord Montagu's ancestral home, Palace House; but such was the popularity of this small display that the collection soon outgrew its home, and
783-555: Was designed by Buckminster Fuller . The structure was originally built as the United States pavilion at Expo 67 . The United States Information Agency , which was responsible for the U.S. presence at the exposition, revealed its plans for the pavilion in June 1965. The geodesic dome exterior was designed by R. Buckminster Fuller with Shoji Sadao and Geometrics Inc., while the interior structures and exhibits were designed by Cambridge Seven Associates . The construction project, led by
812-425: Was severely damaged in a fire. Sparked by a welding crew during structural renovations, the fire burned away the building's transparent acrylic bubble, but the hard steel truss structure remained. After the fire, the city was determined to maintain the Biosphere and continue using it as an open-air structure, possibly containing suspended gardens or a concert venue. Plans were announced in 1977 to transform it into
841-456: Was transferred to wooden sheds in the grounds of the house. The reputation and popularity of the Beaulieu collection continued to grow: during 1959, the museum's "attendance figures" reached 296,909. By 1964, annual attendance exceeded the half a million mark and a decision was taken to create a purpose-built museum building in the grounds of the Beaulieu estate. A design committee chaired by
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