A look inside the “007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. (Kelsey Ryan)
Bond buffs will be in 007th heaven at “007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond,” a new show co-created by the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI).
It’s an adventurous look at the technology and science behind James Bond, the fictional secret agent working for the U.K. intelligence service MI6. Bond was first introduced in fiction in Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel “Casino Royale” and in film in the 1962 movie “Dr. No.”
Now MSI is an asset of MI6. Two large galleries showcase tricked-out vehicles, artifacts and gadgets from 25 films* in the series, along with movie clips that set the scene. It’s a joint effort between the museum and EON Productions, which produces the film franchise, with assistance from the Ian Fleming Foundation.
“There’s something from every film,” director of collections Kathleen McCarthy told WTTW News. “We also partnered with the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., to put some real spy artifacts in the exhibit. The Bond stuff is movie props, but it’s not so fanciful that it didn’t exist. What Bond was doing was pretty much what real spies were doing.”
When working on an exhibit about a superspy, it’s good intelligence to surveil your subject.
“We watched five Bond movies a week for five weeks straight,” McCarthy said. “And it took me a month to not get in an elevator and figure out how I might plan to get out of it, should I need to.”
“007 Science” is a special exhibit that requires the purchase of an additional ticket, and entry is timed. There’s also a VIP upgrade with extra perks, but the museum still won’t let you test-drive an Aston Martin.
A look inside the “007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. (Kelsey Ryan)
Previously there have been museum shows with cars from the films, but this is the first exhibition to look at the inventiveness behind Bond.
“It’s about creativity, ingenuity, scientific principles, and it also shows the development of technology over time,” McCarthy said. “When you can bring it together through the lens of popular culture, it provides an access point that makes it easy for people to get excited, understand it and then retain it.”
Interactive elements allow visitors to design and test spy devices using field technologies in a lab modeled after the Q Branch, where Bond received technical briefings.
On opening day, families and hardcore fans jostled for selfies in front of their favorite artifacts, including the banged-up car that rolled seven times in “Casino Royale” (2016), the weird Wetbike that Roger Moore rode in “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977) and the jetpack used in “Thunderball” (1965).
Somehow I missed the golden gun from “The Man With the Golden Gun” — probably distracted by the bigger, shinier things — but they tell me it was there.
My favorite item was decidedly low-tech: the dagger shoes from “From Russia with Love” (1963), which not only look sharp but are sharp. Would love to see those in the gift shop in a men’s size 10 ½.
“007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond” is open through Oct. 27.
*There are two additional James Bond films that were not made by EON Productions — the 1967 spoof “Casino Royale” with David Niven and “Never Say Never Again,” Sean Connery’s final performance as Bond from 1983.
Note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the film “The Man With the Golden Gun.”
A look inside the “007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. (Kelsey Ryan)
