Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What is 1001 Inventions? 
• Who is behind the 1001 Inventions Initiative?
• What do you hope to achieve with this global touring exhibition?
• What’s in the exhibition?
• Why is the project called ‘1001 Inventions’?
• Who is responsible for uncovering these scientific and historical facts?
• Is this exhibition all about how great Muslims are at science?
• Will the global tour be visiting my city/country?
• Will the exhibition be made available in different languages?
• Is there more to 1001 Inventions than just the exhibition?
• Where can I find out more about 1001 Inventions online?
  
  

 What is 1001 Inventions?

1001 Inventions is a global educational initiative that promotes awareness of the scientific and cultural achievements of Muslim civilisation, during the thousand year period from the 7th century onwards, and how those contributions helped build the foundations of our modern world.

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 Who is behind the 1001 Inventions Initiative?

1001 Inventions is an initiative of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC). FSTC is a non-profit educational foundation consisting of a global network of respected academics specialising in the fields of science, engineering, history and social science.

The 1001 Inventions exhibition is produced in association with the Jameel Foundation, which is a British charity chaired by its Patron Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel – a Saudi Arabian businessman who was also responsible for establishing the Jameel Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

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 What do you hope to achieve with this global touring exhibition?

The 1001 Inventions global tour aims to achieve the following:

• Promote an accurate understanding of the thousand years of exceptional advances in science, technology and the arts made by men and women in Muslim civilisation, from the 7th century onwards, which is not well known to the public.
• Generate greater understanding and appreciation of historic contributions towards the development of contemporary science and technology worldwide.
• Demonstrate how our modern scientific understanding owes a great debt to scientists and engineers of many different beliefs and backgrounds, who absorbed and developed knowledge from different civilisations.
• Inspire young people to find career role models in science and engineering. 
   

 What’s in the exhibition?

The 1001 Inventions exhibition features more than sixty interactive exhibits, spread over 600 square metres, featuring reproductions of amazing feats of engineering, electronic games and multi-media showcases.

Split into seven zones, each representing a different sphere of scientific and cultural achievement, the 1001 Inventions exhibition brings to life a Golden Age of Discovery that had a huge, but hidden, influence on the modern world.

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 Why is the project called ‘1001 Inventions’?

For many centuries, there has been a misconception perpetuated by books, movies and the media where Muslim culture and civilisation is characterised by the 1001 Nights stories about Aladdin, Ali Baba, Sinbad, harems and flying carpets. The pioneering role that Muslim civilisation has played in the advancement of science, technology and the arts has been largely ignored.

By calling our initiative 1001 Inventions, we highlight that the picture painted by 1001 Nights stories is inaccurate and fails to recognise how the scientists, scholars and engineers of Muslim civilisation helped lay the foundations of the European Renaissance and ultimately our modern world.

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 Who is responsible for uncovering these scientific and historical facts?

The content of the exhibition has been researched by academic experts and then peer reviewed by a network of leading experts from Universities and Museums around the world.

In addition, the Science Museum in London has employed a panel of renowned experts to review and verify all the information available within the exhibition. 

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  Is this exhibition all about how great Muslims are at science?

The exhibition highlights how people of many different faiths and backgrounds, working within Muslim civilisation, greatly increased our understanding of science and engineering. Muslim civilisation owes a great debt to scientists of many different faiths including Christians, Jews, Hindus as well as Muslims.

In addition, Muslim civilisation was influenced and enhanced by the knowledge received from older and contemporary societies such as the Greek, Chinese, Indian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian civilisations.

The exhibition is about how ideas from many different cultures and societies have helped create the world in which we live today. 

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 Will the global tour be visiting my city/country?

The 1001 Inventions exhibition completed its record-breaking residency at London’s Science Museum on the 30th June 2010, during which time it attracted 400,000 visitors.

Following its record breaking performance at the Science Museum in London, the 1001 Inventions Exhibition is now open in the iconic and historic Sultan Ahmed Square in Istanbul from 18th August till 5th October 2010.

The exhibition will then travel to North America to continue its tour of major cities in the USA and Canada.

We are finalising the tour itinerary. We can confirm that we expect to visit 30 major cities over the next four years across five continents. If you would like to know when we’ll be coming to a city near you, then please sign up to our newsletter (on our website) Twitter or Facebook page.

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 Will the exhibition be made available in different languages?

Yes, as well as English, we intend to translate the exhibition into multiple languages including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Arabic and Turkish. 

Different translations will be made available to serve different territories and audiences.

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 Is there more to 1001 Inventions than just the exhibition?

1001 Inventions is a global educational initiative which produces books, websites, films, teaching resources, conferences and events.

To complement the exhibition, we’ll be running a series of events across the country in partnership with different educational organisations. Please visit us online to sign up for updates.

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 Where can I find out more about 1001 Inventions online?

• Our main website: www.1001inventions.com

• Twitter: www.twitter.com/1001inventions

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/1001inventions 

• YouTube: www.youtube.com/1001inventions