Science Museum Partners With Serendipity Arts For Free Events In London This June

The Science Museum has announced a new partnership with Serendipity Arts, with Innovation Lates at the museum opening the free cross-institution Great Exhibition Road Festival. The festival will launch on Friday 5 June with Innovation Lates at the Science Museum, a special Lates celebrating creativity, innovation and exchange. Serendipity Arts is a not-for-profit foundation which nurtures artistic practice, research, and cross-cultural dialogue across South Asia and internationally. The organisation supports emerging and established artists working across disciplines.

This summer’s Great Exhibition Road Festival marks 175 years since the Great Exhibition of 1851, the profits of which helped establish the museums, colleges and cultural institutions of South Kensington. The weekend is packed full of hands-on workshops, including the Science Museum’s Mission to Space and Rocket Mice sessions, fascinating talks and compelling performances. It will feature a special live performance presented by Serendipity Arts, Giants on the Move: A Puppet Street Parade, directed by puppeteer Dadi Pudumjee, which will wind its way among the crowds on Exhibition Road.

Shefali Munjal, Co-Founder Patron at Serendipity Arts, said: ‘At Serendipity Arts, we view the arts as a way to activate spaces and invite meaningful dialogue between people. Our collaboration with the Science Museum and the Great Exhibition Road Festival allows us to extend this vision into a global public context, where the museum becomes an instrument of experience and the street a site of collective encounter. It reflects our commitment to fostering connections across cultures, disciplines, and communities through shared artistic expression. Through such collaborations, we continue to build meaningful cultural bridges across geographies, bringing together art, science, and innovation in ways that resonate with diverse audiences.’

Peter Dickinson, Director of Audiences at the Science Museum Group, said: ‘The Great Exhibition drew creators, scientists, inventors and millions of visitors to South Kensington, and 175 years on, that instinct to look outward and celebrate innovation and creativity together is still what drives us. Join us as we showcase this throughout a weekend packed full of free fun for everyone, in partnership with Serendipity Arts and the Great Exhibition Road Festival.’

Smriti Rajgarhia, Director at Serendipity Arts, said: ‘Through our collaboration with the Science Museum, and our participation in Innovation Lates and the Great Exhibition Road Festival, we are exploring how artistic experiences can move across formats and spaces, from immersive works within the museum to large-scale public interventions on the street. Through projects such as Eyes Shall Deceive (नैनन की ठगी) and Giants on the Move, we hope to show how art can move fluidly between settings, shifting from the intimacy of the museum to the openness of the street. In doing so, these works create participatory, layered, and accessible moments that invite audiences to engage with contemporary artistic practices in new and unexpected ways.’

Innovation Lates

Friday 5 June, 18.30-22.00
Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London
Free, ticketed
Ages: 18+

In collaboration with Serendipity Arts, Innovation Lates will be a free adults-only evening that brings together music, making and ideas inspired by innovation from India.

The after-hours takeover will include poetry and performances in Mathematics: The Winton Gallery while the Open Labs zone returns to Information Age: meet researchers, scientists and makers to learn about contemporary and historical innovation from India. All this alongside the opportunity to turn galleries into a dancefloor with DJ sets, encounter musicians as they journey through the museum or get hands-on with craft activities.

The night will culminate with a live musical performance in the IMAX: The Ronson Theatre, commissioned by Serendipity Arts. Tickets for this performance are £5 and available online or at any ticket desk.

From rhythm and movement to science and storytelling, Innovation Lates invites visitors to explore how creativity and technology continue to shape the world around us.

Great Exhibition Road Festival

Saturday 6 – Sunday 7 June, 12.00-18.00
Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London
Free, register now
Ages: All ages

The Innovation Lates will kickstart this year’s Great Exhibition Road Festival, a free annual celebration of science and the arts held each summer in South Kensington. As part of the festival, Serendipity Arts will present Giants on the Move: A Puppet Street Parade. Exhibition Road will be taken over by a vibrant, pulsing procession as larger-than-life handmade puppets wind through the museum facades and cafes. Each of these giants – built from bamboo frames and hand-stitched cloth made from locally dyed indigo, gold linens, and red threads of wedding sarees – draws from a different community of India. Directed by puppeteer Dadi Pudumjee, a man walks beside an elephant, a camel drifts next to a woman, a deer dances with a child, all while accompanied by drummers setting a steady pulse which will be echoed by the clack of the puppeteers’ steps. This free striking spectacle will move among the crowds of the Great Exhibition Road Festival throughout the weekend.

As part of the festival, the Science Museum will host the Next Gen Zone for young people aged 13 – 25, designed by and for the innovators of tomorrow. Inspired by the Great Exhibition, visitors can step into a souvenir to remember their day; or leave their mark on the festival by joining the Prints, Pigments and Press workshop to investigate the art of printing and the science of pigments by designing a stamp and printing onto a collaborative artwork. In the Family Zone in Kensington Gardens, visitors can discover our solar system and the fascinating world of space exploration in the interactive show, Mission to Space, and for under-5s the Rocket Mice workshops are an opportunity to build and launch rockets using the power of your own stomp. Elsewhere volunteers will lead their ever-popular object handling sessions where visitors can get truly hands-on with history.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Chloë Abley in the Press Office at chloe.abley@sciencemuseum.ac.uk or 020 7942 4818. Images are available to download via this WeTransfer link.

About the Science Museum

The Science Museum is part of the Science Museum Group, the world’s leading group of science museums that share a world-class collection providing an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical achievements from across the globe. Over the last century the Science Museum has grown in scale and scope, inspiring visitors with exhibitions covering topics as diverse as robots, codebreaking, cosmonauts and superbugs. The Science Museum was named a winner of the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year prize for 2020. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk. Follow on X, Facebook and Instagram.

About Serendipity Arts

Serendipity Arts is a not-for-profit cultural organisation nurturing artistic practice, research, education and cross-cultural dialogue across South Asia and internationally. Through grants, residencies, commissions, collaborations and public programmes, it supports artists across disciplines including visual art, music, theatre, dance, craft and design. Its flagship Serendipity Arts Festival in Panjim, Goa, is South Asia’s largest multidisciplinary arts festival, held annually with free public access. The organisation and its leadership have received international recognition for their contributions to culture and accessibility. Founder-Patron Sunil Kant Munjal was conferred the Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite by the French Government, and the Festival has received awards for its commitment to an inclusive cultural environment. Serendipity Arts works with international partners across Europe and the UK, including as a partner of the Pavilion of India at the La Biennale di Venezia 2026. Learn more about Serendipity Arts at www.serendipityarts.org. Follow on X and Instagram.

About Discover South Kensington 

Discover South Kensington brings together the Science Museum and other leading cultural and educational organisations to promote innovation and learning. South Kensington is the home of science, arts and inspiration. Discovery is at the core of what happens here and there is so much to explore every day. discoversouthken.com. 

FAQsWhat is the Science Museum partnering with Serendipity Arts for?

The Science Museum is partnering with Serendipity Arts to present free public events in London as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival in June 2026, including Innovation Lates and the Giants on the Move puppet parade.

When are the events taking place?

Innovation Lates: Friday 5 June 2026, 18.30–22.00 at the Science Museum.

Great Exhibition Road Festival : Saturday 6 June – Sunday 7 June 2026, 12.00–18.00 at the Science Museum and across Exhibition Road in South Kensington.

Do visitors need to book tickets?

Innovation Lates requires free tickets booked in advance. Some add-on activities including the musical performance in the IMAX: The Ronson Theatre require additional paid tickets.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is free and visitors are encouraged to register.

What is Innovation Lates?

Innovation Lates is an adults-only evening event at the Science Museum on Friday 5 June 2026 which celebrates creativity, innovation, music, science, and cultural exchange inspired by India.

What is the Great Exhibition Road Festival?

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a free annual celebration of science and the arts held in South Kensington each summer. The festival is a collaborative initiative involving multiple cultural and educational organisations in South Kensington. The 2026 festival marks 175 years since the Great Exhibition of 1851, whose profits helped establish many of South Kensington’s museums and cultural institutions.

What activities are available for families and children at the Great Exhibition Road Festival?

The Great Exhibition Road Festival 2026 includes free family-friendly activities at the Science Museum, Kensington Gardens, and Exhibition Road, including:

• Giants on the Move - a large-scale outdoor puppet parade
• Mission to Space interactive shows
• Rocket Mice workshops for under-5s
• Printing and pigments workshops
• Youth-focused activities in the Next Gen Zone

What are the nearest stations to the Science Museum?

The Science Museum is a short walk away from South Kensington and Gloucester Road stations which are on the Circle, District and Piccadilly lines. There are also even more bike racks available in the local area if you would like to cycle to the museum.

Are the events indoors or outdoors?

Innovation Lates is indoors at the Science Museum.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival includes indoor activities - for example, the NextGen Zone at the Science Museum – as well as other activities which take place outdoors on Exhibition Road.

Looking to visit? Find out more on the Innovation Lates or Great Exhibition Road Festival webpages.

If you have a ticket or visit enquiry, please get in touch with our Contact Centre. To request media interviews or assets from the press team, visit the Press Office.