Jessica Reid | 03 April 2022
Bletchley Park reveals opening date for its biggest ever exhibition
The former secret home of WWII codebreakers will also allow visitors to access one of its most historic buildings for the very first time...
The former secret home of WWII codebreakers will also allow visitors to access one of its most historic buildings for the very first time...
One of the UK’s most important museums and heritage sights has announced the opening of its largest exhibition to date.
Bletchley park, once home to World War II codebreakers, will be unveiling The Intelligence Factory on the 28 April 2022.
For the first time ever, visitors to the museum will be able to step inside Block A, a historic, newly restored building at the heart of the site.
The new exhibition will be on display inside the block, and will explain how Bletchley Park became the world’s largest intelligence factory and has continued its legacy to the present day.
Included in the exhibition will be objects, human stories and amazing moments of interaction, all between 1942 and 1945, the period where Bletchley Park’s operation was at its peak. Visitors can learn the personal stories of those who worked to keep the organisation afloat.
Bletchley Park was the first place wartime enigma messages were broken (Shutterstock)
Nearly 9,000 people worked at Bletchley Park, with around 75% being women. From tracking the positions of enemy vessels and handling millions of items of date, to feeding, housing and recruiting its staff, the running of Bletchley Park was a truly impressive operation.
Other highlights of the new exhibition include a close-up look at wartime machinery, and interactive displays allowing visitors to get hands-on with intelligence-management techniques.
Although most of Block A will be taken up by The Intelligence Factory, a third quarter will house a new gallery room displaying temporary displays.
The first 18-month exhibition called The Art of Data: Making Sense of the World focuses on the techniques used by the codebreakers to manage information at scale, and explores how data visualisation helps us to make sense of the world today.
Entry to both The Intelligence Factory and The Art of Data: Making Sense of the World are included with admission to Bletchley Park.
Find out more at bletchleypark.org.uk
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