Museum late: The Phillips Machine: money in full flow

About the event

When: Thursday 20 March, 5pm to 8pm (last entry 7.30pm)

Join us every third Thursday of the month as we stay open late, giving you extra time to explore our museum. This month we’ve partnered with the Financial Times to bring you a virtual reality experience like no other.

Discover the Phillips Machine – one of the first ever computer models of a national economy, created in 1949. Originally made from Perspex and water, we have the virtual reality version at the Museum for one night only! This is your chance to take control and see if you can keep the money flowing.

Virtual Reality headset sessions

Between 3.30pm to 5.30pm and 7pm to 7.45pm (last session begins at 7.30pm).

Thanks to the team at the Financial Times, you get the chance to put on a VR headset to try your hand at controlling the economy.

Sessions are for 15 minutes and are free, but booking is essential.

Sign up now

Talk – Bill Phillips and his Money Machine

When: 6.15pm to 7.15pm.

Hybrid: attend in person or online.

Find out more about the Phillips Machine, created by Bill Phillips in 1949. Our panel of speakers will explore how Phillips came up with the idea, its impact on our understanding of the economy then and now, and why a virtual reality version was created.

Speakers:

• Professor Nicholas Barr, Professor of Public Economics at London School of Economics (LSE)
• Allan McRobie, Professor of Structural Engineering at University of Cambridge
• Alan Smith, Head of Visual and Data Journalism at the Financial Times

The talk is free, but registration is essential. Register for the talk now.

Register to attend in person