What role did science and technology once play at the fairground? And how were new technologies such as X-ray technology, photography, and film presented and disseminated through the travelling network of showpeople? PhD researcher Tim Overkempe is currently investigating all of the questions above for the period 1850-1914 within the Science at the Fair project at UAntwerp. While most of us might associate the funfair with nostalgia and perhaps a touch of old-world charm, this was certainly not always the case in the past. Instead, the fairground was often the place-to-be to wonder at new…

“Auf dem Markt fing alles an!” – “It all started at the market!”. That was the motto of the former Markt- und Schaustellermuseum in Essen, Germany.  The museum, which unfortunately closed in 2021 after 25 years, showed that the precursors of our modern-day doctors, pharmacists, bankers, trading companies, marketeers and recruiters, as well as artists, musicians and show people often earned their daily bread at the local fairs. Given the relevant scope of the museum and its rich body of sources, a research trip to Essen by SciFair researchers was a priority, especially since the variety of…

'Science and technology… at the fairground? The fair, that’s mostly fun, right?' When I tell friends and family about my research, this is a common reaction. And yes, science and technology did in fact play an important role at the fairground in the nineteenth century. Let me take you on a journey to times when there were not only merry-go-rounds and slot machines at the funfair, but science and technology were presented to the public as a great spectacle. About 150 years ago, the fairground was indeed a place where people gathered to have fun – just like today – but also to meet each other,…