Fairground: Thrill Laboratory – Pleasure

The Thrills inaugural week opens with the Miami Trip ride and an exploration of fairground pleasure with the themes of carnival and 1980’s rave culture. Visitors will ride the Miami Trip which was the first ride which turned seats to face spectators, creating an exhibitionist’s dream. Dan Howland, Editor, Journal of Ride Theory, USA, will look at the history of the fairground and social criminologist, Dr Mike Presdee, will be discuss whether it’s just the rides that make us excited, or a more complex carnival of other often illicit influences.

The Thrill Laboratory inaugural week opens with the Miami Trip ride and an exploration of fairground pleasure with the themes of carnival and 1980’s rave culture. The Miami Trip was the first ride which turned seats to face spectators, creating an exhibitionist’s dream. Dan Howland, Editor, Journal of Ride Theory, USA, will contribute to the event with a look at the history of the fairground, from pleasure related disasters, to rides that didn’t quite make it off the drawing board. Social criminologist, Dr Mike Presdee, will also lead a discussion on whether it’s just the rides that make us excited, or that the fairground itself is a more complex carnival of other often illicit influences.

The fairground is being installed in the Dana Centre - the Science Museum’s adults-only bar and café for exploring contemporary science, medicine and technology – for three weeks only as it explores the science of thrill.

Lucky volunteers will be hooked up to video and audio transmitters coupled with heart rate monitors, as their live physiological data is broadcast directly into the Dana Centre.

The data will be analysed by international commentators, including the UK’s only space flight surgeon who will look at the effects of rides on the body, as well as psychologists, ride creators and scientists.

Launching on Tuesday 17 October, each event will focus on a unique aspect of thrill - pleasure, frisson and excitement - through the Miami Trip, Ghost Train and Booster rides, as the Dana Centre transforms itself into a fairground ride observatory and thrill laboratory.

The series promises to be an eclectic mix of psychological and sociological experimentation, cultural and historical observations, art and design, archive film, lively presentations, commentary and discussion.

Fairground: Thrill Laboratory is being curated by Brendan Walker – thrill aficionado, designer, and author of The Taxonomy of Thrill.

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