Opening on 8 February, Robots, a major new exhibition at the Science Museum, explores humanity's 500-year quest to reimagine ourselves—not through paintings or sculpture, but as machines. Simulate the movement of a human hand using this incredible Hydraulic Cyborg Hand Kit. Made from 203 easy-to-assemble pieces, this robotic hand comes in kit form – so there’s lots of fun to be had building it, and even more fun playing with it!

Robots, a major new exhibition at the Science Museum, explores humanity’s 500-year quest to reimagine ourselves as machines. Pepper is a humanoid companion created to communicate with humans through voice and touch and movement. This robot will invite visitors to touch its hands and fist bump while sharing a story using the screen on its chest. Coming face to face with a mechanical human has always been a disconcerting experience. Over the centuries, each generation has experienced this afresh as new waves of technology heralded its own curiosity-inducing robots. That sense of unease, of something you cannot quite put your finger on, goes to the heart of our long relationship with robots." Robina (Robot as Intelligent Assistant) is on display in the Museum's main entrance, where it will be seen by thousands of visitors to the Museum each day. Robina was developed to promote Toyota's vision of the personal robots we might one day own. From 2007 to 2009, this Robina model was used as a museum tour guide. It was then used for research before retiring in 2012. Kodomoroid was one of the most realistic androids in the world when it was first made in 2014. This robot will move in the exhibition, sharing news stories about robots every 20 minutes.In late 2017, Robots will embark on a five-year UK and international tour. The exhibition will visit the following venues, with further venues to be announced at a later date: A Science Museum exclusive, the Alien Kids Christmas Jumper is an out of this world, seasonal sensation! Robots is open daily until 3 September 2017, with late opening until 22.00 each Friday (last entry 21.00) and at Lates on the last Wednesday of each month. Robots is split into five sections, exploring how robots and society have been shaped by religious belief and our understanding of the universe (Marvel), the industrial revolution (Obey) and popular culture (Dream). Stories from those building robots today, including five filmed interviews with roboticists offering a glimpse inside their workplaces are on show (Build) alongside the latest humanoid robots (Imagine). More information about the exhibition layout can be found in the Robots booklet. REEM Service Robot is designed to work in real human environments and interact freely with people. This robot greets visitors, who can interact with it via a touch screen.

With over 130 components, the Science Museum Mechanics: Junior Moving Dinosaurs Kit guarantees a roar-some time! For those that are still looking for some last-minute inspiration, we’ve got you covered with our Christmas Gift Guide. The Robots exhibition is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The HLF's Collecting Cultures programme has enabled the Museum to acquire objects and create a new robotics collection of over 50 objects, many of which feature in the exhibition. The HLF also supported the creation of a new handling collection of robotic artefacts, and with the help of Robots exhibition volunteers, visitors will be able to see and touch these items. This fascinating kit features five motorised dinosaur models for little ones to build: a tyrannosaurus, a brontosaurus, a stegosaurus, a triceratops and even a pterodactyl.

gifts up to £20

The Relativity Watch is the first watch where the numbers rotate around the face of the watch, proving unequivocally that time is relative! The new mechanics laboratory for small children, with plenty of components that are easy to assemble, paves the way for the super-kit with robots that move and walk thanks to a motor-driven module. Visitors to Robots will see the greatest collection of humanoids ever assembled. This stunning exhibition explores the fascinating question of why, rather than how, we build robots. To look through the eyes of those who built, commissioned or gazed upon these mesmerising mechanical creations over the past 500 years, reveals so much about humanity's hopes, fears, dreams and delusions." The Silver Swan is an amazing evocation of life. We are honoured that the Bowes Museum has loaned us this treasured object for Robots and delighted that visitors will see the Swan on display in all its glory." This particular cyborg hand is powered by hydraulics alone, allowing children to learn all about mechanics and engineering from a young age. A handy gift indeed!

A large construction laboratory for stimulating creativity and imagination. All the essentials for letting the child freely test his ideas and concretely verify the solutions.

Each of the 5 models moves in a unique and highly amusing way! Each robot moves in an entirely unique way. There's the robot that skis, one that collects, another one that drags, the one that walks and one that's completely crazy one. Inhka is a reactive robot answers visitor's questions, offers advice on other robots to look at in the exhibition and also delivers fashion advice (with attitude). Animatronic baby: This mechanical human baby was commissioned for the exhibition and is now part of the Museum's new human robotics collection. It was made by a special effects company, which make animatronic machines for films. The baby makes only pre-programmed movements (sneezing, breathing and moving its arms and legs) yet we feel strong emotions towards it. The first robot visitors to the exhibition will encounter is an incredibly life-like mechanical human baby, recently acquired for the Museum's new robotics collection. Usually made for use on film sets, this baby has no intelligence, making only pre-programmed movements (sneezing, breathing and moving its arms and legs) yet many visitors will feel strong emotions towards it. Whether at home or on the go, just ask the ball a question, shake it well, turn it over, and watch the answer reveal itself before your very eyes.

Recent developments from robotics research are also on show, with visitors able to explore how and, more importantly, why roboticists are building robots that resemble us and interact in human-like ways. The exhibition encourages you to imagine what a shared future with robots would be like, with visitors able to see the latest humanoid robots in action. As the home of human ingenuity, the Science Museum's world-class collection forms an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical achievements from across the globe. Welcoming over three million visitors a year, the Museum aims to make sense of the science that shapes our lives, inspiring visitors with iconic objects, award-winning exhibitions and incredible stories of scientific achievement. Telenoid is a telecommunication avatar—a physical stand-in for the person on the other end of a telephone conversation—and will move in the exhibition. Robots have been at the heart of popular culture since the word 'robot' was first used in 1920. In the exhibition, visitors will come face-to-face with Eric, a modern recreation of the UK's first robot, as well as Cygan, a 1950s robot with a glamorous past, and a T800 Terminator used in the film Terminator Salvation. The challenges of recreating human abilities, such as walking, in mechanical form is also explored, with visitors able to study the intricate mechanisms of the Bipedal Walker—rescued by curator Ben Russell from a forgotten basement cupboard—and Honda's P2, two of the first robots in the world to walk like humans.Visitors can watch as 16 mechanical forms spring to life and even interact with some of the robots on display. Inhka, once a receptionist at King's College London, will be answering questions and offering fashion advice, Zeno R25 replicates visitor's facial expressions and ROSA will move its camera 'eye' and head to watch visitors as they move. Every twenty minutes Kodomoroid, the most life-like android of its time, reads robot-related news bulletins; RoboThespian does vocal exercises and gives a theatrical performance; and Nao, the most widely used humanoid robot in the world, stands (or sits if tired) to tell a story exploring how robots make decisions. This intriguing exhibition features a unique collection of over 100 robots, from a 16th-century mechanical monk to robots from science fiction and modern-day research labs. Set in five different times, Robots explores how religious belief, the industrial revolution, popular culture and dreams about the future have all shaped society through the incredible robots on display.