Magical Magic Lanterns

About

Roll up, roll up, and cast yourself as the director, creative producer and visionary behind your own movie . . . well, a few hand drawn slides of it anyway. Create your own magic lantern slides out of tracing paper, cardboard and oodles of imagination. And the best bit is you get to project your finished creations in all their glory using our genuine hundred year old Magic Lantern.

Long before 4K TVs, surround sound and CGI-filled blockbusters, folks used to gather to see slides projected by a Magic Lantern, often accompanied by top-hat attired entertainers to tell the story as they flicked from one slide to the next.

RAMM's collection holds over 4,500 Magic Lantern slides, dating from the earliest days of the museum. Some were used for education by the University College, others feature photographs of Exeter, the cathedral and other historic buildings from over a hundred years ago. But some were hand painted to entertain and delight an audience. They can be funny, scary, beautiful, cheeky, and sometimes even a little bit rude.