Rocks, beats and deep-time techno: MECHANIMAL brings Megalith show to Museum of Natural History
- Interactive installation: 24 October – 31 October, 10:30-16:30
- Live performance: 30 & 31 October, 19:30
- Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, Parks Road
This October, the raw materials shaping our future take centre stage at the Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, as award-winning creative company MECHANIMAL brings its dramatic Megalith show of immersive art and live performance to the venue. To accompany the Museum’s current exhibition, 34: The Critical Raw Materials Shaping Our Future (oumnh.ox.ac.uk/34), Megalith uses performance, sound, light, and play to tackle some of the exhibition’s central questions around mining and the use of critical materials.
Rocks. Beats. Geological bodies. Stone circles. Copper mining. On the evenings of 30 and 31 October, the atmospheric setting of the Museum at night will provide backdrop to a loud, lyrical and wildly physical performance by MECHANIMAL’s Tom Bailey and sound artist Xavier Velastin. The show pitches together deep-time techno, metamorphic soundscapes and the Internet of Things. Neolithic flint tools meet stones and laptops in a journey from the origins of mining to its 21st-century challenges, accompanied by projection design from award-winning Limbic Cinema.
The programme is presented by the Schwarzman Centre and MECHANIMAL in collaboration with the Museum of Natural History, and includes an interactive installation running from 24 to 31 October. Inside the Megalith installation, visitors will have a hands-on encounter with rocks, mining and immersive technology. They will extract stone with antlers like a Neolithic miner, listen to underground soundscapes, and move “magic stones” around a giant stone circle as light dances and flows in response.
The Megalith installation was developed in collaboration with researchers at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford. It explores the uses of copper, cobalt, lithium, and tin, asks where the materials needed for batteries and renewable technologies come from, and what a sustainable future for their use might look like.
These themes are examined more deeply in the Museum’s 34 exhibition, which presents the raw materials essential to modern life and the challenges involved in equitably and sustainably meeting the rapidly growing demand for them. As the transition to renewable energy and electric transport increases the need for materials including lithium and cobalt, decisions about their extraction, recycling, product design and consumption will have long-lasting consequences.
Megalith performance. Image copyright Tiu Makkonen
Janet Stott, Head of Public Engagement at the Museum of Natural History says:
“We’re delighted to host Megalith at the Museum of Natural History as part of our 34 exhibition programme. The immersive format gives audiences a completely different, creative way of engaging with questions at the heart of 34; the connections between our dependence on Earth materials, the energy transition and the choices we face about extraction and consumption. The Museum is excited to bring artists, researchers and audiences together to explore these questions.”
Tom Bailey, Creative Director of MECHANIMAL, says:
“We’re super excited to bring the Megalith installation and performance to life. At a time when global narratives around energy, climate and resources seem to spiral out of control, we hope that Megalith offers a deep time, tactile and even fun perspective on these massive issues.” 
The Megalith installation is free and runs during the Museum’s opening hours of 10am–5pm daily. Sessions are available throughout the day. Visitors should head to the Welcome Desk on arrival to check timings and reserve a free place.
The Megalith performance takes place in the Museum’s South Court on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, 19:30–22:00. Tickets cost £12 / £10 concessions and advance booking is essential (oumnh.ox.ac.uk/events). The performance is suitable for adults and young people aged 12+; under-18s must be accompanied by an adult. It may contain loud noises, flashing lights and occasional explicit language.
34: the materials shaping our future is open at the Museum of Natural History until 13 April 2027. It is free to visit and open during the Museum’s opening hours.
