Ada Lovelace, trailblazer of science, brought to life in exhibition
In the bowels of London's Science Museum, Dr Tilly Blyth gingerly opens an envelope. Inside is a lock of long, dark hair tied with a green ribbon. It's a curiously poignant moment. The lively, intelligent woman to whom it belonged died young, but her mathematical work with computer pioneer Charles Babbage has seen her become a paragon for women in science and technology. Gazing down at the tresses, the centuries seem to shrink away. Ladies and gentlemen, Ada Lovelace is in the room.
It's an impression Blyth hopes to share. Curator of a new exhibition at the museum opening on "Ada Lovelace day", she is hoping to breathe life back into the tale of Lord Byron's daughter in the year of her 200th birthday, bringing together the locks with portraits, letters and artefacts to allow visitors to capture a glimpse of Lovelace "as an individual".
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