Central Electricity Authority at Hulton's Boys and Girls Exhibition, 1956

PRESS RELEASE

HULTON'S BOYS & GIRLS EXHIBITION

National Hall, Olympia, London

28th August - 8th September 1956

9am to 9pm

An exhibition of a kind never before seen in Britain is to be staged in London, specially for children. Supported by many of the country's major public and private industries, it takes place at Olympia and will provide an exciting end of school holidays treat. 

As the children swing through the doors of Olympia they will go 44 years on in time to the year A.D. 2000. Over £10,000 has been spent on creating the atmosphere of space conquest as a background to the whole exhibition. 

The decor of the Exhibition is the world of the new century and will show the fantastic progress of science and the conquest of space as the background to everyday life. The walls will carry a painted panorama of interplanetary flight. Spaceships and helicopters of 44 years ahead will span the roof of the National Hall, led by the United Nations flagship under the command of Colonel Dan Dare, and four gleaming rockets will sweep down to within 25 feet of the floor. Although the spaceships will be out of reach, children will be able to handle the great majority of exhibits and find out how they work.

There will be exciting mechanical games to try and opportunities to test their skill against famous sportsmen. A power station of A.D. 2000 will be displayed by the Central Electricity Authority.

On the Royal Navy stand will be a 30-ton submarine, 50 feet long, which has been specially sent up from Gosport, complete with its crew. The RAF stand will have a Vampire jet fighter, where pilots of the future will be able to sit at the controls with an officer beside them to introduce them to the first stages of high speed flight. 

As well as these, there will be exhibits by the Central Electricity Authority, British Railways, the Grenadier Guards, and even the governments of Australia and Canada to attract young immigrants, and France and Italy to attract young holidaymakers. 

There will be a special display by the United Nations - believed to be the first time the work of the organisation has been projected at an exhibition for children. 

Apart from entertainment value and the thrill of meeting leading personalities from the worlds of film, sport and theatre, the Exhibition shows a serious undertone, for British industry is making a determined effort to capture the attention of schoolchildren - the scientists, technologists, technicians and nurses of tomorrow...

Sponsors are Hulton Press Ltd, publishers of the children's comics 'Eagle', 'Girl', 'Swift' and 'Robin'.

Adults will not be admitted. 

At the Exhibition, these ten cards (7x4.5x0.2cms) were handed out from the Careers Enquiry Desk on the Central Electricity Authority’s stand.

The CEA ran the electricity supply in England and Wales between 1954 and 1957.

Original Badge available at the Boys & Girls Exhibition c.1956 (2.5cms diameter)