The Man Engine to raise awareness

Challenge the practice is addressing: The Man Engine, a large mechanical puppet, was developed to raise awareness and to attract people to learn about the Cornish mining culture and history.

Concrete practice to achieve the expected goal: The Man Engine is a project celebrating the tenth anniversary of Cornwall and West Devon UNESCO Mining World Heritage. The Man Engine is essentially a 11-meter-tall mechanical puppet (The UK’s largest one) that can be brought into educational events and venues. The project also collaborates with local choirs and community groups to share information about the local mining heritage through storytelling, theatre and song.

Expected impact/goal of the practice: The expected impacts of the practice are: increased awareness and understanding of the local mining history and culture, improved public engagement and deepened understanding of technical innovations developed in the Cornwall region: - increase awareness, appreciation and understanding of Cornish mining culture and history, - facilitate public engagement, providing an interpretative legacy for the future, - show a new generation that Cornwall can be a world class driver for technical innovation.

Who is the target user group of the practice/intervention or implementing the practice/intervention? The target user groups of the practice are any public authorities, museums and culture centres, as well as industry representatives wishing to raise awareness of technical achievements and/or mining legacy in the area.