The Science Museum

The primary event space is called Illuminate, spanning levels 4 and 5 of the museum. It functions as a blank canvas space that can be transformed for various events, offering both abundant natural light with stunning City views and a cutting-edge LED-focused environment within one versatile space.

Illuminate costs £20,250 + VAT for full day hire from 07:00-23:30. The Smith Centre costs £4,500 + VAT for daytime hire (07:00-17:00) and includes The Salon, Large meeting room, The Boardroom, outdoor courtyard, and banqueting chairs & cluster furniture. All venues are dry hire only.

All catering, furniture, and AV must be provided by the museum's accredited suppliers as this is dry venue hire only. The main suppliers are Moving Venue for catering, White Light for AV and lighting, and Twilight Trees for decorative elements. These services are additional costs on top of venue hire charges.

Flight gallery can accommodate up to 400 for seated dinner or 350 for dinner with a stage. Illuminate can handle various configurations from conferences to standing receptions. The Smith Centre works well for smaller events up to 60 people in cabaret style or meetings.

Access for setup typically begins at 07:00, with guest arrival from 09:00. All guests must be offsite by 23:30 for evening events or 17:00 for daytime events. Early access fees may apply for suppliers needing additional setup time before standard access hours.

For a 300-person daytime conference, budget around £30,000 total. Venue hire rates start at £4,500 + VAT for smaller spaces. Flight gallery costs £8,750 + VAT for venue hire alone. Catering and AV costs are additional and vary based on requirements.

For events only two weeks away, you must attend a site visit on Wednesday and contract the event by end of business Thursday. The museum operates on a first option hold system, and agency commission of 10% is offered on venue hire only (not AV) if claimed within two months of the event date.

The museum accepts Mastercard with no fees but does not accept American Express. Venue hire invoices are raised once contracts are signed. All invoices relating to the event must be settled before agency commission can be paid.

Events must be invitation only with registered guests on arrival. The museum requires details about how events will be advertised and whether they are private or public. Specific timing restrictions apply with mandatory offsite times of 23:30 for evening events.

White Light provides bespoke lighting designs, state-of-the-art sound systems, projectors, screens, microphones (handheld and lapel), confidence monitors, and background music systems. AV services have minimum spend requirements and final costs are confirmed after site visits.