Letter: In the 1951 dome

To answer your learned enquirers as to what was in the Dome of Discovery of 1951 (letters, 28 and 31 January), my official guide (costing 2/6d) shows that the display was divided into eight areas.

These were: the Land ("exploration leading to development of overseas territories"); the Earth ("science revealing the age and structure of the Earth: technology developing its underground resources"); Polar ("a great tradition applied particularly to scientific discovery and aided by mechanisation"); Sea ("the great heritage of Drake and Cook passed to the marine scientists who are yearly adding to our knowledge of the sea"); Sky ("weather forecasting and research and the exploration into the ionosphere, which improves long-distance radio communication"); Outer Space ("what we have learned from the old astronomy of Newton and from the new astronomy which uses radio methods"); the Physical World ("explorations into the nature and behaviour of matter that have made possible many of the material achievements of the present age"); and the Living World ("discoveries of the secrets of life, Darwin's great influence in the world of thought and contemporary biological research").

On the South Bank site there were also exhibition pavilions and displays including television, telecinema, the 1851 exhibition and 25,000 photographs illustrating the wide range of British manufacturers.

LES ROERIG

Braintree, Essex