Oh, to be in Sydney, Australia December 13 for the opening of Powerhouse Museum Science + Design‘s The 80s Are Back. One of the biggest exhibition’s the public museum has ever featured, it promises to take people back to the era’s toys, fads, video games, technology, nightclubs, music, architecture, design trends, current affairs and events of the 1980s. From Sony Walkman, Atari and Pac-Man, big hair and power dressing to pub rock and dance parties, The America’s Cup and the Berlin Wall, any Gen Xer anywhere near Sydney in 2010 will want to make time for The 80s Are Back.

According to an article, More Power to the 80s, written by Rosalie Higson and published in The Australian, Powerhouse previously sponsored exhibits with Baby Boomers in mind. According to Peter Cox, head curator for the 80s exhibit, it’s now Gen X’s turns. The following is a quote from Cox featured in the article:

“This is about looking at the decade through the prism of their youth: what they watched on TV, what movies they went to, what music venues, their first encounters with computers, the clothes they wore . . . it’s acknowledging that their youth and culture is important, and it’s now time to look at it with a historical perspective and revalue it.”

The exhibit features the following themes:

• On the screen
• Subcultures
• Partying
• The AIDS crisis
• Fashion
• Music
• Fads & toys
• Design
• Neo-80s
• Video games
• The big events

In addition, there are interactive activities like learning how to do Michael Jackson’s thriller dance moves and an 80s photo scavenger hunt. Museum staff have even planned a retro-gaming weekend! Moreover, there is a strong education component to the exhibit. An 80s Are Back Teacher’s Guide will be available for the 2010 Australian school year. (It is summer in Australia right now.)

Perhaps of greatest interest for those oceans away from Australia is the exceptional Web presentation of the exhibit that features 80s Memories such as This Week in the 80s; Film and TV of the 80s; Music of the 80s; Video Games of the 80s; People of the 80s and Fashion of the 80s.

There is also an 80s are Back Shop where you can purchase T-shirts featuring Rubik’s cubes, etc.

In addition, over the next 12 months, the website will delve deeper into the music, film and TV, and video games with contemporary reviews of some of the important and less important releases of the decade. It will also feature quirky Q&A interviews with people of the 80s, as well the best of your own exhibition video feedback recorded inside the show itself.

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