The international Big Stuff Conference will take place in Belgium from October 14th to 17th, 2025. Hosted by the vibrant Big Stuff Heritage community, this event gathers museum professionals, academics, consultants, volunteers, and private owners dedicated to preserving and showcasing technological and industrial heritage.

In 2025, we focus on the symbiotic relationship between skills and machinery. Industrial heritage encompasses not just large-scale installations and historic machinery but also the people, skills, and knowledge required to operate, maintain and showcase this mechanical legacy. As the generations of workers and volunteers who have learned to control, calibrate and repair these machines retire, their invaluable expertise is at risk of being lost.

The conference wants to explore effective methods for passing critical and endangered knowledge to new staff and volunteers, ensuring the continuity of this heritage. We would also like to broaden the scope, looking at ways to make old technologies resonate with new generations. How do we teach handskills to a generation brought up on automation? How do we connect older Big Stuff to important new themes such as lower carbon emissions , lower pollution, circular re-use and right to repair?

During the conference we will delve into how we can keep heritage machinery running in our changing society. Participants are invited to present their work on preserving and transmitting this critical knowledge to a new generation of heritage workers. The conference will feature discussions on practical experiences, successful or failed strategies, and shared challenges, with a particular focus on adapting to the evolving expectations of heritage visitors, workers and customers.

Join us at the Big Stuff Conference 2025 to help shape the future of industrial and technical heritage preservation! Take the opportunity to present your own practices, experiences, and challenges. Enjoy excursions to inspiring industrial heritage sites across Belgium, with ample time for networking and discussions. Our basecamp will be the Museum of Industry in the historic city of Ghent. A place with a deep industrial past (and present), and a great gateway for exploring Belgium’s heritage.