Think about your morning routine. Does it involve switching off an alarm clock, washing with soap and drinking coffee?

The origins of these and many other items are explored and traced in a new exhibition, celebrating Muslim heritage, opening in Croydon.

The interactive exhibit, 1001 Inventions, looks at innovation from the 7th to the 17th Century, a largely-overlooked period in invention and discovery.

It shows how Arab thinkers and inventors are behind many important discoveries from fizzy drinks to surgical instruments and attempts at flying devices (pictured).

1001 Inventions until May 3. Museum of Croydon, Croydon Clocktower. Free. For further details, visit 1001inventions.com 1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in our World. Did You Know?

The world's first soft drink was a sherbet made from the juice of crushed fruit, herbs, or flowers and has long existed as one of the most popular beverages of the Muslim world.

The first organised hospital was built in Cairo in 872CE.

Abul Qasim Ibn Firnas was the first person to make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and fly. In 852 he wrapped himself in a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts and jumped from the minaret of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

The origins of the term chairperson or chair date back more than one thousand years to when Muslim schools and universities had study circles where groups of students gathered around a professor who was seated on a chair or kursi.

Muslim charitable institutions provided the first scholarships to support students.

Piri Re'is, a Turkish captain, created a map in 1513 which has come to be known as the famous Map of America. This astonishing work, which clearly shows the Andes mountains of South America, was completed just 21 years after Columbus reached the New World.

A Muslim engineer, Al-Jazari, came up with an ingenious device for lifting huge buckets of water without lifting a finger? It was grandly called the crank-connecting rod system. This was his most important contribution to engineering and had a huge impact on the development of technology.

The tent is the symbol of ancient Arabia. The Ottomans gave it a new impetus making it a royal structure, which was set up for ceremonial occasions and trips.

Jabir Ibn Hayyan is considered to be the founder of chemistry due to his enormous contributions to this scientific field.

A 9th century Ethiopian Arab herdsman, called Khalid, discovered coffee when he boiled up the wild brown berries his goats had been grazing on.

By Kerry Ann Eustice