The Science Museum Group (SMG)[1] consists of five British museums:
- The Science Museum in South Kensington, London
- The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester
- The National Railway Museum in York
- The Locomotion Museum (formerly the National Railway Museum Shildon) in County Durham
- The National Science and Media Museum (formerly the National Media Museum and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television) in Bradford
Items in the SMG collection that are not on display are usually stored at the National Collections Centre in Swindon, Wiltshire.
History
editThe origins of SMG lie in the internationalisation and optimism of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which enabled the foundation of the South Kensington Museum in 1857.[2]
The term "National Museum of Science and Industry" had been in use as the Science Museum's subtitle since the early 1920s.[3] Prior to 1 April 2012 the group was known as the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI).[4][5]
The National Science and Media Museum, formerly the National Media Museum, was established by the Science Museum in 1983. The Science Museum was run directly by HM Government until 1984, when the Board of Trustees was established and NMSI was then adopted as a corporate title for the entire organisation.[6] At this point NMSI became a non-departmental public body under the auspices of the sponsoring government department, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.[citation needed]
From January 2012 the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester became part of the Science Museum Group.[7][8]
From 2017 Locomotion, The National Railway Museum at Shildon, became part of the Science Museum Group.[9]
In 2010 the Science Museum, London opened its climate science gallery Atmosphere which, as at April 2021, has been visited by over 5 million people. In 2021 the Science Museum, London also opened a temporary exhibition 'Our Future Planet' which explores the science of carbon capture. Environmental campaigners criticized the decision of SMG to appoint Shell as a major sponsor of this exhibition.[10]
Throughout 2021 SMG is hosting Climate Talks which are a series of online talks, Q&As and events exploring problems arising from climate change.[citation needed] In October 2021, the SMG announced that a new climate change gallery to be opened in 2023 at the Science Museum would be sponsored by an arm of coal producer Adani Group.[11]
SMG continues to work to reduce carbon emissions from operations, recruitment and supply chain, and by using resources efficiently.[12] On 15 April 2021 SMG announced that it expects to achieve overall Net Zero/Carbon Neutrality by 2033.[13]
Collection
editThe collection includes:[14]
- Alan Turing's Pilot ACE computer
- Flying Scotsman
- Charles Babbage's drawing and models
- Dorothy Hodgkin's model of penicillin
- Tim Peake's Soyuz TMA-19M spaceship
- Helen Sharman's space suit
- Winifred Penn-Gaskell's collection of stamp cards and covers
- Richard Arkwright's water frame spinning machine
Over 380,000 of the items in the Science Museum Group's collections are available to view online at its Search Our Collection web page.
Chairman and Directors
editThe chairman of the group is Sir Tim Laurence who was appointed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak[15] on 1st January 2024, succeeding Dame Mary Archer who had served from 2015. [16][17]
The following have been directors of the National Museum of Science and Industry, the Science Museum and the Science Museum Group:
- Dame Margaret Weston DBE FMA (1973–1986)
- Sir Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA (1986–2000)
- Dr Lindsay Sharp (2000–2005)
- Prof. Martin Earwicker FREng (2006–2007)
The following have separately been directors of the NMSI:
- Prof. Martin Earwicker FREng (2007–2009)
- Molly Jackson (2009)
- Andrew Scott CBE (2009–2010)
- Ian Blatchford (2010–)
References
edit- ^ "Science Museum Group – About us" (aspx). Science Museum Group. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ "A Brief History of the Science Museum" (PDF). Science Museum Group. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "SMG Board of Trustees". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ "Science Museum Group Annual Report and Accounts 2011–12" (PDF). Science Museum Group. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ "National Accounts Classification Decisions – May 2012" (xls). Office for National Statistics. May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ National Museum of Science and Industry: Annual Report and Accounts 2008–09, NMSI, UK.
- ^ "Manchester's MOSI and London's Science Museum to merge". BBC News. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ^ "Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry to become part of national Science Museum". Manchester Evening News. 2 December 2011.
- ^ "National Railway Museum Shildon Set to transfer to Science Museum Group". Museums Association. 20 September 2017.
- ^ "School climate strikers urge boycott of Science Museum show over Shell deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "London's Science Museum agrees sponsorship with arm of coal producer Adani Group". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "Sustainability Policy". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Towards net zero". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "SMG Collections". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ "Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, KCVO, CB appointed as Chair to the Science Museum Group".
- ^ "Prime Minister appoints Dame Mary Archer as new Chairman of the Science Museum Group". British Government. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Prime Minister Reappoints Chairman to the Board of the Science Museum Group". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
External links
edit- Official website
- The official print website – containing over 40,000 images from the various museum collections