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The Science Museum is a major museum on
Exhibition Road Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London which is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum, London, Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, Lon ...
in
South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...
, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Science Museum does not charge visitors for admission, although visitors are requested to make a donation if they are able. Temporary exhibitions may incur an admission fee. It is one of the five museums in the
Science Museum Group The Science Museum Group (SMG) 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 Na ...
.


Founding and history

The museum was founded in 1857 under Bennet Woodcroft from the collection of the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
and surplus items from the
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
as part of the South Kensington Museum, together with what is now the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
. It included a collection of machinery which became the ''Museum of Patents'' in 1858, and the ''Patent Office Museum'' in 1863. This collection contained many of the most famous exhibits of what is now the Science Museum. In 1883, the contents of the Patent Office Museum were transferred to the South Kensington Museum. In 1885, the Science Collections were renamed the ''Science Museum'' and in 1893 a separate director was appointed. The Art Collections were renamed the ''Art Museum'', which eventually became the Victoria and Albert Museum. When
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
laid the foundation stone for the new building for the Art Museum, she stipulated that the museum be renamed after herself and her late husband. This was initially applied to the whole museum, but when that new building finally opened ten years later, the title was confined to the Art Collections and the Science Collections had to be divorced from it. On 26 June 1909 the Science Museum, as an independent entity, came into existence. The Science Museum's present quarters, designed by Sir Richard Allison, were opened to the public in stages over the period 1919–28. This building was known as the East Block, construction of which began in 1913 and was temporarily halted by
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. As the name suggests it was intended to be the first building of a much larger project, which was never realized. However, the museum buildings were expanded over the following years; a pioneering ''Children's Gallery'' with interactive exhibits opened in 1931, the Centre Block was completed in 1961–3, the infill of the East Block and the construction of the Lower & Upper Wellcome Galleries in 1980, and the construction of the Wellcome Wing in 2000 result in the museum now extending to Queen's Gate.


Centennial volume: ''Science for the Nation''

The leading academic publisher,
Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...
, published the official centenary history of the Science Museum on 14 April 2010. The first complete history since 1957, ''Science for the Nation: Perspectives on the History of the Science Museum'' is a series of individual views by Science Museum staff and external academic historians of different aspects of the Science Museum's history. While it is not a chronological history in the conventional sense, the first five chapters cover the history of the museum from the Brompton Boilers in the 1860s to the opening of the Wellcome Wing in 2000. The remaining eight chapters cover a variety of themes concerning the museum's development.


Galleries

The Science Museum consists of two buildings – the main building and the Wellcome Wing. Visitors enter the main building from Exhibition Road, while the Wellcome Wing is accessed by walking through the Energy Hall, ''Exploring Space'' and then the ''Making the Modern World'' galleries (see below) at ground floor level.


Main building – Level 0


The Energy Hall

The Energy Hall is the first area that most visitors see as they enter the building. On the ground floor, the gallery contains a variety of
steam engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
, including the oldest surviving James Watt beam engine, which together tell the story of the British
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. Also on display is a recreation of James Watt's garret workshop from his home,
Heathfield Hall Heathfield Hall (sometimes referred to as Heathfield House) was a house in Handsworth, Staffordshire (the area became part of Birmingham in 1911), England, built for the engineer James Watt. In 1790, Watt's business partner Matthew Boulton r ...
, using over 8,300 objects removed from the room, which was sealed after his 1819 death, when the hall was demolished in 1927.


Exploring Space

''Exploring Space'' is a historical gallery, filled with rockets and exhibits that tell the story of human
space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...
and the benefits that space exploration has brought us (particularly in the world of telecommunications).


''Making the Modern World''

''Making the Modern World'' displays some of the museum's most remarkable objects, including ''Puffing Billy'' (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), Crick's
double helix In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by base pair, double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double Helix, helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its Nuclei ...
, and the command module from the
Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States' Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA, the mission's operator, described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing (Apollo 11, two ...
mission, which are displayed along a timeline chronicling man's technological achievements. A
V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...
, designed by German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, is displayed in this gallery. Doug Millard, space historian and curator of space technology at the museum, states: "We got to the Moon using V-2 technology but this was technology that was developed with massive resources, including some particularly grim ones. The V-2 programme was hugely expensive in terms of lives, with the Nazis using slave labour to manufacture these rockets".
Stephenson's Rocket Stephenson's ''Rocket'' is an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement. It was built for and won the Rainhill Trials of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), held in October 1829 to show that improved locomotives would be m ...
used to be displayed in this gallery. After a short UK tour, since 2019 ''Rocket'' is on permanent display at the National Railway Museum in York, in the Art Gallery.


Main Building – Level 1


''Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries''

The ''Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries'' is a five-gallery medical exhibition which spans ancient history to modern times with over 3000 exhibits and specially commissioned artworks. Many of the objects on display come from the Wellcome Collection started by
Henry Wellcome Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (21 August 1853 – 25 July 1936) was an American and British pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He founded the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Company with his colleague Silas Mainville Burroughs, Jr., Silas Bur ...
. One of the commissioned artworks is a large bronze sculpture of Rick Genest titled ''Self-Conscious Gene'' by Marc Quinn. The galleries occupy the museum's entire first floor and opened on 16 November 2019.


Main Building – Level 2


The Clockmakers Museum

The Clockmakers Museum is the world's oldest clock and watch museum which was originally assembled by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London's Guildhall.


''Science City 1550–1800: The Linbury Gallery''

The ''Science City 1550–1800: The Linbury Gallery'' shows how London grew to be a global hub for trade, commerce and scientific enquiry.


''Mathematics: The Winton Gallery''

The ''Mathematics: The Winton Gallery'' examines the role that mathematicians have had in building our modern world. In the landing area to access the gallery (stair C) is a working example of
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...
's
Difference engine A difference engine is an automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. It was designed in the 1820s, and was created by Charles Babbage. The name ''difference engine'' is derived from the method of finite differen ...
No.2. This was built by the Science Museum and its main part completed in 1991, to celebrate 200 years since Babbage's birth, and was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.


''Information Age''

The ''Information Age'' gallery has exhibits covering the development of communications and computing over the last two centuries. It explores the six networks that have transformed global communications: The Cable, The Telephone Exchange, Broadcast, The Constellation, The Cell and The Web It was opened on 24 October 2014 by the Queen,
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, who sent her first tweet from here.


Main Building – Level 3


''Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery''

One of the most popular galleries in the museum is the interactive ''Wonderlab:The
Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renew ...
Gallery'', formerly called ''Launchpad''. The gallery is staffed by ''Explainers'' who demonstrate how exhibits work, conduct live experiments and perform shows to schools and the visiting public.


''Flight''

The ''Flight'' gallery charts the development of flight in the 20th century. Contained in the gallery are several full sized
aeroplanes An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ...
and
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
s, including Alcock and Brown's transatlantic Vickers Vimy (1919),
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
and
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
fighters, as well as numerous aero-engines and a cross-section of a
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
. It opened in 1963 and was refurbished in the 1990s.


Wellcome Wing


''Power Up'' (Level 1)

''Power Up'' is an interactive gaming gallery showcasing the history of video games and consoles from the past 50 years. Visitors can play on over 150 consoles, featuring consoles from the Binatone TV Master to the Play Station 5.


''Tomorrow's World'' (Level 0)

The ''Tomorrow's World'' gallery hosts topical science stories and free exhibitions including: * Mission to Mercury: Bepi Columbo * ''Driverless: Who's in control?'' (exhibition ended January 2021)


''IMAX: The Ronson Theatre'' (Entrance from Level 0)

The ''IMAX: The Ronson Theatre'' is an
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...
cinema which shows educational films (most in 3-D), as well as blockbusters and live events. It features a screen measuring 24.3 by 16.8 metres, with both a dual
IMAX with Laser IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating, with ...
projection system and a traditional IMAX 15/70mm film projector, and an IMAX 12-channel sound system.


''Who Am I?'' (Level 1)

Visitors to the ''Who Am I?'' gallery can explore the science of who they are through intriguing objects, provocative artworks and hands-on exhibits.


''Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery'' (Level 2)

''Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery'' explores how the world can generate and use energy more sustainably to urgently reduce carbon dioxide emissions from global energy systems and limit the impact of climate change.


Temporary and touring exhibitions

The museum has some dedicated spaces for temporary exhibitions (both free and paid-for) and displays, on Level -1 (Basement Gallery), Level 0 (inside the Exploring Space Gallery and Tomorrow's World), Level 1 (Special Exhibition Gallery 1) and Level 2 (Special Exhibition Gallery 2 and The Studio). Most of these travel to other Science Museum Group sites, as well as nationally and internationally. Past exhibitions have included: * ''Sustaining Beauty – 90 years of art in engineering'', on the evolution of design and engineering behind
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...
's cars (2001–2002). * ''Bond, James Bond'', an interactive
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
themed exhibition featuring a behind-the-scenes exploration of the production of the film franchise (2002–2003). * ''The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition'', an exhibition featuring props and costumes from
Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...
's
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
trilogy and focusing on the special effects used in the films (2003–2004). * ''Future Face'', on the science behind human faces and speculation about the future of cosmetic surgery and digitally enhanced faces (2004–2005). * ''Pixar: 20 Years of Animation'', an inside look at the art and technology behind American computer animation studio
Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
over the past 20 years (2006). * ''The Science of Survival'', an exhibition that allowed visitors to explore what the world might be like in 2050 and how humankind will meet the challenges of
climate change and energy Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...
shortages (2008). * ''Wallace and Gromit present A World of Cracking Ideas'', a Wallace & Gromit themed exhibition designed to get children thinking about design and invention (2009). * ''Codebreaker'', on the life of
Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. He was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer ...
(2012–2013). *''3D: Printing the Future'', an exhibition that featured
3D-printed 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material i ...
models by
Stratasys Stratasys, Ltd. is an American-Israeli manufacturer of 3D printers, software, and materials for polymer additive manufacturing as well as 3D-printed parts on-demand. The company is incorporated in Israel. Engineers use Stratasys systems to mod ...
, and also showcased Pneuma2, a 3D-printed sculpture inspired by the human lung and designed by Israeli professor Neri Oxman (2013). * ''Unlocking Lovelock'', which explored the archive of James Lovelock (ended 2015). * ''Cosmonauts: Birth of Space Age'' (ended 2016). * ''Wounded – Conflict, Casualties and Care'' (2016–2018) – timed to commemorated the centenary of the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
; explored the development of medical treatment for wounded soldiers during the First World War. * ''Robots'' (ended 2017). * ''The Sun: Living with our Star'' (ended 2019). * ''The Last Tsar: Blood and Revolution'' (ended 2019). * ''Top Secret: From Cyphers to Cyber Security'' (ended 2020, closed at the Science and Industry Museum on 31 August 2021). * Art of Innovation – from Enlightenment to Dark Matter (2019–2020) – explored the interaction between science, the arts and society; included artworks by Boccioni, Constable, Hepworth, Hockney, Lowry and Turner. * ''Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination'' (2022–2023) * ''The Science Box'' contemporary science series toured various venues in the UK and Europe in the 1990s and from 1995 ''The Science of Sport'' appeared in various incarnations and venues around the World. In 2005 The Science Museum teamed up with Fleming Media to set up ''The Science of...'' to develop and tour exhibitions including ''The Science of Aliens'', ''The Science of Spying'' and ''The Science of Survival''. * In 2014 the museum launched the family science ''Energy Show'', which toured the country. * The same year it began a new programme of touring exhibitions which opened with ''Collider: Step inside the world's greatest experiment'' to much critical acclaim. The exhibition takes visitors behind the scenes at CERN and explores the science and engineering behind the discovery of the Higgs Boson. The exhibition toured until early 2017. * Media Space exhibitions also go on tour, notably ''Only in England'' which displays works by the photographers Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr.


Events


''Astronights'' for Children

The Science Museum organises ''Astronights'', "all-night extravaganza with a scientific twist". Up to 380 children aged between 7 and 11, accompanied by adults, are invited to spend an evening performing fun "science based" activities and then spend the night sleeping in the museum galleries amongst the exhibits. In the morning, they're woken to breakfast and more science, watching a show before the end of the event.


'Lates' for Adults

On the evening of the last Wednesday of every month (except December) the museum organises an adults only evening with up to 30 events, from lectures to silent discos. Previous Lates have seen conversations with the actress activist Lily Cole and Biorevolutions with the Francis Crick Institute which attracted around 7000 people, mostly under the age of 35.


Cancellation of James D. Watson talk

In October 2007, the Science Museum cancelled a talk by the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, James D. Watson, because he claimed that
IQ test An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. Originally, IQ was a score obtained by dividing a person's mental age score, obtained by administering ...
results showed black people to have lower intelligence than white people. The decision was criticised by some scientists, including
Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
, but supported by other scientists, including Steven Rose.


Former galleries

The museum has undergone many changes in its history with older galleries being replaced by new ones. * ''The Children's Gallery'' – 1931–1995 Located in the basement, it was replaced by the under fives area called ''The Garden''. * ''Agriculture'' – 1951–2017 Located on the first floor, it looked at the history and future of farming in the 20th century. It featured model dioramas and object displays. It was replaced by ''Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries'' in 2019. * ''Shipping'' – 1963–2012. Located on the second floor, its contents were 3D scanned and made available online. It was replaced by Information Age. * ''Land Transport'' – 1967–1996 Located on the ground floor, it displayed vehicles and objects associated with transport on land, including rail and road. It was replaced by the Making the Modern World gallery in 2000. * ''Glimpses of Medical History'' – 1981–2015 Located on the fourth floor, it contained reconstructions and dioramas of the history of practised medicine. It was not replaced, but subsumed into Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries which opened on the museum's first floor in November 2019. * ''Science and the Art of Medicine'' – 1981–2015 Located on the fifth floor, which featured exhibits of medical instruments and practices from ancient days and from many countries. It was not replaced, but subsumed into Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries which opened on the museum's first floor in November 2019. * ''Launchpad'' – 1986–2015 Originally opening on the ground floor, in 1989 it moved to the first floor replacing Textiles. Then in 2000 to the basement of the newly built Wellcome Wing. In 2007, it moved to its final location on the third floor, replacing the George III gallery. It was replaced by Wonderlab in 2016. * ''Challenge of Materials'' – 1997–2019 Located on the first floor, explored the diversity and properties of materials. It was designed by
WilkinsonEyre WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson (architect), Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre (architect), Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice ...
and featured an exhibit ''Materials House'' by Thomas Heatherwick. * ''Cosmos and Culture'' – 2009–2017 Located on the first floor, it featured astronomical objects showing the study of the night sky. It was replaced by ''Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries'' in 2019. * ''Atmosphere'' – 2010–2022. The ''Atmosphere'' gallery explored the science of climate. * ''Engineer your Future'' – 2014–2023. The ''Engineer your Future'' gallery explored whether you have the problem solving and team working skills to succeed in a career in engineering. * ''The Secret Life of the Home'' – 1995–2024. ''The Secret Life of the Home'' showed the development of household appliances mostly from the late 19th and early 20th century, although some were earlier. This gallery closed permanently on 2 June 2024.


Storage, library and archives

Blythe House, 1979–2019, the museum's former storage facility in West Kensington, while not a gallery, it offered tours of the collections housed there. Objects formerly housed there are being transferred to the
National Collections Centre The Science and Innovation Park is a research and cultural site near Swindon, England. Part of the Science Museum Group, the Park hosts a range of research and development activity, filming and photography projects, storage for culture sector ...
, at the Science Museum Wroughton, in Wiltshire. The Science Museum has a dedicated library, and until the 1960s was Britain's National Library for Science, Medicine and Technology. It holds runs of periodicals, early books and manuscripts, and is used by scholars worldwide. It was, for a number of years, run in conjunction with the
library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
of Imperial College, but in 2007 the library was divided over two sites. Histories of science and biographies of scientists were kept at the Imperial College Library until February 2014 when the arrangement was terminated, the shelves were cleared and the books and journals shipped out, joining the rest of the collection, which includes original scientific works and archives at the National Collections Centre. Dana Research Centre and Library previously an event space and cafe, reopened in its current form in 2015. Open to researchers and members of the public, it allows free access to almost 7,000 volumes, which can be consulted on site.


Sponsorship

The Science Museum has been sponsored by major organisations including
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
, BP,
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
and
GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
. Some have been controversial. The museum declined to give details of how much it receives from oil and gas sponsors.
Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renew ...
is also the title sponsor of "Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery", an exhibition for children, while BP is one of the funding partners of the museum's STEM Training Academy. Equinor's sponsorship of the Wonderlab exhibit was on the basis that the Science Museum would not make any statement to damage the oil firm's reputation.
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
has influenced how the museum presents climate change in its programme sponsored by the oil company. The museum has signed a gagging clause in its agreement with Shell not to "make any statement or issue any publicity or otherwise be involved in any conduct or matter that may reasonably be foreseen as discrediting or damaging the goodwill or reputation" of Shell. The museum signed a sponsorship contract with the Norwegian oil and gas company
Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renew ...
which contained a gagging clause, stating the museum would not say anything that could damage the fossil fuel company's reputation.


Reactions to sponsorship by fossil fuel companies

The museum's director, Ian Blatchford, defended the museum's sponsorship policy, saying: "Even if the Science Museum were lavishly publicly funded I would still want to have sponsorship from the oil companies." Scientists for Global Responsibility called the museum's move "staggeringly out-of-step and irresponsible". Some presenters, including
George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is an English journalist, author, and Environmental movement, environmental and political activist. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and has written several books. Monbiot ...
, pulled out of climate talks on finding they were sponsored by BP and the Norwegian oil company
Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renew ...
. Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment said the "carbon capture exhibition is not 'greenwash'". There have been protests against the sponsorship; in May 2021, a group calling themselves 'Scientists for XR' (
Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...
) locked themselves to a mechanical tree inside the museum. The UK Student Climate Network carried out an overnight occupation in June 2021, and were threatened with arrest. In August 2021, members of Extinction Rebellion held a protest inside and outside the museum with a pink dodo. In 2021, Chris Rapley, a climate scientist, resigned from the museum's advisory board because of oil and gas company sponsorship. In 2021, more than 40 senior academics and scientists said they would not work with the Science Museum due to its financial relationships with the fossil fuel industry. In 2022, more than 400 teachers signed an open letter to the museum promising to boycott it following sponsorship of the museum's Energy Revolution exhibition by the coal mining company Adani.


Directors of the Science Museum

The directors of the South Kensington Museum were: * Henry Cole CB (1857–1873) * Sir Philip Cunliffe-Owen KCB KCMG CIE (1873–1893) The directors of the Science Museum have been: * Major-General Edward R. Festing CB FRS (1893–1904) * William I. Last (1904–1911) * Sir Francis Grant Ogilvie CB (1911–1920) * Colonel Sir Henry Lyons FRS (1920–1933) * Colonel E. E. B. Mackintosh DSO (1933–1945) * Herman Shaw (1945–1950) * F. Sherwood Taylor (1950–1956) * Sir Terence Morrison-Scott DSc FMA (1956–1960) * Sir David Follett FMA (1960–1973) * Dame Margaret Weston DBE FMA (1973–1986) * Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA (1986–2000) * Lindsay Sharp (2000–2002) The following have been head/director of the Science Museum in London, not including its satellite museums: * Jon Tucker (2002–2007, Head) * Chris Rapley CBE (2007–2010) The following have been directors of the National Museum of Science and Industry, (since April 2012 renamed the Science Museum Group) which oversees the Science Museum and other related museums, from 2002: * Lindsay Sharp (2002–2005) * Jon Tucker (2005–06, Acting Director) * Martin Earwicker FREng (2006–2009) * Molly Jackson (2009) * Andrew Scott CBE (2009–10) * Ian Blatchford (2010–)


References


External links

*
Albertopolis: Science Museum
– architecture and history of the Science Museum
sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk
( SMG) – a group of British museums that includes the Science Museum
Mapping the World's Science Museums from Nature Publishing Group's team blog
{{Authority control Charities based in London * Exempt charities Industry museums in England Musical instrument museums Medical museums in London Museums established in 1893 Museums in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Science museums in London Steam museums in London Transport museums in London Articles containing video clips South Kensington 1857 establishments in England Science Museum Group Science museums in England