Science Museum Group Explained

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 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

The 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.^[1]

The term "National Museum of Science and Industry" had been in use as the Science Museum's subtitle since the early 1920s.^[2] Prior to 1 April 2012 the group was known as the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI).

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.^[3] 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.

From January 2012 the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester became part of the Science Museum Group.^{[4] [5]}

From 2017 Locomotion, The National Railway Museum at Shildon, became part of the Science Museum Group.^[6]

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.^[7]

Throughout 2021 SMG is hosting Climate Talks which are a series of online talks, Q&As and events exploring problems arising from climate change. 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.^[8]

SMG continues to work to reduce carbon emissions from operations, recruitment and supply chain, and by using resources efficiently.^[9] On 15 April 2021 SMG announced that it expects to achieve overall Net Zero/Carbon Neutrality by 2033.^[10]

Collection

The collection includes:^[11]

• 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

The chairman of the group is Dame Mary Archer who was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron for the four-year term from 2015 from 2018.^[12] Dame Mary Archer was reappointed as Chairman 2019–2022 in January 2018.^[13]

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–)

External links

• • The official print website – containing over 40,000 images from the various museum collections

Notes and References

1. Web site: A Brief History of the Science Museum. 2021-10-20. Science Museum Group. en-GB.
2. Web site: SMG Board of Trustees. Science Museum Group. 2018-09-14.
3. National Museum of Science and Industry: Annual Report and Accounts 2008–09, NMSI, UK.
4. News: Manchester's MOSI and London's Science Museum to merge . BBC News . 2 December 2011 . 2011-12-03.
5. News: Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry to become part of national Science Museum . Manchester Evening News . 2011-12-02.
6. News: National Railway Museum Shildon Set to transfer to Science Museum Group . Museums Association . 2017-09-20.
7. Web site: School climate strikers urge boycott of Science Museum show over Shell deal. en-GB. 2021-10-20. The Guardian.
8. Web site: London’s Science Museum agrees sponsorship with arm of coal producer Adani Group. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/fea13e56-927c-42cc-b1de-b4a4bbe691f9 . 10 December 2022 . subscription . live. en-GB. 2021-10-20. The Financial Times.
9. Web site: Sustainability Policy. 2021-06-17. Science Museum Group. en-GB.
10. Web site: Towards net zero. 2021-06-17. Science Museum Group. en-GB.
11. Web site: SMG Collections. Science Museum Group. 2018-09-14.
12. Web site: Prime Minister appoints Dame Mary Archer as new Chairman of the Science Museum Group. 26 February 2015. British Government.
13. Web site: Prime Minister Reappoints Chairman to the Board of the Science Museum Group. 8 May 2015. Science Museum Group.