For over a century we have studied, displayed and cared for the nation’s scientific heritage. This incredible collection is astonishing, beautiful and world-renowned.
However, only a small proportion of the Science Museum Group collection is visible online or in our five museums. We have embarked on an ambitious project to transform public access to these historic items, enabling you to explore more of the collection than ever before.
For the first time the collection will be open to all, accessible through public tours of the collection’s new purpose-built home and freely available online through the world’s most extensive online collection of science, technology, engineering and medicine.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
Work is well underway to study, record, digitise, pack and transport over 300,000 objects at our Blythe House object store in west London to their new home at the National Collections Centre in Wiltshire.
Our new collection management facility will house much of the Science Museum Group Collection and provide stable conditions for its long-term preservation and care. The first objects from the collection began arriving at the new facility in June 2021.
This new building is the size of 600 double decker buses (90m wide and almost 300m long) and features a spacious storage hall, conservation laboratories, research spaces and photography
NEXT STEPS
As part of our work we continue to photograph and study thousands of historic items at the National Collections Centre. These items are being published online for the first time, ready for you to explore.
We will also continue to share incredible stories from the collection through short films and long-form online content. Our new podcast and new online tools (such as Never been Seen and our Google Chrome extension) will help you discover items from across this vast collection.
The new collection facility at the National Collection Centre will open regularly for public tours, school and research visits from 2024.
