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 happened?
Around 300,000 historic objects have now been carefully recorded, digitised, packed and moved to our sector-leading facility at the Science and Innovation Park, bringing together these historic objects under one roof for the first time for conservation, study and public access.
Our new collection management facility now houses much of the Science Museum Group Collection and provides stable conditions for its long-term preservation and care.
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
What’s happening now
As part of our work, we continue to photograph and study thousands of historic items at the National Collections Centre at the Science and Innovation Park. These items are being published online for the first time, ready for you to explore.
We will continue to share incredible stories from the collection through short films and long-form online content. Our podcast and 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 Science and Innovation will open regularly for school visits and behind-the-scenes guided public tours later this year—sign up to be the first to hear when these go on sale.
Researchers can now also apply to visit and see a particular object from the collection. If you’re keen to find out how the Science Museum Group Collection can support your research, find out more on the Science and Innovation Park website.
