Science Museum, London facts for kids
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The Science Museum
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| Visitors | 2,956,886 (2023) |
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| National Museum of Science and Industry | |
| National Media Museum · National Railway Museum (Shildon Locomotion Museum) · Science Museum (Dana Centre, Science Museum Swindon) | |
The Science Museum is a famous museum located in South Kensington, London. It first opened in 1857 and is a very popular place for tourists to visit. In 2019, about 3.3 million people visited the museum.
Like other national museums in the United Kingdom, the Science Museum does not charge an entry fee. However, visitors are welcome to make a donation if they can. Some special exhibitions might have a small fee. The Science Museum is part of a larger group called the Science Museum Group.
Contents
- Discover the Science Museum's History
- Explore the Science Museum's Galleries
- Special Exhibitions and Traveling Shows
- Museum Events for All Ages
- Former Galleries: A Look Back at What Was There
- Behind the Scenes: Storage and Library
- Museum Leadership
- Images for kids
- See also
Discover the Science Museum's History
The Science Museum began in 1857. It started with items from the Royal Society of Arts and extra things from the Great Exhibition. At first, it was part of the South Kensington Museum, which also included what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum.
A collection of machines formed the Museum of Patents in 1858. This later became the Patent Office Museum in 1863. Many famous items now in the Science Museum came from this collection. In 1883, these items were moved to the South Kensington Museum.
In 1885, the science collections were officially named the Science Museum. A separate director was appointed in 1893. The art collections became the Art Museum, which is now the Victoria and Albert Museum.
When Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the new art museum building, she wanted it named after herself and her late husband, Prince Albert. This name was first meant for the whole museum. But when the new building opened ten years later, the name was only for the art collections. So, the science collections became separate. On June 26, 1909, the Science Museum officially became its own independent museum.
The current Science Museum buildings were designed by Sir Richard Allison. They opened in stages between 1919 and 1928. This first part was called the East Block. Its construction started in 1913 but was paused by World War I. This block was meant to be the first of a much larger museum, but that bigger plan never happened.
Over the years, the museum expanded. A special Children's Gallery with interactive exhibits opened in 1931. The Centre Block was finished in 1961–63. More additions were made in 1980, and the Wellcome Wing was built in 2000. Today, the museum stretches all the way to Queen's Gate.
A Look Back: Science for the Nation Book
In 2010, a book called Science for the Nation: Perspectives on the History of the Science Museum was published. This book tells the complete history of the Science Museum since 1957. It includes different views from museum staff and historians. The first five chapters cover the museum's history from the 1860s to the opening of the Wellcome Wing in 2000. The other chapters explore various themes about how the museum grew.
Explore the Science Museum's Galleries
The Science Museum has two main parts: the main building and the Wellcome Wing. You enter the main building from Exhibition Road. To get to the Wellcome Wing, you walk through the Energy Hall, Exploring Space, and Making the Modern World galleries on the ground floor.
Main Building – Ground Floor (Level 0)
The Energy Hall: Powering the Past
The Energy Hall is often the first area visitors see. It has many steam engines on display. These engines tell the story of Britain's Industrial Revolution. You can see the oldest surviving James Watt beam engine here.
There's also a recreation of James Watt's workshop. It uses over 8,300 objects from his actual workshop. This room was sealed after his death in 1819 and moved to the museum in 1927.
Exploring Space: Journey to the Stars
Exploring Space is a gallery about the history of space travel. It features rockets and exhibits that show how humans have explored space. It also highlights the benefits space exploration has brought, especially in telecommunications.
Making the Modern World: Amazing Inventions
This gallery shows some of the museum's most amazing objects. You can see Puffing Billy, one of the oldest steam locomotives. Also on display are Crick's double helix model and the command module from the Apollo 10 mission. These items are arranged along a timeline of human technological achievements.
A V-2 rocket, designed by German scientist Wernher von Braun, is also in this gallery. Museum expert Doug Millard explains that V-2 technology helped us reach the Moon. However, he notes that the V-2 program was very costly in terms of lives, as slave labor was used to build these rockets.
Stephenson's Rocket used to be in this gallery. After a short tour, it is now permanently displayed at the National Railway Museum in York.
Main Building – First Floor (Level 1)
Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries: Health Through Time
The Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries is a huge exhibition with five galleries. It covers medicine from ancient times to today. There are over 3,000 exhibits and special artworks. Many items come from the Wellcome Collection, started by Henry Wellcome. One artwork is a large bronze sculpture of Rick Genest by Marc Quinn. These galleries take up the entire first floor and opened in November 2019.
Main Building – Second Floor (Level 2)
The Clockmakers Museum: Timekeeping Treasures
The Clockmakers Museum is the world's oldest museum dedicated to clocks and watches. Its collection was first put together by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London's Guildhall.
Science City 1550–1800: The Linbury Gallery: London's Scientific Rise
This gallery shows how London became a major center for trade, business, and scientific discovery between 1550 and 1800.
Mathematics: The Winton Gallery: Numbers Shape Our World
The Mathematics: The Winton Gallery explores how mathematicians have helped build our modern world. In the area leading to the gallery, you can see a working example of Charles Babbage's Difference engine No.2. The Science Museum built this machine, completing its main part in 1991. It was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
Information Age: Connecting the World
The Information Age gallery shows how communications and computing have developed over the last two centuries. It explores six networks that changed global communication: The Cable, The Telephone Exchange, Broadcast, The Constellation, The Cell, and The Web. Queen Elizabeth II opened it in October 2014 and even sent her first tweet from there!
Main Building – Third Floor (Level 3)
Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery: Hands-On Science Fun
One of the most popular galleries is the interactive Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery. It used to be called Launchpad. This gallery has "Explainers" who show how exhibits work. They also do live experiments and science shows for schools and visitors.
Flight: Soaring Through History
The Flight gallery traces the history of flight in the 20th century. It features several full-sized aeroplanes and helicopters. You can see Alcock and Brown's transatlantic Vickers Vimy from 1919. There are also Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes. The gallery also displays many aero-engines and a cross-section of a Boeing 747. It opened in 1963 and was updated in the 1990s.
Wellcome Wing: Future and Fun
Power Up (Level 1): Game On!
Power Up is an interactive gaming gallery. It shows the history of video games and consoles from the last 50 years. Visitors can play on over 150 consoles, from the Binatone TV Master to the PlayStation 5.
Tomorrow's World (Level 0): Science News
The Tomorrow's World gallery features current science stories and free exhibitions. Past exhibits included "Mission to Mercury: Bepi Columbo" and "Driverless: Who's in control?"
IMAX: The Ronson Theatre (Entrance from Level 0): Big Screen Science
The IMAX: The Ronson Theatre is an IMAX cinema. It shows educational films, many in 3-D, as well as popular movies and live events. The screen is huge, measuring 24.3 by 16.8 meters. It uses both modern laser projection and traditional film projectors, with a special 12-channel sound system.
Who Am I? (Level 1): Discover Yourself
In the Who Am I? gallery, visitors can explore the science of what makes them unique. It features interesting objects, thought-provoking artworks, and hands-on exhibits.
Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery (Level 2): Powering a Sustainable Future
Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery explores how the world can create and use energy in a more sustainable way. This is important to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and limit the effects of climate change.
Special Exhibitions and Traveling Shows
The museum has dedicated areas for temporary exhibitions. These can be free or have a fee. They are located on Level -1 (Basement Gallery), Level 0 (inside Exploring Space and Tomorrow's World), Level 1 (Special Exhibition Gallery 1), and Level 2 (Special Exhibition Gallery 2 and The Studio). Many of these exhibitions travel to other Science Museum Group sites, and even nationally and internationally.
Past exhibitions have included:
- Codebreaker, about the life of Alan Turing (2012–2013).
- Cosmonauts: Birth of Space Age (ended 2016).
- Robots (ended 2017).
- Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination (2022–2023).
The museum also creates touring exhibitions. For example, "The Science of Sport" appeared in various places worldwide. In 2005, the Science Museum teamed up with Fleming Media to create "The Science of..." series. This included "The Science of Aliens," "The Science of Spying," and "The Science of Survival."
In 2008, "The Science of Survival" exhibition opened. It let visitors imagine what the world might be like in 2050. It explored how humans will face challenges like climate change and energy shortages. In 2014, the museum launched the family-friendly "Energy Show," which toured the country.
That same year, a new program of touring exhibitions began with "Collider: Step inside the world's greatest experiment." This exhibition took visitors behind the scenes at CERN. It explored the science and engineering behind the discovery of the Higgs Boson. This exhibition toured until early 2017.
Museum Events for All Ages
Astronights for Children: Sleepovers at the Museum!
The Science Museum hosts Astronights, which are exciting all-night events with a science theme. Up to 380 children, aged 7 to 11, can attend with adults. They spend the evening doing fun science activities. Then, they get to sleep in the museum galleries among the exhibits! In the morning, they wake up to breakfast and more science, including a special show.
Lates for Adults: Grown-Up Evenings
On the last Wednesday evening of most months, the museum organizes an adults-only event called 'Lates'. These evenings feature up to 30 different activities, from talks to silent discos. Past 'Lates' have included conversations with actress Lily Cole and events about biorevolutions. These events attract thousands of people, especially those under 35.
Former Galleries: A Look Back at What Was There
The museum has changed a lot over time, with new galleries replacing older ones.
- The Children's Gallery (1931–1995): This was in the basement and was replaced by "The Garden" for younger children.
- Agriculture (1951–2017): Located on the first floor, it showed the history of farming. It was replaced by Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries in 2019.
- Shipping (1963–2012): This gallery on the second floor was replaced by Information Age.
- Land Transport (1967–1996): On the ground floor, it displayed vehicles like trains and cars. It was replaced by the Making the Modern World gallery in 2000.
- Launchpad (1986–2015): This popular interactive gallery moved locations several times. It was replaced by Wonderlab in 2016.
- Atmosphere (2010–2022): This gallery explored the science of climate.
- The Secret Life of the Home (1995–2024): This gallery showed how household appliances developed. It closed permanently in June 2024.
Behind the Scenes: Storage and Library
The Science Museum used to have a storage facility called Blythe House (1979–2019). While not a gallery, it offered tours of the stored collections. Objects from there are now being moved to the National Collections Centre in Wiltshire.
The Science Museum also has a special library. Until the 1960s, it was Britain's main library for science, medicine, and technology. It holds old magazines, books, and handwritten documents. Scholars from all over the world use it. The library's collection, including original scientific works, is now at the National Collections Centre.
The Dana Research Centre and Library reopened in 2015. It was previously an event space and cafe. It is open to researchers and the public. You can freely access almost 7,000 books there to read on site.
Museum Leadership
The directors of the Science Museum have included:
- 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)
Since 2002, the directors of the National Museum of Science and Industry (now the Science Museum Group), which oversees the Science Museum and other related museums, have been:
- 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–)
Images for kids
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Old Bess, a surviving example of a steam engine made by James Watt, in 1777
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4073 Caerphilly Castle in the Land Transport gallery
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Ciencias de Londres para niños
