Today we've left London behind to visit our National Collections Centre in #Wiltshire.
We have exciting news to share group.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about-us/colle
A (long) thread 👇
Conversation
The National Collections Centre has been part of the Science Musuem Group since 1979.
Once RAF Wroughton, it's now a 545 acre site home to 35,000 objects from our collection, grasslands, native woodlands and one of the UK’s largest solar farms
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We are here to share more about an ambitious project we are working on, in fact it's probably the most ambitious thing we have ever done
What is it we hear you ask? Well...
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We are creating a new home for our collection that will open regularly to the public
Studying, photographing & moving 300,000 objects from London to Wiltshire
Sharing incredible stories from the collection with people in the UK and around the world 🌍
group.sciencemuseum.org.uk/project/collec
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As you can probably tell, we are really excited!
The sheer scale and diversity of the collection is astonishing. The 425,000 objects (and millions of archive materials and photographs) we care for tell incredible stories of human ingenuity.
group.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about-us/colle
...
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But only a small part of the collection is visible in our museums or online at the moment.
This project will change that, giving you unprecedented access to the collection both here in Wiltshire or online.
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We've just started construction of our new collection management facility, which will become the new home for our collection.
This will transform how we manage, care for & share our collection with the world, ensuring our historic objects continue to inspire future generations.
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At 90 metres wide and 300m long, the new facility is the size of 600 double decker buses. It will contain a spacious storage hall, conservation laboratories, research spaces and photography studios.
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Amazingly the first steels were installed just last week. Once construction finishes in early 2020 we'll spend the next 2 years moving over 300,000 objects into the facility.
From 2023 the collection's new home will open regularly for public tours, school and research visits.
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Excitingly the facility will also allow us to more easily display the collection across our museums (, , & us) AND increase the number of objects we loan each year to museums across the world 🌍
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Back in London our team of 50+ people are working hard at Blythe House to prepare the collection for its new home.
So far we have studied & recorded information on a staggering 140,128 objects.
Find out more in this series of blogs
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Excitingly 70 volunteers have contributed their valuable time to the project as well, working closely with the collection for the first time. If you would like to get involved you can apply here 👇
bit.ly/2JAyxmT
bit.ly/30f8KGK
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We’ve unearthed notebooks belonging to steam pioneer James Watt, discovered objects relating to forgotten chemist Frances Micklethwait, and uncovered the story behind an object that has been a mystery since 1851.
More on Frances here
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This work is enabling us to digitise our collection on an unprecedented scale.
Each month we publish fresh insights & hundreds of new photographs online for anyone, anywhere to explore.
Already 20,000 historic items have been digitised for the 1st time collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk
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You can see all these images in #MuseumInATab, our extension, which shows ordinary and astonishing items from the collection each time you open a new tab 👉
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We've created a short film series - Stories From The Stores - which goes behind the scenes with our experts to share the stories of objects not on display 👀
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You can also delve into the local impact and global legacies of extraordinary items from the collection through our online stories. Our latest explores the colourful chemistry of fashion 🧪👗
sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-st
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Engaging you with the stories embedded in our collection through participation projects, public events and online content, is a huge and important part of this ambitious project.
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Today we are inviting submissions from contemporary artists for a new public artwork that creatively responds to our ambitious project.
We've partnered with who bring new art to new audiences, particularly in the south west.
More here:
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Community participation is at the core of the £70,000 art commission. We're seeking an artist who will engage local communities with the National Collections Centre and the scale and significance of our collection.
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Proposals can be submitted online from today until 4 August, with the winning artist expected to start at the end of the year. The art commission will culminate in 2023 as our new facility opens for the public.
Find out more here
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Perhaps a little surprisingly, we have a long history of working with contemporary artists, including Tacita Dean, Antony Gormley, Thomas Heatherwick, Cornelia Parker, Marc Quinn and Yinka Shonibare.
You can see amazing art in our collection here collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/search/images/
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This morning our Managing Director Jonathan Newby is speaking about our ambitious project and launching the Art Commission.
"We'll be bringing together the best science collection in the world"
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We are also thrilled to be joined by Arts Minister . It is £40 million in part-funding from that has made this ambitious project possible.
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Our curator Ben Russell treated Arts Minister and our Managing Director Jonathan Newby to a ride in the electric Detroit Brougham motor vehicle from our collection. Made in 1916 it has a maximum speed of 22mph 🚗
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Before we go, here's a sneak peek at some of the objects inside our National Collections Centre 👀
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Excitingly we are in today with news about our new home for the Science Museum Group Collection theguardian.com/culture/2019/m
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