Science Museum Group

The Science Museum Group logo

The Science Museum Group (SMG)^[1] is a collection of British museums, comprising:

• The Science Museum in South Kensington, London
• The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
• The National Railway Museum in York
• The National Railway Museum at Shildon in County Durham ("Locomotion")
• The National Media Museum (formerly the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television) in Bradford, and
• The Science Museum at Wroughton in Swindon, Wiltshire.

Prior to 1 April 2012 the group was known as the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI).^[2][3]

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.^[4]

History

The term "National Museum of Science and Industry" had been in use as the Science Museum's subtitle since the early 1920s. The National Railway Museum and National Photography Museum were later established as "outstations". The Science Museum was run directly by HM Government until 1984, when a Board of Trustees was established under the National Heritage Act (1983) and NMSI was adopted as a corporate title for the entire organisation.^[5] At this point NMSI no longer operated as part of a central government department; instead, it now had the status of a non-departmental public body, operating within the public sector but separately from its associated sponsoring government department, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Science Museum Group operates as a charity; it also has a wholly owned subsidiary trading company, NMSI Trading Limited, which was established in 1988.

From January 2012 the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester became part of the Science Museum Group.^[6][7]

There were concerns that some of the Science Museum Group's museums would close under the 2013 Spending Review.^[8]

Directors of NMSI

The following have been Directors of the National Museum of Science and Industry and the Science Museum:

• 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–)

References

1. "Science Museum Group - About us" (aspx). Science Museum Group. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
2. "Science Museum Group Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12" (pdf). Science Museum Group. 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
3. "National Accounts Classification Decisions - May 2012" (xls). Office for National Statistics. May 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
4. "Prime Minister appoints Dame Mary Archer as new Chairman of the Science Museum Group". British Government. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
5. National Museum of Science and Industry: Annual Report and Accounts 2008–09, NMSI, UK.
6. "Manchester's MOSI and London's Science Museum to merge". BBC News. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
7. "Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry to become part of national Science Museum". Manchester Evening News. 2011-12-02.
8. http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/02062013-vaizey-calls-for-bis-to-help-fund-smg

External links

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