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Did you know? The Science Museum was originally known as the Kensington Museum, which opened in 1858

Monday, September 18, 2023 - 12:30

The Science Museum was officially established on 26 June 1909 thanks, in part, to the work of Sir Robert Morant, a Civil Servant who also laid the foundations for the NHS and the Medical Research Council. Both the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum were originally known as the South Kensington Museum, which opened in 1858.

The Science Museum houses some of the most incredible historic objects and in 1928 displayed the original Wright flyer, the world’s first heavier than air aircraft to fly, after Orville Wright refused to donate the aircraft to the Smithsonian museum. The flyer was only on loan, however, and after it was returned to the Smithsonian museum, the Science Museum had a replica of the aircraft built, which is on display in the Flight gallery.

Despite the numerous incredible objects in the museum today, these are only a small percentage of the Science Museum Group’s overall collection.

The majority of the museum’s collections are actually on display, at the National Collections Centre based at the Science and Innovation Park in Swindon, Wiltshire, which currently houses over 35,000 historic objects from the Group. The purpose-built facility will become a new, publicly accessible home for over 300,000 items from the collection and will open regularly for public tours, school, and research visits from 2024.