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Collecting the personal: stories of domestic energy and everyday life at the National Museum of Scotland
The Energise gallery at the National Museum of Scotland explores the sources, generation, distribution and use of energy and questions how science and technology transform how we power our lives. This article details three objects around which a focus on personal stories was adopted.
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Collections development in hindsight: a numerical analysis of the Science and Technology collections of National Museums Scotland since 1855
Long term and bulk patterns in the accessioning, deaccessioning and use of the Science and Technology collections of National Museums Scotland were revealed within their digital database records. This confirms the value of both collecting and disposal for collections development.
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Coming home - Bally’s miniature phrenological specimens
Close inspection of William Bally’s miniature phrenological specimens – a set of 60 small plaster busts – has led to a reappraisal of their origin and use. Made in 1832, they helped position Bally as ‘one of the best practical phrenologists in England’.
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Commemorating the past, shaping the future: the jubilee and centenary celebrations of the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Analysing the jubilee (1875) and centenary (1925) celebrations of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, this paper examines the forms and functions of commemoration cultures centred on important moments in this industry’s history.
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Contagious Cities: an international collaborative enquiry
Contagious Cities explored infectious diseases in Geneva, New York, Hong Kong and Berlin through a variety of cultural programmes. We examine its outputs and outcomes, the complexities of working with multiple stakeholders, and what might be learned from its approach to partnership and commissioning.
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Contexts for photography collections at the National Media Museum
In 2016 the National Media Museum transferred parts of its photographic collections to the Victoria and Albert Museum. This article examines the reactions to this decision to understand what it can tell us about public perceptions of the role of museums, and places the transfer in the wider contexts of sustainable collecting practices, economic pressures and local circumstances.
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Cosmonauts: Birth of an Exhibition
This paper presents the thinking behind Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age, relating it to previous Science Museum space exhibitions and to new scholarship on Russia’s space exploration. It shows also the exhibition’s dependency on curatorial and design team dialogue.
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Curating Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries
The curators of Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries reflect on their experiences of creating these significant new displays at the Science Museum in London.
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Curating Ocean Ecology at the Natural History Museum: Miranda Lowe and Richard Sabin in conversation with Pandora Syperek and Sarah Wade
Curators Miranda Lowe and Richard Sabin discuss a major redisplay at the Natural History Museum, London, featuring ‘Hope’ the blue whale skeleton, in relation to extinction narratives, ideals of authenticity, anthropomorphism and the crossover of art and science.
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Curating the collider: using place to engage museum visitors with particle physics
This article explores the use of reconstructed spaces and immersion at the Science Museum’s recent Collider exhibition. It sets out the challenges of engaging museum audiences with cutting-edge particle physics, describes the techniques adopted and evaluates their success.