Organisation: Science Museum Group
Principal investigator: Michelle Stoddart
Investment Overview
The Science Museum Group consists of five British museums dedicated to the history and contemporary practice of science, medicine, technology, industry and media. This collection provides access to a diverse range of materials and objects from across the Group’s sites providing a unique testbed for large-scale, cross-collection research. Heritage collections may include a range of chemical, radiological, biological, mechanical, flammable, electrical, pharmaceutical or environmental hazards. The investment aims to establish a comprehensive hazardous materials library to systematically address hazards in heritage collections, with a particular focus on science, technology, engineering and medicine collections.
RICHeS investment has enabled increased staff capacity, and training for further staff, alongside improved collections management practices, including improved safety equipment within the laboratories to enhance access to objects containing hazardous materials for staff and visiting researchers. This investment is proactively engaging with the sector to understand current collection hazard management practices and will offer sector-wide leadership, providing comprehensive hazard support to regional and independent museums, empowering institutions with limited resources. Alongside addressing immediate challenges to protect people and collections, this will result in practical hazard management controls that will broaden access to collections, ensuring they can be accessed confidently and researched safely, driving new insights, innovation, and understanding.
Explore More
Visit the HSDS Catalogue of Services for information on services available to access.
You can keep up to date with this investment on the Science Museum Group website.
