A total of 36 small museums across the UK have received funding from the Royal Society under its Places of Science programme, designed to engage communities in their local science stories and help the sector recover.
The winning projects cover a wide range of scientific topics, ranging from mental health, infectious diseases to engineering and paleontology. Up to £3,500 was available for each museum, exact funding amounts were not disclosed.
Professor Jonathan Ashmore FMedSci FRS, chair of the Places of science panel and professor of biophysics at UCL said of the funded projects:
“From using embroidery to teach us about Quaker scientist John Dalton’s work on meteorology, from foraging walks to understanding how the wool trade shaped Dartmoor’s rich cultural history, and the Using recycled tiles and tableware to celebrate a community’s local paleontological heritage, these museums are all about welcoming and embracing their scientific stories, past and present.
“Many of this year’s winners also actively try to ensure that their projects are accessible to everyone in their local communities. If your local museum has received a Places of science award, I would encourage you to seek out the exhibits, festivals and exhibits that celebrate science on your doorstep and will inspire local generations to come.
The Royal Society announces Places of science grants for small museums
Ballycastle Museum, Ballycastle, Northern Ireland
Marconi’s Moyle: Guglielmo Marconi’s radio wave experiments across the Sea of Moyle
Erasmus House Darwin, Lichfield, England
Discover Erasmus Darwin digitally
Glenside Hospital Museum, Bristol, England
Be Well: The Science Behind Your Brain
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Hastings, England
The dinosaur at your doorstep
Steam Head – Darlington Museum, Darlington, England
The everyday science of railways
Leighton House Museum, London, England
Explore sound and create music
Linlithgow Heritage Trust, Linlithgow, Scotland
Royal Burgh of Science: From Waldie to Scotty
Mansfield Museum, Mansfield, England
The Mansfield Astronomers
Watt Establishment, Greenock, Scotland
The Butterflies and Minibeasts of Inverclyde
Dartmoor Life Museum, Okehampton, England
Dyeing on Dartmoor: science and society from prehistory to modern times
Quaker Tapestry Museum, Kendal, England
Weather monitoring: John Dalton FRS, meteorology and Kendal
Royal Anglian Regiment Museum, Duxford, England
Operation Infantry Science
Shetland Museum, Lerwick, Scotland
Telling the story of 18th century vaccine pioneer and small Shetland farmer Johnny Notions
Sir John Moore Foundation, Appleby Magna, England
Runs like clockwork
Almonry Heritage Centre, Evesham, England
The Medieval Herb Garden Project
Clan Macpherson Museum, Newtonmore, Scotland
Macpherson’s engineering marvels
Coldharbour Mill Working Wool Museum, Uffculme, England
The power of steam
Dacorum Heritage Trust, Berkhamsted, England
Stories from “The Science Behind…”
Florence Nightingale Museum, London, England
From Scutari Hospital to NHS Nightingale
Hackney Museum, London, England
Ice Age Hackney
Headstone Manor & Museum, Harrow, England
Harrow’s Healthcare Heroes: Stories from Harrow’s Lost Hospital
Lancaster City Museum, Lancaster, England
Lancaster Dinosaur Party
Lewes Castle, Lewes, England
Exploring nature in Sussex
Milford House Museum, Armagh, Northern Ireland
The Scientific Wonders of Milford House
Moira Furnace Museum, Moira, England
Stroll through the museum
Museum of Global Communications / PK Porthcurno, Porthcurno, England
PK Planet Champions
Richmond Museum, Richmond, England
Artificial silk: from Kew to the world
Welsh Cricket Museum, Cardiff, Wales
Explore a sustainable and eco-friendly cricket stadium
North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, Motherwell, Scotland
As simple as rocket science
PWRR and Queen’s Museum, Dover, England
Caring for troops: medicine and the infantry, 1800-1920
Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, Rugby, England
Summer of STEAM
Tarbat Discovery Centre, Portmahomack, Scotland
The science of skulls
The Brunel Museum, London, England
Uniting art and science at Brunel’s Engine House
The West House and Heath Robinson Museum Trust, Pinner, England
It’s a bit Heath Robinson: a 150th anniversary celebration of gadgets, games and general mayhem
Valencia House Museum, Dagenham, England
Science and domestic alchemy: Anne Henshaw’s role in the history of chemistry
Wanlockhead Museum Trust, Wanlockhead, England
Mining for science
