Thirty-six small museums across the UK have been awarded funding by The Royal Society’s Places of Science scheme to engage communities with local science stories.
Now in its fifth round, the scheme has awarded grants of up to £3,500 to back the creation of stories of historic crafts including glassmaking in Worcestershire, blacksmithing in Hertfordshire, and cyanotype printing in North Yorkshire.
Other projects funded will focus on historic figures, among them botanist Matilda Knowles, considered the founder of modern studies of Irish lichens, and Richard Hill, a prominent black abolitionist and naturalist, born in Jamaica who emigrated to Horncastle, Lincolnshire in the 1800s.
Chair of the Places of Science allocation panel Professor Russell Foster CBE said: “It has been wonderful to see so many creative ways of sharing scientific stories that are both engaging and accessible.”
Chair of the Royal Society Public Engagement Committee Professor Carlos Frenk CBE added: “Science plays a daily part in all our lives, and I’m delighted to think that new audiences from across the UK will be able to learn about the fascinating ways in which science has shaped their local communities throughout history and the vital role that it continues to play today.”
The 2024 Royal Society Places of Science museum projects
Beaminster Museum – Using 3D scanning to improve access and education of heritage objects
Braintree District Museum – The Braintree Museum Urban Garden Project
Bruce Castle Museum – Getting the Measure of William Bedwell: Maths, Measurement, and the Arabic world
Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre – Communicating conservation science at Chippenham Museum
Coleraine Museum – The Evolving Science of Digging Up the Past
Congleton Museum – Our Disappearing Nature!
Dr Jenner’s House, Museum and Garden – Jenner & The Oxford Vaccine
Epworth Old Rectory – Cures from the Garden: 18th century medicine at home
Gilbert White & The Oates Collection – Migrant Journeys
Herschel Museum of Astronomy – Amazing discoveries planetarium project
Highland Museum of Childhood – Exploring the Science behind Strathpeffer’s Victorian Spa
John Moore Museum – Natural Curators
Mid-Antrim Museum -Matilda’s Laboratory Challenge!
Milford House Museum – Milford House the story of electricity and the wonder of its age!
Much Hadham Forge Museum -Forging Links with Science at Much Hadham Forge Museum
Museum of Dartmoor Life – A Shroud for Mother Nature – Is Dartmoor Dying?
Museum of North Craven Life – Ground Nest Fest 2024
Museum of Welsh Cricket – Urban microclimates and their potential impact on summer sport in future
National Mining Museum United Kingdom – “The Rescuers” Tackle Climate Change
North Lincolnshire Museum – Beneath Our Feet: exploring the geology and history of North Lincolnshire, from the ground up
North Lincolnshire Museum (Rural Life Museum) – The Science of Stubbs project
Pannett Art Gallery – Look Closer, see the Extraordinary
Peace Museum – Caring for our world
Port Sunlight Museum – The Sunlight Soap Challenge
Sir Joseph Banks Society CIO – Richard Hill
Stromness Museum – Mineral Minds
Teign Heritage – Sun, sea and shifting sands – how the weather impacts the Teign Estuary
Tetbury Police Museum & Courtroom – Criminal Science and its relationship to Social Justice and Community
The Apsley Paper Trail – Recycling Paper: not a new invention
The Diving Museum – Diving into the Future at the Diving Museum
The Museum of Royal Worcester – The science of historic ice-cream: a hands-on workshop with the Museum of Royal Worcester
The Red House – The Science of Sound – creating a new offer for secondary students
