A total of thirty six small museums across the UK have been awarded funding by the Royal Society as part of its Places of Science scheme, which is designed to engage communities with their local science stories and contribute to the sector’s recovery.
The projects awarded span a vast array of scientific topics, from mental health, infectious diseases to engineering and palaeontology. 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 the Quaker scientist John Dalton’s work on meteorology, foraging walks to understand how the wool trade shaped the rich cultural history of Dartmoor, and using recycled tiles and crockery to celebrate a community’s local palaeontology heritage, these museums all welcome and embrace their science stories, past and present.
“Many of this year’s awardees are also actively trying to make sure that their projects are accessible to everyone in their local communities. If your local museum has been given a Places of science award, I would like to encourage you to look out for the displays, festivals, and exhibitions that celebrate the science on your doorstep and that will inspire local generations to come.”
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 Darwin House, Lichfield, England
Digitally discovering Erasmus Darwin
Glenside Hospital Museum, Bristol, England
Be Well: the science behind your brain
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Hastings, England
The dinosaur on your doorstep
Head of Steam – Darlington Museum, Darlington, England
The everyday science of railways
Leighton House Museum, London, England
Exploring sound and creating music
Linlithgow Heritage Trust, Linlithgow, Scotland
Royal Burgh of Science: from Waldie to Scotty
Mansfield Museum, Mansfield, England
Mansfield stargazers
Watt Institution, Greenock, Scotland
The butterflies and minibeasts of Inverclyde
Museum of Dartmoor Life, Okehampton, England
Dye-ing on Dartmoor: Science and society from prehistoric to modern times
Quaker Tapestry Museum, Kendal, England
Weather watching: 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 Shetland crofter Johnny Notions
Sir John Moore Foundation, Appleby Magna, England
Works like clockwork
Almonry Heritage Centre, Evesham, England
The medieval herb garden project
Clan Macpherson Museum, Newtonmore, Scotland
The Macpherson’s engineering wonders
Coldharbour Mill Working Wool Museum, Uffculme, England
The power of steam
Dacorum Heritage Trust, Berkhamsted, England
Stories of “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 health heroes: stories from the lost Harrow Hospital
Lancaster City Museum, Lancaster, England
Lancaster Dino Fest
Lewes Castle, Lewes, England
Exploring nature in Sussex
Milford House Museum, Armagh, Northern Ireland
The scientific marvels of Milford House
Moira Furnace Museum, Moira, England
Meandering around the museum
Museum of Global Communications / PK Porthcurno, Porthcurno, England
Planet PK Champions
Museum of Richmond, Richmond, England
Artificial silk: From Kew to the World
Museum of Welsh Cricket, Cardiff, Wales
Exploring a sustainable and environmentally friendly cricket stadium
North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, Motherwell, Scotland
As Easy As Rocket Science
PWRR and Queen’s Museum, Dover, England
Treating the 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 all a bit Heath Robinson: A 150th birthday celebration of gadgets, games and general mayhem
Valence 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
