Science for the Nation: Perspectives on the History of the Science Museum

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
List of Tables......Page 10
List of Illustrations......Page 11
List of Graphs......Page 13
List of Plates......Page 14
Acknowledgements......Page 15
Foreword......Page 16
Notes on Contributors......Page 18
Note on Sources and Conventions......Page 21
Introduction......Page 24
1 Infected by the Bacillus of Science: The Explosion of South Kensington......Page 34
2 The First Years: The Science Museum at War and Peace......Page 64
3 The Science Museum and the Second World War......Page 84
4 Ambition and Anxiety: The Science Museum, 1950–1983......Page 113
5 Parallax Error? A Participant’s Account of the Science Museum, c.1980–c.2000......Page 134
6 Waves of Change: How the Science Museum’s Library Rose, Fell and Rose Again......Page 159
7 ‘A Worthy and Suitable House’: The Science Museum Buildings and the Temporality of Space......Page 180
8 Exhibiting Science: Changing Conceptions of Science Museum Display......Page 199
9 Beyond the Children’s Gallery: The Influence of Children on the Development of the Science Museum......Page 233
10 ‘An Effective Organ of Public Enlightenment’: The Role of Temporary Exhibitions in the Science Museum......Page 251
11 Collecting for the Science Museum: Constructing the Collections, the Culture and the Institution......Page 289
12 Behind the Scenes: Housing the Collections......Page 312
13 The International Context and the Context of Internationalism......Page 333
Afterword: A Speech made at the Dinner to Celebrate the Centenary of the Science Museum on 11 June 2009 by Professor Chris Rapley CBE, Director of the Science Museum......Page 351
Appendix 1 Temporary (Special) Exhibitions, 1912–1983......Page 356
Appendix 2 Table of Senior Staff at the Science Museum, 1893–2000......Page 363
Appendix 3 Visitor Figures for the Science Museum, 1909–2008......Page 368
Index......Page 372
Color Plates......Page 217