Today (24 June 2010) Prof. Chris Rapley CBE, Director of the Science Museum, announced that the Science Museum has welcomed a 2,805,091 visitors through its doors in its Centenary year making 2008/9 the busiest year in its one hundred year history. The announcement was made at the launch of the Museum’s latest biomedical gallery ‘Who am I?’ and alongside the news that the Wellcome Trust is to launch a project to map 10,000 genomes in 3 years.
‘Who am I?’, which presents the latest brain science and genetics research through a mix of fascinating objects, hands on multimedia exhibits and contemporary art works, opens to the public on 26 June to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the announcement of the first draft of the human genome.
Marking the occasion Prof. Chris Rapley CBE, Director of the Science Museum and UCL Professor of Climate Science, said:
“The launch of the renewed Who am I? gallery is a major step in achieving our vision for the Science Museum - to be the best place in the world for people to enjoy science - and is a key plank in our Museum of the Future Masterplan, which we launched over a year ago. I am delighted to tell you that our Centenary year has been our most successful year ever attracting a record of over 2.8 million visitors and has also been our busiest year ever for booked educational visits, maintaining our position as the most visited schools destination in the country. What better demonstration could we ask for that the Science Museum remains as relevant to people today as it did to our forebears a Century ago.”
He added:
“The Who am I? gallery addresses some very big questions, which we know fascinate our visitors – such as “what makes each of us unique” – through a fascinating mix of up-to-date research, historical objects, exclusive art works and hands-on, multimedia exhibits. The interactive multimedia exhibits have been inspired by the research projects under way now in research laboratories across the globe.”
Visitor Information
‘Who am I?’ and ‘Antenna science news’ open from 26 June 2010.
FREE
Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2DD
Open daily 10.00 to 18.00, except 24-26 December
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk / 0870 870 4868
‘Who am I?’ is supported by Principal Funders: Wellcome Trust, Major Sponsors: GlaxoSmithKline and Life Technologies Foundation.
For further information please contact Andrew Marcus, Science Museum Press Office on andrew.marcus@sciencemuseum.org.uk or 020 7942 4357.
Notes to Editors
1. From June 2009 the Science Museum is celebrating its hundredth birthday and a century of science with a year-long centenary programme to take the renowned institution into the future. For 100 years the Science Museum has been world-renowned for its historic collection, remarkable galleries and inspirational exhibitions. With around 15,000 objects on public display, the Science Museum’s collections form an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical change from the past few centuries. Aiming to be the best place in the world for people to enjoy science, the Science Museum makes sense of the science that shapes our lives, sparking curiosity, releasing creativity and changing the future by engaging people of all generations and backgrounds in science engineering, medicine, technology, design and enterprise. In 2008/09 the Science Museum was proud to have been awarded the Gold Award for Visitor Attraction of the Year by Visit London and a Silver Award for Large Visitor Attraction of the Year by Enjoy England.
2. The Wellcome Trust is a global charity dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests. www.wellcome.ac.uk
3. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. GSK has a targeted community investment programme working with health and education organisations in almost 100 countries. GSK is one of the largest charitable givers in the FTSE 100. For more information please visit: www.gsk.com/community
4. Life Technologies Foundation is dedicated to recognizing the power of each scientist’s contribution to improving the human condition. By teaming with researchers across countries and cultures, we strive to demystify the world of life science, empower today’s children to become tomorrow’s scientific leaders and deepen society’s appreciation of science.
