Science Museum Group Journal  |  View in browser

Science Museum Group Journal
Image of rolling green hillsides with a blue river in front of them, lit at dusk.

View of hills in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, a feature image for book review in the upcoming Issue 24.

Issue 24 coming soon!

The Autumn 2025 issue of the Science Museum Group Journal will be available soon for readers. In this issue readers can anticipate a remarkable breadth of research, from railway history to a radioactive collections item, as well as the inclusion of a collection of papers emerging from the Communicating Time and Culture project here at the Science Museum. Here is a taste of the upcoming articles:

  • Vicky Hall et al. consider how to create SEND-friendly resources for science education in a collaborative research project with students in Oxfordshire, developing new and useful dialogic methods for engaging with students with complex educational needs.
  • Hartman Deetz and Amelia Mulcahey-Knight highlight the transformative value of Indigenous partnership in understanding and interpreting collections stories through an exploration of the history of a Wampanoag Nation birch bark canoe from the Science Museum collections.
  • Selby Hearth et al. present an object biography of a radioactive mineral from its birth in the earth's crust all the way into, and then out of, a museum collection at Bryn Mawr college.
  • A discussion by Laura Humphreys et al. on the curatorial process for the repatriation of the remains of Preben Larsen, a Danish resistance fighter who was killed in a Nazi concentration camp. 

Issue 24 will also feature a paper by Karen Baker and Mike Esbester reflecting on the importance of collaborative research processes when exploring challenging topics such as railway accidents, an exploration of the potentialities of Open Store audience engagement by Kitty Yiu, and a reflection by Oli Betts on engaging with difficult histories in the context of celebrating railway anniversaries. In the Zimingzhong mini-collection, David Francis discusses the way technology has facilitated transcultural connection from Qing Dynasty China to the present day, Coco Zhou traces the history of a Chinese folk song all the way through to modern music, and Wenjie Su describes the way understandings of temporality change through cross-cultural interaction in a discussion of early modern Chinese clocks.

Before Issue 24 is out this spring, make sure to read our Issue 23, available here.

Black and white image of a bird mid-flight, wings outstretched.
Black and white image of two scientists, young men in white coats, examining a wall full of round windows.
Backlit image of a ship at port. There is a ramp into the water, facing the ship.
Very close up image of a black and white clock face, with roman numerals across the bottom and a long golden hand. A golden flower sits above the inscription.

Do you have a paper to publish?

The Journal publishes writing on topics related to the work of science museums globally, including the history of technology, science and medicine, written by academics, museum professionals , and independent scholars. Writing ranges from traditional research papers to object biographies, participatory research studies, films, and more. We encourage work by multimedia and interdisciplinary practitioners and have developed new display methodologies to better showcase this work in the Journal format. The Journal also wants to encourage submissions about urgent questions in museum practice, such as decolonisation and diversity. Deadlines for submission are twice a year: 1 April for publication in our Autumn issue, and 1 September for publication in our Spring issue. If you have any questions about submissions, or would like to get in touch with an idea to develop, please contact us.

Image of a steam train moving away from the viewer along a rocky, tree-studded hillside. The train's cars are yellow and a shallow, rocky body of water sits to the left.

Research and Public History news

Reimagining Space at the Science Museum: Tuesday 23 September 2025, 13.00–14.00, Dana Study

To celebrate the opening of our new Space gallery in 2025, we are beginning a series of lunchtime seminars which explore new stories of space and how they are being told. Our first seminar will be led by Abbie McKinnon, the Science Museum's Curator of Space Technologies. Join us to hear about the process of creating the new gallery. Book via Eventbrite.

India on the Line: Communicating in Colonial India

This South Asian Heritage Month, discover the untold stories of telegraphists in Colonial India at BT Group Archives' Holborn Telephone Exchange (268-270 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EE). Opening 16 July at 13:00 and running on selected days until the end of August, this unique exhibition uses archival documents to explore telecommunications history from 1856–1947, revealing stories of racial hierarchies, devastating health impacts on workers, and surprising cross-cultural solidarity.

Visit slots available (10.00–12.00 or 13.00–15.00) on select Wednesdays and Thursdays. Book via Eventbrite.

Image of the Open Store at the Science Museum, featuring a lamp post, several traffic signs, and a glass display case.
Image of the Palace Museum in Beijing, featuring a red wall and two curved roofs, against a bright blue sky.

Keep up to date with all the latest research news, events and Science Museum Group Journal articles by joining us on LinkedIn: SMG Research and Public History.