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 Steam engine
The South Kensington Museum was established in 1857, from which the Science Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum have developed.
The objects on display in the South Kensington Museum are drawn from various sources including the Great Exhibition on 1851. In 1884 the Patent Museum passed on its stock of patent models to the science collections, including priceless objects such as Stephenson's 'Rocket' and Arkwright's original textile machinery.
The extensive collections on railway history held by British Railways were transferred to the Science Museum as a result of the 1968 Transport Act. This led to the establishment of the National Railway Museum in York in 1975. A second initiative was the opening of the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford in 1983 which aims to study the art and the science of images. Collectively the three museums are known as the National Museum of Science & Industry. In 1976 the Science Museum acquired the valuable Wellcome Collection of over 125,000 objects. The Collection spans the history and practice of medicine from the ancient Greeks to present-day techniques, and is continually updated to map developments in biochemistry and genetics.
The Museum was transferred from a government department to a Board of Trustees as a result of The National Heritage Act of 1983. A period of rapid expansion followed. New interactive galleries, such as Launch Pad and Flight Lab, were opened, supplementary exhibitions were initiated and the Museum developed a busy programme of activities and events. New Galleries in 1996 included the imaginative "Secret Life of the Home" and extensive new hands-on education facilities.  Science museum
| Address: | Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD
United Kingdom | | Contact: | Tel: +44 (0)870 870 4868, Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 4777 | | Nearest Tube Station: | South Kensington | | Buses: | 9, 10, 14, 49, 52, 70, 74, 345, 360, 414, C1 | | Opening Houres: | Seven days a week, from 10.00 to 18.00
The Museum is closed from 24 to 26 December |
See Oxford Street on map.
Useful Links:
Science Museum - Official website of London Science Museum.
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