An engaging study of a great national institution. Essays explore the changing roles of museums and the perceived public role of a museum of science and technology. Illuminates the ways in which we think about the collecting and display of objects and the often difficult relations between the state, business and industry, and museum funding.

SCOTT ANTHONY Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, UK TIMOTHY BOON Chief Curator at the Science Museum, London, UK ROBERT BUD Principal Curator of Medicine, the Science Museum and Visiting Professorial Fellow of History at Queen Mary University of London, UK PETER J. T. MORRIS Principal Curator of Science, the Science Museum, London, UK THAD PARSONS Doctoral Candidate, Oxford University DAVID ROONEY Curator of Transport, the Science Museum, London, UK TOM SCHEINFELDT Managing Director, Center for History and New Media and Research Assistant Professor of History, George Mason University, Virginia, USA NICK WYATT Library Manager, the Science Museum Library, London, UK