Response to FOI request 'Total number of objects in NMSI's collections'
Cook Rory
The National Museum of Science and Industry
6 May 2008
Dear Frankie Roberto,
Thank you for your email dated 4th May 2008 with regards to the total
number of objects in the Museum's collection. Figures taken from the
Science Museum website
(http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about_us...
bout_the_collections.aspx) indicate the Museum has around 300,000
objects "in its care" this includes objects on loan from other
institutions and the Wellcome Collection of Medical Objects. The
Museum's holdings are of course always changing to due to objects being
loaned out to other Museum's, objects being disposed from the collection
(once a lengthy process has been completed) and objects being
permanently acquired by the Science Museum. Special exhibits, the
current Dan Dare Making of Modern Britain Exhibition for example, also
inflate the Museum's collection with specific objects borrowed or
acquired for the length of the display.
I have conducted a research using the Museum's computerised data base. I
searched using the 'Year' field in which an object was acquired. The
numbers are of course rough estimates as the data base also doubles as a
records management system and some results may in actual fact be paper
files. Also errors or omissions at the time of entry can not be
discounted, the following break down is therefore a guide:
Objects acquired in the 1800s - 15429
1900-1909- 3019
1910-1919- 6258
1920- 1929- 14489
1930-1939- 12618
1940-1949- 4392
1950-1959- 8097
1960-1969- 7476
1970-1979- 26748
1980-1989- 50563
1990-1999- 44625
2000-Present- 24546
Loan- 2969
Total - 218 260
Please also note these results do not take into account the holdings of
the Science Museum's sister institutions.
I hope this information is of some use to and wish you all the best with
your research.
Rory Cook,
Documentation Centre,
Science Museum,
London,
SW7 2DD
show quoted sections
Send a follow up message to Cook Rory
Use this to tell the public authority something, such as to clarify your request, or if they are late responding.
Please do not make new requests here. If you are asking for information which was not in your original request, then file a new request instead.
(You will be asked to sign in as Frankie Roberto)