Unlocking the Science Museum’s GM Archives: revealing the evidence, informing the debate (360G-Wellcome-210449_Z_18_Z)

The Science Museum wishes to maximise the potential of our GM (Genetically Modified) archives to inform, inspire and engage our audiences. Currently there is very basic information in our archives catalogue, but the vast majority of the material is undocumented and therefore inaccessible. The Museum does not currently have the resources to enable the cataloguing and processing work needed. Therefore to achieve our vision we are seeking a grant to create a coherent, cross-referenced catalogue of the collections, digitise the analogue media, and preserve the holdings through repackaging into archival grade materials. This project offers solutions to several challenges including the inaccessibility of the information, the need for the Museum to contribute to ongoing public debate on gallery and through social media and the potential support this archive could be lending to our own and other research projects. The Science Museum is developing content for a new contemporary agriculture gallery and the GM debate is an obvious key theme. If these archives could be unlocked and interpreted they could inform content development and public events. There would be significant potential to use this material to benefit not just the Museum, but also historians, scientists, policy makers, planners and the public