Institution of Engineers, Australia
Victoria Division

Engineering Heritage Sub-Committee
Hosted by the Museum of Victoria

Museums of Science and Industry -
Prospects and Policies

Dr. Neil Cossons, OBE MA FSA FMA
Director of the Science Museum London

Monday 21st November 1988 at 12 noon

at
Old Spotswood Pumping Station
site of the new Science and Technology Museum

The history and contemporary practice of science, technology, and industry raise issues not normally found in more conventional museums. How should collecting policies be determined; what is the purpose of collections; do they have a cultural, scientific and historical value, or are they kept primarily for purposes of interpretation?

New museums, and completely new types of museums, have sprung up all over the world in recent years in response to a growing if ill-defined interest in the subject, but where do they go from here?

Neil Cossons was for twelve years, Director of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire, England - from its opening to winning the first European Museum of the Year Award - and is now Director of Britain's Science Museum, the National Museum of Science and Industry. In his address he examines the issues of policy, funding, management and marketing facing museums and preservation organisations and identifies some of their prospects for the future.