Unlocking the Science Museum’s GM Archives: revealing the evidence, informing the debate

We wish to maximise the potential of our archives about genetic modification (GM) to inform, inspire and engage our audiences. Currently there is very basic information in our archives catalogue, but the majority of the material is undocumented and inaccessible. We are developing content for a new contemporary agriculture gallery and the GM debate is an obvious key theme.

We will create a coherent, cross-referenced catalogue of the collections, digitise the analogue media and preserve the holdings using archival grade materials to repackage the 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 in its galleries and through social media and the projects that could arise from using the archive.

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 historians, scientists, policy makers, planners and the public.