Visit us next week (from 11–17 December) as we, along with more than 350 National Lottery-funded heritage attractions across the UK, will be offering a treat for National Lottery ticket holders as a way of saying ‘thank you’ this Christmas. We’ll be offering a free tote bag to all lottery ticket holders and the chance to compete for other prizes to say thank you for helping fund objects, exhibitions and galleries. The Science Museum is part of the Science Museum Group, which since 1995 has received more than £65m in funding from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
At the Science Museum we’ll be running a competition from 11-17 December where you could win the grand prize of a free tour on the iconic Flying Scotsman or a runner-up prize of tickets for two to see Illuminating India: Photography 1857-2017, a curator led tour for two of Illuminating India: 5000 Years of Science and Innovation on a date of your choice, and a complimentary lunch for two in the Science Museum’s Media Space Café.
Based in the National Railway Museum, Flying Scotsman is one of the UK’s best known global ambassadors and a beneficiary of HLF generosity.
Steps to enter the #ThanksToYou competition:
- Present your lottery ticket in either paper or digital form on arrival at the Science Museum for a free Science Museum tote bag (while stocks last)
- Take a selfie with your tote bag in the Science Museum
- Tag @sciencemuseum as the location and add the hashtag #ThanksToYou
- Share your selfie on Instagram or Twitter to enter a competition to win a curator led tour for two, subject to the curator’s availability, and tickets for two to see Illuminating India: Photography 1857-2017 and Illuminating India: 5000 Years of Science and Innovation on a date of your choice, and a complimentary lunch for two in the Science Museum’s Media Space Café, or the grand prize of a tour on Flying Scotsman with Champagne Afternoon Tea on the award-winning Countess of York. Terms and conditions apply, read them here.
At the Science Museum, HLF has helped fund galleries, support exhibitions and acquire objects. One such exhibition Wounded: Conflict, Casualties and Care opened in 2016 and we spoke to the curator Stewart Emmens to find out more about how HLF helped support him in telling the story of the First World War (FWW) from a fresh angle.
Exploring the centenary of WW1
“The Wounded: Conflict, Casualties and Care exhibition was the Science Museum’s contribution to the centenary of the FWW, but it was also an opportunity to both conserve and showcase objects which up until now have largely remained out of public view. The exhibition follows a medical narrative from the carnage of the Western Front battlefields and the treatment of those wounded there, to the journeys they then took to get back home and the care they received once they returned.
Discussing mental health
The generosity of HLF was key to realising the exhibition, but funding aside, they actively encouraged one of the most acclaimed elements of the project – the participation of recently wounded veterans in developing content for display.
This contemporary aspect was vital in drawing out both the similarities and differences in medical care over time, as well as providing an emotional bridge to those long gone, but once young soldiers who fought a century ago.”
Supporting the Science Museum
HLF also helped fund the Wellcome Wing and permanent galleries Making the Modern World, Information Age and the upcoming Medicine Galleries, which will open in 2019. These galleries house a range of iconic objects from Stephenson’s Rocket, to the Enfield Telephone Exchange, the Cray Supercomputer, the first Ford Model T and many more.
Without the help of lottery players and HLF these galleries would simply not exist, and we would not be able to tell our stories of British innovation, scientific development and the engineering feats that shaped our world and will help to inspire future generations for many years to come.
It is no exaggeration to say that lottery players, through the HLF, have played an essential role in supporting the Science Museum and on behalf of everyone at the museum – thank you for your support.
Click here for T&C’s and find out more about the Science Museum Group here and Heritage Lottery Fund here.