British Science Museum from a Biochemist

By Ethan Christ

The British Science Museum surpassed my expectations in every way possible, from its inclusive and engaging displays, to its rotating collection of premium exhibits. The museum does an exceptionally good job at having fun, playful, and interesting exhibits for children to get interested and explore those interests in science, while balancing that with more in depth and historical displays of science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM). You could legitimately spend all day in the science museum, going from floor to floor where each one has a different focus within STEM. As a space enthusiast, the aerospace exhibit on the ground floor was amazing and engaging, with content and displays for readers of all lexiles and people of all ages. The British Science Museum has a rotation of premium displays and exhibits that keep it fresh and interesting for students and families of all ages, like the sci-fi exhibit that was present when we went recently. They had an authentic Darth Vader helmet from Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back and a full model Iron Man suit that I was freaking out over. The museum had a fantastic mathematics and media section that really showed how the two intertwined, and how our better understanding of math led to mass media. One thing that really disappointed me about the museum though, was the lack of an exhibit on the environment and climate change. Arguably the most dire issue of our generation that affects everyone on the planet, was virtually nowhere to be found at the museum. Museums are places of learning and history, and when all science done on climate change has shown that it exists and is an issue, I expected the British Science Museum to do better and address it.