Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.

The Science Museum in South Kensington, London is accessible through its website as well as through visiting the building itself and this article considers how history teachers can gain from using the collection and resources in their teaching, as well as highlighting the breadth of the role of the museum. When considering museums and galleries for helping children develop historical concepts and understanding, specifically ‘historical’ museums spring to mind. The British Museum, or the Victoria and Albert are more obvious London choices on the face of it, with science being typically associated with the future rather than the past. Asserting the identity of a museum is quite a job, even with one as well established as the Science Museum, with its prominent place in the nation’s childhood memories.