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The Royal Institution of Great Britain, for Science in the Making
Experiments at the Royal Institution have led to the discovery of ten chemical elements and fourteen scientists associated with the Institution have received Nobel prizes. Today it continues to be dedicated to connecting people with the world of science, as exemplified in its famous Christmas Lectures for children and renowned public lecture programme. The collections of the Royal Institution include the original apparatus and papers of many of those who have researched, lectured and lived in the building including Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, John Tyndall, James Dewar, William Bragg, Lawrence Bragg, and George Porter. In addition the Royal Institution has important collections of iconographical material in various media, books, scientific instruments, historic furniture as well as a large administrative archive, covering all aspects of work at the Royal Institution.
The historic displays reflecting the themes of Experimentation, People and Communication, are spread across three floors of the building, with the highlight of the exhibition Faraday's magnetic laboratory as it was in the 1850s. The varied interpretation includes film, interactive exhibits and a palm-top eGuide. The Royal Institution has been reconfigured as a living, working, lively and engaging institution and visitor numbers have dramatically increased. It is now ready to engage positively with the public for the next 100 years and beyond. Project cost: £22 million funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Royal Institution and Royal Institution benefactors. Design team:
Terry Farrell and Partners, Architects Some of your comments: It is the most modern, fascinating, engaging display of original science artefacts I know. It has stimulated creative thinking for everyone I've taken to see it. It is about the future as well as the past, and leads the mind playfully into imagining where we could go from here.... The Royal Institute has been an inspiration in bringing Science to schools and is unique in its approach and history. This is a working museum and at the cutting edge technical displays are always well presented for a young audience without 'dumbing down' the subject which is important for us as educators. I look forward to our visits to the RI more than any other museum or institute in London. It may be small but it is passionate and dedicated. It gets my vote. Their family days surpass any other 'publicly available' science on offer for kids. Always a guarantee to see a mad display old fashioned British eccentricity. The building was evacuated twice on our last visit. Two controlled (yet huge) explosions proved too much for fire alarms in the lecture theatre! The kids loved it! An event in itself. The family days are full of variety, never dumbed down and are genuinely something my son and I look forward to (and I'm not a science boffin at all). Good Luck to the Royal Institution, you are a little known gem! They more than deserve to win for their 200 year historical and significant contributions to science and technology. As an associate member of the RI from Sri Lanka I would like to vote for the RI to win the prize, since I believe that way the RI will be able to make an even bigger and a more global contribution to science and technology worldwide in the future as well. Very carefully thought-out exhibition, with great attention to detail, and the special demands of children borne in mind. Imaginative use of e-guides. Having watched the Xmas lectures since I was a little boy, I have visited the Royal Institution many times; I have been twice since it reopened and cannot believe so few people go there, that alone should be enough but its wonderful exhibition with items from its history and great PDA tour plus rich science history is unrivalled anywhere in the UK. An exciting and sympathetic transformation of a very important building, giving it a great new lease of life for the years to come and opening it up to a whole new generation of scientists young and old. The Royal Institution has a long history of making science accessible to the public, in addition to its ground-breaking research. The new museum at the RI, with its interactive displays, complements its programme of events in science, engineering and mathematics. It enables young people in particular to understand the scientific achievements in an attractive manner that hopefully will encourage more of them to become scientists in the future. It is a place where all the family can visit and learn more. There is something for everyone and the talks are lively and informative with a huge variety of topics.
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The Royal Institution has been one of the world’s most prolific centres for scientific discovery throughout its 200-year history.
Throughout the Institution’s history its premises had undergone much piecemeal adaptation to accommodate the changing needs of society. By the late 1990s it was in critical need of updating and improving. The major renovation and reconfiguration project completed in 2009 has seen the transformation of the Grade I listed building and an increase of 40% in the spaces accessible to the public.
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