Even when the museum is closed, our collection—and the inspirational stories it contains—remains open to you online.
virtual tours
Our Collection
Explore over 325,000 objects and archives from the collection of the Science Museum Group.
SOKOL space suit
Sokol-KV-2 rescue suit worn by Helen Sharman during the Juno mission to the Mir space station, 1991.
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
'Jason I', de Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth
In 1930, English aviator Amy Johnson (1903-1941) piloted Jason I to become the first woman to fly solo from Great Britain to Australia.
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Medical kit used by Ernest Shackleton, 1907
This kit was used by Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), a British explorer, during the 1907-1909 expedition attempting to locate the South Pole.
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Tracy, a transgenic ewe
Genetically modified to produce a human protein (alpha antitrypsin) in her milk, 1990-97. Alpha antitrypsin was considered a promising treatment for cystic fibrosis and some cases of the lung disease emphysema.
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Crick and Watson's DNA molecular model, 1953
In 1953, the British and American molecular biologists Francis Crick and James Watson worked out the double-helix structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the molecule that acts as a blueprint for all living things.
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Aerial tuning inductor, 1943-1966
The Rugby Tuning Coil was used to tune antenna to the right frequency at the Rugby Radio Station.
Science Museum Group Collection
Main frame, for Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) pilot model, 1949
A prototype based on British mathematician Alan Turing's designs for an 'automatic computing engine' (ACE), which would have been the world's first general-purpose computer.
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
