Science Museum, Science museum in South Kensington, London, UK.
The Science Museum occupies a pale stone building on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, designed by Sir Richard Allison and opened in stages from 1919 to 1928. Its facade has tall windows between round columns with carved capitals, a cornice panel inscribed "SCIENCE MUSEUM", and vertical banners at the entrance. Inside, five levels hold galleries on astronomy, space, medicine and engineering.
The museum was founded in 1857 under Bennet Woodcroft, drawing on the Royal Society of Arts collection and surplus items from the Great Exhibition, as part of the South Kensington Museum. Its machinery became the Patent Office Museum in 1863, and those contents were transferred back in 1883. The Science Collections were renamed the Science Museum in 1885, and on 26 June 1909 it became an independent entity. Sir Richard Allison's present building opened in stages from 1919 to 1928.
The name reflects the systematic study of nature that gained prominence in 19th-century England. School groups from across the country come here today to participate in interactive demonstrations and examine historic instruments up close.
Visitors can enter the main collection daily without charge from 10:00 to 18:00, while certain temporary exhibitions require advance booking. The lower floors offer lifts and wide corridors for prams and wheelchairs.
The Energy Hall displays working examples of historic steam engines, including the oldest surviving James Watt beam engine from 1788. This engine originally operated in a London brewery and ran there for over 100 years.
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