A science museum 'to rival South Kensington': historicizing the industrial city and galvanizing 'modern' science in post-war Manchester.

This paper shows how the Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry (GMMSI) was shaped by actors' experiences with the history of science and technology. The museum began under the leadership of scientist-historians at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in the 1960s, where it was uniquely positioned to reflect contemporary histories of science, particularly framed around the concept of revolutions. This academic framing converged with long-held civic aspirations for a science museum in the city and cemented Manchester's historiographic position as the 'first industrial city'. Vivian Bowden, UMIST's principal, also explicitly aimed to educate future scientists whom he believed were key to overcoming the region's economic challenges. What is striking in this process is how perceptions of the past and contemporary views were integrated with vehement northern independence and determination to form a 'museum to rival South Kensington'. This paper concludes with the GMMSI's early 1980s relocation to Liverpool Road Station, where the museum became a wholly civic affair, beyond academia. Despite these changes, the belief that the past had a place in the education of future scientists laid the foundations for the later integration of an interactive science centre gallery in the 1980s.