7 December, 1-2pm
Dr Elizabeth Burton (UCD) and Rachael Boon (Science Museum, London), ‘COVID-19 telecommunications collecting at the Science Museum, London’
Abstract: Through its rapid spread, global reach and capacity to overwhelm healthcare systems, the COVID-19 pandemic created a public health crisis that impacts on all our lives. The pandemic brought with it enormous social change, the repercussions of which will be felt for years. It has seen the introduction of strict public health controls and placed enormous demands on key workers, but it has also galvanised the international scientific, technological and medical communities in the fight against it.
The Science Museum Group cares for one of the world’s most significant collections of science, technology, engineering and medicine. In this paper, we describe our curatorial response and collections responsibilities around telecommunications and the COVID-19 pandemic and how we are actively, and sensitively, researching stories and identifying objects – physical and digital – related to telecommunications to collect on the nation’s behalf.
This paper is based on a forthcoming journal article in Science, Technology and Society, due for publication in early 2024.
Speaker biographies: Dr Elizabeth Bruton is Communications and Engagement Officer at the UCD Earth Institute and was previously Curator of Technology and Engineering at Science Museum, London. Dr Rachel Boon is Curator of Computing and Communications at the Science Museum, London.
Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuduuhrD8oEtMhiRklrXb1Q15gnqD9vpnF
HSTM Network Ireland 