Daleks, supercars, ancient statues and self-heating soup are all sitting in a huge hangar in Wroughton on kilometres of shelves.
Swindon’s Hawking Building is the new home for the Science Museum’s “world-class” collection of objects that are the products and tools of human research and knowledge
“I just love it here, it’s my happy place. And I just love sharing this with other people and just geeking out basically”, said Alison Faraday.
She is the collections engagement and volunteering manager at the Science Museum and was picking out some of her favourite objects from the dizzying shelves.
It includes deep-sea submersibles, pharaohs, saints, Doctor Who monsters and an early robot receptionist, as well as rows upon rows of bicycles and cars of all shapes and sizes, Jessica Bradford, Alison Faraday and Sian Williams with Daleks and Cybermen from the set (Image: Newsquest) Tours have just started after a six-year operation to move 300,000 objects from the old London storage site, Blythe House, to the purpose-built venue in Wiltshire.
The new site is meant to open up more of the museum’s vast back catalogue, which was previously hidden away in storage, to the public.
Ordered based on practical considerations like size, the site offers sometimes bizarre juxtapositions of the objects the Science Museum cares for.
The move, part of the One Collection project, was an opportunity to rediscover and record objects in the collection, as nearly forgotten objects were dusted off and photographed for the first time.
Sian Williams, One Collection programme director, remembered: “Somebody one day said, ‘Oh my god, there’s some self-heating soup’, which had been to the Antarctic or to the Arctic on an expedition’.
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(Image: Newsquest)
“Everyone was like, what do you mean self-heating soup? How old is it? Is it going to explode? It was all fine in the end.”
She added: “It was like a massive house move” and an opportunity to rediscover the collection and then share it with the public.
Prior to the move only 5 per cent of the collection had been photographed – now 50 per cent can be viewed online.
But the best opportunity is for people to come in for a public tour, with discounts for Swindon locals.
The most impressive space is the huge central hall with all kinds of automobiles you ever imagined – and ones you didn’t. 
From a 1916 electric car to a 2010 electric supercar, the Sno-Cat that first crossed Antarctica or a World War Two Swindon bus.
Unlike a museum, you cannot wander around reading information panels, because there are none. Instead, a tour guide draws out the stories behind the highlights.
Jessica Bradford, head of collections and principal curator, said: “We’ve only got about 3 per cent of our collection in museums, which is standard for national museums and it is still a lot of objects.
“But there are stories that haven’t had the opportunity to be told yet, and are waiting to be told, and for people to be able to find their connection to some of the stories here.
“The move was predominantly about caring for the collection, but it does mean these objects are much less hidden from the public too.”
The building is named after Stephen Hawking and it is hoped that the building will inspire people, young and old, just as the famous scientist-celebrity did.
School trips are also being arranged, with science demonstrations, and anyone can request to view an individual object for free as a researcher, either in person or remotely.
Jessica added: “This is not about storage. It might look like a store, but actually, it’s about bringing the collection to life and sharing it with more people. It’s quite the opposite.”
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