National Museums Scotland is hosting a one-day hybrid symposium on collecting, interpreting and preserving sustainable technologies. When we talk about ‘sustainable technologies’, we mean technologies developed (or decommissioned) in response to the climate emergency and biodiversity loss. Examples range from offshore wind turbines to electronic bird monitors.

The symposium will be held on Tuesday 5 December 2023 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, and will also be available online for remote attendees.

We will bring together museum practitioners from across the UK to discuss the subject of collecting sustainable technologies, focusing on three themes:

Ethics around collecting sustainable technologies
Collecting intangible heritage and human experiences around sustainable technologies
Practicalities of collecting sustainable technologies.

We will hear speakers from a range of institutions including:

Science Museum
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Glasgow Life
Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums
Across the curatorial departments in National Museums Scotland.

The symposium aims to enable participants to:

Develop a shared understanding of what, how and why we collect in this area
Expand their own knowledge and practice through learning from others
Foster a supportive network of contacts working in the field.

The symposium is for people working or volunteering in collecting organisations across the UK who are involved, or looking to be involved, in this area of work. By bringing these people together, the overarching aim of the symposium is to take steps towards developing a strategic consensus about how the museum sector should address this subject.

National Museums Scotland - Online Events Privacy Statement

The personal data you provide to us on our event booking form is collected so that we can administer the event efficiently and, if necessary, contact you with important updates about the event.

We use an external website, Eventbrite, for online event bookings. To make a booking to attend an event, you will be asked to register with your name and email address through the Eventbrite website. You can read the Eventbrite privacy notice here

For more detailed information on how we manage your personal data please see National Museums Scotland's full  privacy notice here

Collecting Sustainable Technology