The origins of SMG lie in the internationalisation and optimism of the
Great Exhibition of 1851, which enabled the foundation of the South Kensington Museum in 1857. The term "National Museum of Science and Industry" had been in use as the Science Museum's subtitle since the early 1920s. Prior to 1 April 2012 the group was known as the
National Museum of Science and Industry (
NMSI). At this point NMSI became a
non-departmental public body under the auspices of the sponsoring government department, the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport. From January 2012 the
Science and Industry Museum in Manchester became part of the Science Museum Group. From 2017 Locomotion, The National Railway Museum at Shildon, became part of the Science Museum Group. In 2010 the
Science Museum, London opened its climate science gallery Atmosphere which, as at April 2021, has been visited by over 5 million people. In 2021 the
Science Museum, London also opened a temporary exhibition 'Our Future Planet' which explores the science of
carbon capture. Environmental campaigners criticized the decision of SMG to appoint
Shell as a major sponsor of this exhibition. Throughout 2021 SMG is hosting Climate Talks which are a series of online talks, Q&As and events exploring problems arising from
climate change. In October 2021, the SMG announced that a new climate change gallery to be opened in 2023 at the Science Museum would be sponsored by an arm of coal producer
Adani Group. SMG continues to work to reduce carbon emissions from operations, recruitment and supply chain, and by using resources efficiently. On 15 April 2021 SMG announced that it expects to achieve overall
Net Zero/Carbon Neutrality by 2033. ==Collection==