Museum plans ú4.5m gallery

The Science Museum is to build a new ú4.5m gallery, funded by a sponsorship deal with the British steel industry.

Exhibition designers have yet to be appointed to work on the gallery, which the museum plans to “continuously update”.

Claimed to be the largest ever sponsorship of a museum by an industry body, the project was announced at the London museum yesterday.

The deal will see the creation of a new 1200m2 gallery, called The Challenge of Materials, within the museum. “It will be dedicated to modern materials, their creation, application and potential,” says a Science Museum spokesman.

It is due to open in 1997 and will be “continuously updated over its expected life span of ten years”, comments the spokesman.

As principal sponsors, a group of nine companies, led by the British Iron & Steel Producers Association, is committing ú3m to the construction and development of the gallery.

Science museum director Sir Neil Cossons praised the steel industry’s commitment “to contributing to a well-educated workforce of the future”.