Petition is successful with 143 signatures
To: George Osborne MP
Save the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
This campaign was a success! Well done to everyone who was involved - together we did it!
Dear Chancellor, please consider the impact of the comprehensive spending review on 26th June 2013 on the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester. Further government cuts to the Science Museum Group's annual funding will put at risk the future of MOSI. This loss would be a devastating blow to the City of Manchester and a tragic outcome for a museum that has gained deserved national and international recognition.
Why is this important?
The forthcoming government cuts to the Science Museum Group's (SMG) annual funding will have a massive impact on the daily running of four of the UK's most visited Museums. Led by the Science Museum in London, the SMG also includes the National Railway Museum in York and the National Media Museum in Bradford.
Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum Group has stated that a further 10% cut in funding in the next round of government spending proposals meant "almost certainly" one museum would shut.
BBC News - Science Museum Group says cuts put museums at risk: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22781573
Revealing interview with Ian Blatchford on Radio 4's The World at One: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1433319-science-museum-director-ian-blatchford-on-the-world-at-one-bbc-radio-4
The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) is a unique, world-class visitor destination and delivers a range of inspiring events, exhibitions and galleries. In the month of February 2013 alone, after a truly visionary upgrade to its exhibitions, it attracted over 100,000 visitors, some of whom were schoolchildren from schools in the poorest wards in the country.
MOSI gives visitors a rare opportunity to experience many world firsts, including a replica of the world's first computer, working cotton machinery, a tour of the Victorian sewers, a power hall containing steam engines and an interactive Science exhibition for hands-on learning. The closure of MOSI would be a huge loss to the heritage of a city which was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and would have consequences for the cultural, economic and tourism offer of the City and the Region.
