The fifth issue of the Science Museum Group Journal is now available to view online: http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/issues/spring-2016/.

Issue 05 of the Journal celebrates several important recent and upcoming events in the Science Museum Group. Preceding the inaugural research conference in April that marks the opening of the new Dana Research Centre and Library at the Science Museum, we feature several articles from key conference speakers discussing themes including co-production, museum visiting as a kind of research, and issues relating to the display of objects. Andrew McLean, for instance, commemorates the world famous Flying Scotsman’s flagship journey following an extensive conservation/renovation programme. His article explores the role the Flying Scotsman has played in the ‘preservation of authenticity’ in the context of Britain’s industrial heritage. Doug Millard, curator of the Cosmonauts exhibition gives his insight into the project as it moves out of the Science Museum. And Iris Veysey, one of the curators of the upcoming Mathematics gallery at the Museum offers a new type of ‘object focus’ article that explores early use of statistics by Florence Nightingale and Harriet Martineau, and the production of the ‘Rose Diagram’.

The Journal presents peer-reviewed papers that are relevant to the wide-ranging interests of the Science Museum Group. Here we share research conducted by SMG’s four national museums as well as featuring contributions from international scholars that resonate with our collections and practice.