Science Museum marks American Independence with historic exhibition

Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation, supported by Griffin Catalyst will feature a rare surviving copy of the Declaration, a pioneering map made by Benjamin Franklin and items used by King George III and George Washington. 

The free exhibition at the Science Museum in London will delve into the use of science and technology in shaping the land, people and identity during the founding of the United States of America. 

Rare items including maps, paintings, scientific instruments and artefacts will be used to chart four significant decades in North American history, from the 1760s when Britain took over territorial control from France, through the founding of the states to the first presidency in the 1790s.

Becoming America will also explore the stories of the people who lived through it, and how the Anglo-American colonists, Indigenous Americans and enslaved and free people of African descent used knowledge and tools to live and exert power in this turbulent period.

Sir Ian Blatchford, director and chief executive of the Science Museum Group, said: “This major exhibition will provide a surprising and alternative exploration of the founding of the United States in this 250th anniversary year, examining how science and technology shaped this nation, its people and the land at a pivotal moment in history.

“I have no doubt the exhibition’s unexpected stories will surprise our visitors and add greater depth to the shared history between our nations.”

What’s on display

Taking pride of place will be a rare first print of the Declaration of Independence from 1776, one of the most famous texts in the Western world. Other highlights among over 100 artefacts will include a map created by Benjamin Franklin, which was the first to chart the Atlantic Gulf Stream, and a ten-foot-long traditional Indigenous dugout canoe.

Also on display will be a painting dating back to 1807 depicting the excavation of a prehistoric Mastodon, an early ancestor of the elephant, which became a symbol of national pride for the United States.

Groups will also be able to see an 18th century watercolour illustration of a bald eagle, owned by King George III, which was made the national emblem of the United States in 1782. The image comes from what is thought to be the first published book on American flora and fauna.

Cross-continental technology

The exhibition will examine the different technological skills and equipment used by the Anglo-Americans, those of African descent and Indigenous nations and how those technologies combined to shape America.  

Visitors will learn about Indigenous practices and technologies, from canoes to agricultural techniques, and can see the popular almanac written by Benjamin Banneker, a freeborn astronomer, mathematician and surveyor of African descent who worked on the new capital, Washington DC. 

From the ways in which enslaved women used their botanical and horticultural knowledge to feed and heal their communities to the Indigenous peoples’ in-depth understanding of North America’s terrain and waterways, a wide range of scientific skills will be explored. 

Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation, supported by Griffin Catalyst opens at the Science Museum on 23rd October and will run until 25th April 2027.