Importance of plastics

MoDiP has been really lucky to have had some amazing donations over the years. Sometimes these include objects that we wouldn’t have dreamt that we could have been able to acquire. One such object is on display in our current exhibition, Seen and unseen . The panel on display in the ‘Outside’ case...

A brief look at cycle helmets The brain injury charity, Headway, state that cycle helmets can save lives and prevent people sustain lifelong brain injury. The hard shell is designed to spread the force of an impact over a broader area which reduces the likelihood of the skull fracturing. The softer...

One of the themes in our current exhibition, Seen and unseen , is Microplastics . I thought I would use this blog post to think about what microplastics are and why they are an issue. The case is particularly looking at microfibres which are shed from our clothing. Microplastics are released into...

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming the Talbot Woods Bright Horizons Nursery group to explore the magic of plastics and benefits of recycling. Our program began with a tour of the library where the students were dazzled by the current library exhibit, Strange Nature: Costumes Inspired by...

The aim of the Seen and unseen exhibition is to show objects that are we perhaps don’t see even though they might be right in front of us, we don’t notice them or pay them much attention. It also has objects that are literally part of the hidden infrastructure that we don’t see because it is under...

Not to be confused with bioplastics, plastics made from renewable biomass resources such as sugarcane or corn, biodegradable plastics are made from materials that have chemicals added that cause the plastic to break down quickly when exposed to air and sunlight, heat or moisture, triggering...

This blog post has been inspired by our current exhibition, Seen and unseen , and one display case in particular, In cars . The use of plastics in cars is not a new phenomenon. In the 1940s, Henry Ford’s investigations resulted in a vehicle described as a ‘plastic car made from soybeans.’ The car’s...

Our latest exhibition, Seen and unseen , looks at objects that use plastics to do a job in such a way that we may not realise that the materials are there or that are so good at their job that we stop paying them too much attention. The first theme featured in the exhibition is, tree management...

Decarbonisation is a theme in our current exhibition, Reuse . Carbon footprints are a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released over the full life cycle of a product. They are notoriously difficult to assess because there are many factors that need to be considered...

Back in June 2022, I wrote a blog post about the touring exhibition Plastic: Remaking our world. At the time the exhibition was on display at Vitra Design Museum. I was lucky enough to meet with one of the curators, Charlotte Hale, and visit the exhibition when it was on display at V&A Dundee...

This is the final blog post relating to our current exhibition, Endurance , which closes at the end of this week. Every year, an estimated 236,000 people drown, making drowning a major public health problem worldwide [1] . This figure includes in rivers, pools and at sea. The best way to prevent...

My favourite object from the ‘In a crisis’ case within MoDiP’s current exhibition, Endurance, is the rather plain looking latrine slab. Easily overlooked, it is actually a very important structural design solution to the problem of providing toilet facilities for the humanitarian sector. AIBDC...