Blog

Hello all, A recent donation to our collection has sparked interest and amusement among the MoDiP team as we have very limited information on its production and every research attempt, thus far, has led to a dead end. Researching the origins and history of objects in our collection is one of my...

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...

We have recently received a very interesting donation of a Fisholow Plasticrate from one of our regular researchers, Roger Walker. This yellow crate was constructed for Fisher and Ludlow Ltd. out of polyethylene on The Projectile & Engineering Company Ltd. (Peco) 60 MR injection moulding machine...

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...

On Monday 18th March, my colleague Dr Christian McLening, Director of Research and Development at AUB, and I were invited to join the University of Birmingham at the launch of their Sustainable Plastics Policy Commission at the House of Commons, London. We were invited on the back of our successful...

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...

Recently some of our objects have been featured at the European House of History in their temporary exhibit, Throwaway. “Throwaway” is a project that unearths the hidden history of waste in Europe while simultaneously highlighting its significance as a marker of social change. Starting with the...

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...