Profile of The British Museum

The British Museum was established in 1753. It was the first national public museum in the world and since its founding, the Museum has always been free to the public.

The history of the British Museum begins with Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), a collector, naturalist and physician. In his will, he gave his collection of over 71,000 objects to the King and on June 7, 1753, the Museum was established by an Act of Parliament.

When the Museum first opened on January 15, 1759, it was housed in a seventeenth-century mansion in Bloomsbury on the same site of the current Museum. That early collection was comprised of antiquities, books and manuscripts, and natural specimens. Today's collection now includes about 8 million objects from diverse cultures around the world.

The Museum has always remained free and open to the public with the exception of the two wars. Museum attendance has expanded to a total of 6 million visitors per year.

"The Museum was based on the practical principle that the collection should be put to public use and be freely accessible. It was also grounded in the Enlightenment idea that human cultures can, despite their differences, understand one another through mutual engagement. The Museum was to be a place where this kind of humane cross-cultural investigation could happen. It still is."

The British Museum is located in London, 300 meters near the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station and approximately a 15 minute walk from Covent Garden.

The Department of Conservation and Scientific Research is a multi-faceted department of scientists, conservators and curators working together with the latest conservation techniques. For those wishing to apply for employment in the department, job applicants for conservation, conservation science or as a museum scientist can search the Museum's jobs webpage and ads listed on the Conservation DistList and in New Scientist.

The construction of the highly-anticipated World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre is slated for completion in 2013 and will consolidate and expand existing labs, bringing the outdated facilities into a state-of-the-art high tech conservation department.

Housing approximately 8 million cultural objects, the British Museum is the place to learn about the world's diverse cultures from the prehistoric to modern times. It has the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside of Egypt.

The oldest object in the collection is a stone chopping tool from Tanzania estimated to be about 1.8 million years old.

Controversial works in the collection include the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone and the Benin Bronzes.

The British Museum collection database online allows visitors to search almost two million objects from the entire collection. That includes:

• Prehistoric objects from Africa and Asia
• Antiquities from Greece and Rome
• Ancient Middle East to the present
• Objects from Japan, Korea, China, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, South and South-East Asia
• The Museum’s collection of drawings, paintings or prints
• Coins from ancient to modern

Job listings at the British Museum change regularly, so be sure to check their listings periodically.

Note that a background in art history is recommended.

The British Museum employs about 900 staff who work as curators, gallery assistants, conservators, or administrators in the various areas of collections, sales or visitors. Job applicants can apply online. The Museum recommends to read the job description thoroughly before applying.

British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG, Tel: +44 (0)20 7323 8299

Email: information@britishmuseum.org

The British Museum's website

Admission: The British Museum is free to all visitors.

Opening times: The Museum is open daily, 10.00–17.30