Contact and enquiries

You can contact the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research:

by email:

conservation@britishmuseum.org
science@britishmuseum.org

by telephone:

+44 (0)20 7323 8279
fax: +44 (0)20 7323 8636

by post:

Department of Conservation and Scientific Research
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG

Finding a job in conservation

Any posts in the department open to external applicants will normally be advertised here. Most institutions and conservation practices advertise in one of the professional journals, in the UK normally Grapevine published by UKIC. Conservation science jobs are normally advertised in New Scientist.

Training in conservation

Advice on training to be a conservator or conservation scientist can be obtained from The Cultural Heritage National Training Office Tel 01274 391056 or www.museums.gov.uk/advice

The department does not run training courses but takes students or already practising conservators for internships.The preferred minimum period for a placement is three months. We provide training for conservators from other public institutions who need to learn a particular skill which is available in the British Museum, for example, the conservation of coins, mosaics or papyrus.

We provide in-house training courses for British Museum curators to promote awareness of the care and handling of artefacts and of archives, the need to monitor and control the environment and the danger from insect pests.

Staff also lecture on training courses and are on the examining boards for conservation courses and for students taking higher degrees in universities and similar institutions.