Staff at the Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi) in Manchester must be getting used to new directors: they’ve had four different ones since 2008.
The latest person to fill the role is Jean Franczyk, who joined early last year following the museum’s merger with the Science Museum Group. The Science Museum took charge of Mosi following a Department for Culture, Media and Sport plan to relinquish control of its non-national museums. Mosi was among the eight museums that fell into this category.
Franczyk followed Tony Hill, who became Mosi’s director in 2010 after Steve Davies left to head the National Railway Museum in York. Davies replaced Ian Griffin, who left in 2008 just weeks after unveiling a £54m redevelopment plan.
Franczyk’s appointment is part of the new broom that has swept through the museums managed by the Science Museum Group since Ian Blatchford became director in 2010.
Davies stepped down from the National Railway Museum in November last year and Colin Philpott left his role as director of the National Media Museum in Bradford as part of a reorganisation of the senior team earlier in 2012.
With all this change, what Mosi probably needs now is a bit of stability. The 2008 capital project was named Revolution Mosi, but Gentle Evolution Mosi might be a more appropriate way forward now.
Franczyk has stamped her own mark on the museum by revamping the senior management team, creating new posts to take control of operations; collections; learning and public programmes; and exhibitions and interpretation. She acknowledges that all the upheaval has made life difficult for staff.
Securing Mosi’s future
“Whenever there is a big change people have questions and concerns about it and there were definitely questions and concerns [here],” Franczyk says.
“But becoming part of the Science Museum Group is what secured the future of this museum. The Science Museum Group is enhanced and it has added a unique museum to its family. And Mosi has heft and weight that it would not have had and its future is stable.”
The Science Museum Group now has a combined attendance of more than five million people a year, making it the biggest science museum organisation in the world. Franczyk says Mosi will benefit from economies of scale as well as the sharing of expertise and knowledge across the group.
There are no proposals for Science Museum Group branding to be evident to visitors at Mosi. Franczyk also says there are no plans to develop a big capital project, which has been the focus in the past. She says her aim is to concentrate on making the most of Mosi’s historic assets.
“In merging with the Science Museum Group, one of the things that was really obvious was the potential of the site and the need to really identify what its core story and core purpose was,” she says.
“So among the first things that I launched was this effort to identify that singular narrative that would guide us in our forward planning and thinking.”
Mosi sits on a large, complex site near the centre of Manchester. It includes a number of listed buildings that were developed for the Manchester terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway from the 1830s onwards.
The site is bisected one way by a train track and the other way by a road that cuts off the Air and Space Hall from the rest of the museum.
Site masterplan
Mosi opened in 1969 but moved to its present site in 1983. It has been developed on a largely piecemeal basis since then, particularly as the £54m Revolution Mosi plan was rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund and had to be massively scaled back.
Past directors seem to have struggled to give the museum a coherence that is easily understandable to visitors and is reflected in the displays across the whole site. Franczyk hopes to change this.
“I think one of the big challenges is to make sense of the site for visitors. I’m not convinced that they walk away understanding that something really historic happened here and that this continues to influence the world today. So that is our challenge going forward, to make that a bit clearer.”
Franczyk has developed a masterplan for the site and she says a core narrative emerged pretty quickly: “This is the place, better than anywhere else, that can talk about where science met industry and the modern world began.
"And it is also the place, because of the nature and character of this city, that can talk about what the current advances are in science, technology and innovation that continue to influence all our lives.”
This central story will be used to guide everything the museum does in the future. Franczyk says it will be important to balance the local with the global, the historic with the contemporary and the science with the industry. And she is keen for the museum to focus on people and ideas as well as objects.
Like many science museums, Mosi struggles to keep pace with scientific advances. Some of its displays, such as the ones on climate change, feel very outdated and Franczyk says the museum needs to have a strategy to renew and refresh its displays.
Supplementary educational
However, overall, Franczyk is encouraged by the public’s appetite for science. She points to the work of the BBC and people’s awareness of the impact that science has on all our lives, whether that is related to climate change or digital technology.
Franczyk also believes that museums such as Mosi are in a good position to offer something unique in terms of science communication.
“I think one of the things that museums can do is inspire and engage people of all ages in ways that schools never could. I think there is incredible value in learning from out-of-school experiences that as a community we haven’t quite found a way to articulate clearly enough so that its value is recognised and accepted.”
Franczyk has been involved in education for some time, having worked for the government in Chicago, her hometown, on its schools. She started out as a newspaper reporter before moving into public policy.
“I have always been involved in the kind of work where I am communicating interesting and complex ideas to different audiences,” she says.
It was while working on the education system in Chicago that she started to make stronger connections with museums as part of a project to improve the relationship between the city’s cultural institutions and its schools and local communities.
After a period of upheaval with constantly changing directors, Mosi probably has a few relationships to work on itself, both internally and in Manchester. But Franczyk believes the museum has a lot to build on.
“The richness and beauty of the place is in this site – this is a very special thing,” she says. “How do we really interpret it and bring it to life? What’s our story, how we going to tell it with the collections we have, and the buildings we have? That is the challenge going forward.”
Jean Franczyk joined the Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi) in Manchester in February 2012 on a two-year secondment.
She is still a member of the Science Museum Group Executive and retains overall responsibility for its learning strategy.
She was formerly the director of learning at the Science Museum Group. The group now comprises the Science Museum in London, the National Railway Museum in York, the National Media Museum in Bradford, as well as Mosi.
Franczyk started her career as a newspaper reporter in her hometown of Chicago.
She later moved into public policy and held a number of posts including education policy adviser to Chicago mayor Richard Daley, chief-of-staff to the Chicago Board of Education and vice president of education and guest services at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
The Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi) in Manchester became part of the Science Museum Group in February 2012.
Mosi employs about 120 people. It has a similar number of volunteers and nearly 150 Friends.
Mosi attracted 839,000 visitors in 2011–12, a record for the museum. The £9m redevelopment of its main building, the Great Western Warehouse, was unveiled in January 2011.
Mosi first opened in 1969 as the North Western Museum of Science and Industry.
It moved to its current site in 1983.
The latest person to fill the role is Jean Franczyk, who joined early last year following the museum’s merger with the Science Museum Group. The Science Museum took charge of Mosi following a Department for Culture, Media and Sport plan to relinquish control of its non-national museums. Mosi was among the eight museums that fell into this category.
Franczyk followed Tony Hill, who became Mosi’s director in 2010 after Steve Davies left to head the National Railway Museum in York. Davies replaced Ian Griffin, who left in 2008 just weeks after unveiling a £54m redevelopment plan.
Franczyk’s appointment is part of the new broom that has swept through the museums managed by the Science Museum Group since Ian Blatchford became director in 2010.
Davies stepped down from the National Railway Museum in November last year and Colin Philpott left his role as director of the National Media Museum in Bradford as part of a reorganisation of the senior team earlier in 2012.
With all this change, what Mosi probably needs now is a bit of stability. The 2008 capital project was named Revolution Mosi, but Gentle Evolution Mosi might be a more appropriate way forward now.
Franczyk has stamped her own mark on the museum by revamping the senior management team, creating new posts to take control of operations; collections; learning and public programmes; and exhibitions and interpretation. She acknowledges that all the upheaval has made life difficult for staff.
Securing Mosi’s future
“Whenever there is a big change people have questions and concerns about it and there were definitely questions and concerns [here],” Franczyk says.
“But becoming part of the Science Museum Group is what secured the future of this museum. The Science Museum Group is enhanced and it has added a unique museum to its family. And Mosi has heft and weight that it would not have had and its future is stable.”
The Science Museum Group now has a combined attendance of more than five million people a year, making it the biggest science museum organisation in the world. Franczyk says Mosi will benefit from economies of scale as well as the sharing of expertise and knowledge across the group.
There are no proposals for Science Museum Group branding to be evident to visitors at Mosi. Franczyk also says there are no plans to develop a big capital project, which has been the focus in the past. She says her aim is to concentrate on making the most of Mosi’s historic assets.
“In merging with the Science Museum Group, one of the things that was really obvious was the potential of the site and the need to really identify what its core story and core purpose was,” she says.
“So among the first things that I launched was this effort to identify that singular narrative that would guide us in our forward planning and thinking.”
Mosi sits on a large, complex site near the centre of Manchester. It includes a number of listed buildings that were developed for the Manchester terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway from the 1830s onwards.
The site is bisected one way by a train track and the other way by a road that cuts off the Air and Space Hall from the rest of the museum.
Site masterplan
Mosi opened in 1969 but moved to its present site in 1983. It has been developed on a largely piecemeal basis since then, particularly as the £54m Revolution Mosi plan was rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund and had to be massively scaled back.
Past directors seem to have struggled to give the museum a coherence that is easily understandable to visitors and is reflected in the displays across the whole site. Franczyk hopes to change this.
“I think one of the big challenges is to make sense of the site for visitors. I’m not convinced that they walk away understanding that something really historic happened here and that this continues to influence the world today. So that is our challenge going forward, to make that a bit clearer.”
Franczyk has developed a masterplan for the site and she says a core narrative emerged pretty quickly: “This is the place, better than anywhere else, that can talk about where science met industry and the modern world began.
"And it is also the place, because of the nature and character of this city, that can talk about what the current advances are in science, technology and innovation that continue to influence all our lives.”
This central story will be used to guide everything the museum does in the future. Franczyk says it will be important to balance the local with the global, the historic with the contemporary and the science with the industry. And she is keen for the museum to focus on people and ideas as well as objects.
Like many science museums, Mosi struggles to keep pace with scientific advances. Some of its displays, such as the ones on climate change, feel very outdated and Franczyk says the museum needs to have a strategy to renew and refresh its displays.
Supplementary educational
However, overall, Franczyk is encouraged by the public’s appetite for science. She points to the work of the BBC and people’s awareness of the impact that science has on all our lives, whether that is related to climate change or digital technology.
Franczyk also believes that museums such as Mosi are in a good position to offer something unique in terms of science communication.
“I think one of the things that museums can do is inspire and engage people of all ages in ways that schools never could. I think there is incredible value in learning from out-of-school experiences that as a community we haven’t quite found a way to articulate clearly enough so that its value is recognised and accepted.”
Franczyk has been involved in education for some time, having worked for the government in Chicago, her hometown, on its schools. She started out as a newspaper reporter before moving into public policy.
“I have always been involved in the kind of work where I am communicating interesting and complex ideas to different audiences,” she says.
It was while working on the education system in Chicago that she started to make stronger connections with museums as part of a project to improve the relationship between the city’s cultural institutions and its schools and local communities.
After a period of upheaval with constantly changing directors, Mosi probably has a few relationships to work on itself, both internally and in Manchester. But Franczyk believes the museum has a lot to build on.
“The richness and beauty of the place is in this site – this is a very special thing,” she says. “How do we really interpret it and bring it to life? What’s our story, how we going to tell it with the collections we have, and the buildings we have? That is the challenge going forward.”
Jean Franczyk at a glance
Jean Franczyk joined the Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi) in Manchester in February 2012 on a two-year secondment.
She is still a member of the Science Museum Group Executive and retains overall responsibility for its learning strategy.
She was formerly the director of learning at the Science Museum Group. The group now comprises the Science Museum in London, the National Railway Museum in York, the National Media Museum in Bradford, as well as Mosi.
Franczyk started her career as a newspaper reporter in her hometown of Chicago.
She later moved into public policy and held a number of posts including education policy adviser to Chicago mayor Richard Daley, chief-of-staff to the Chicago Board of Education and vice president of education and guest services at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
Museum of Science and Industry at a glance
The Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi) in Manchester became part of the Science Museum Group in February 2012.
Mosi employs about 120 people. It has a similar number of volunteers and nearly 150 Friends.
Mosi attracted 839,000 visitors in 2011–12, a record for the museum. The £9m redevelopment of its main building, the Great Western Warehouse, was unveiled in January 2011.
Mosi first opened in 1969 as the North Western Museum of Science and Industry.
It moved to its current site in 1983.
