Wellcome Trust policy on the care of human remains in museums and galleries

The Wellcome Trust's mission is to foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health. Human remains in museums make an important contribution in helping to achieve this mission:

as a resource for research in science and medicine, providing valuable information on human disease, health and medical treatments
as the subject of display, providing direct and powerful insights into the body and medical and cultural practices.

As well as supporting these activities through research funding and exhibitions, the Wellcome Trust also owns a diverse array of material - ranging from antiquities, instruments, works of art, manuscripts, books and many other items - collected by Sir Henry Wellcome (the Trust's founder) over the course of his lifetime. A significant amount of this material has been on loan to the Science Museum since the 1970s, including over 500 human remains drawn from many different countries and dating from prehistoric times to the early 20th century.

Read the Trust's full policy on the care of human remains in museums and galleries.

Find out more about the human remains currently held by the Science Museum on behalf of the Wellcome Trust (a list of these remains is also available).

Read the Trust's statement of de cisions regarding the return of three Australian Aboriginal skulls and the Hawaiian skull from the collections.