At The Mixed Museum, we not only want to preserve and share Britain's long history of racial mixing, but also create a range of creative and accessible pathways into that history. In 2022, we launched our Artist in Residence (AIR) partnerships to support this aim. Now, we’re expanding that approach with our Scientist in Residence (SiR) partnerships.
Science has not historically been at the centre of TMM’s approach. But during our participation in the Museum Association’s Mindsets + Missions (M+M) programme, it became clear that scientific learning is already happening informally within TMM’s communities.
As part of our M+ M project ‘Reclaiming History Through Science’, we brought together members of Britain’s wartime 'brown babies' community (i.e. children born to Black GIs and white British women) to explore how DNA testing has shaped their efforts to trace lost family members and rebuild fragmented personal histories.
Our project showed that science becomes more meaningful when it connects directly to people’s lives. For many in the ‘brown babies’ community, DNA testing wasn’t just a scientific process: it was a way to reclaim family, history and identity.
This realisation pushed us to consider how science learning and engagement could be more thoughtfully approached within the heritage sector, placing lived experience at the centre.
Out of this work comes our new Scientist in Residence (SiR) partnerships.
Modelled on our Artist in Residence initiative, The Mixed Museum’s SiR partnerships are designed to open up conversations around scientific topics that matter to our communities: for example, how DNA testing works and its personal implications; the chemistry behind hair texture, health and care; or how scientific thinking has influenced societal attitudes toward people of mixed racial backgrounds.
We are delighted to welcome our first Scientist in Residence, Dr. Sophie Kay, a genealogist and science communicator whose work explores how family histories intersect with DNA, identity, and community memory. Sophie is also Section Co-President for Medicine (alongside TMM Director Dr. Chamion Caballero) for the 2025 British Science Festival, reflecting a shared commitment to making science more accessible, inclusive, and community-focused.
Read more about Sophie’s residency at The Mixed Museum on her SiR page, where you can also learn about a forthcoming collaborative panel event at the British Science Festival in Liverpool featuring Sophie, Chamion and WW2 'brown baby' Arlene Nelson:
We’ll be sharing updates and future plans as the SiR initiative develops. Watch this space for more information on upcoming residencies and opportunities.
If you are a scientist interested in becoming one of The Mixed Museum’s SiRs, we’d love to hear from you: info@mixedmuseum.org.uk