Google to fund Science Museum exhibition next year

Not content with mapping the entire globe in 3D, prepping a rival for Siri, patenting a driverless car, and inadvertently insulting English people, Google is now teaming up with London's Science Museum to host two exhibitions over the next three years, the Telegraph reports.

The first, funded by Google, will start in June next year, celebrating Alan Turing and charting the history of computing. The exhibitions are part of Google's £8m international museum project that it hopes will inspire the next generation of scientists.

The Science Museum is the only UK museum to be part of the initiative, as opposed to six in the US. But it seems it'll be an ongoing project, with Michael Jones, Google Earth's chief technology advocate saying the initiative "won't end by signing a cheque."

"Besides," Jones added, "how else can we all touch the Moon?"

The Turing machine is thought to have been the model for the modern computer. Google donated £550,000 to the Bletchley Park Trust earlier this week, where Turing used his code-cracking skills to help bring the Second World War to an early finish. Google is obviously keen on technology heritage, honouring the 'mayor of Silicon Valley' and founder of Intel Robert Noyce with his own doodle last week.

The next exhibition, Making Modern Communications, won't open until 2014, but then will remain permanent at the museum. As the name suggests, it'll be a look at the last 200 years of communications tech. Two hundred years? Should just about include the Amstrad E-m@iler. It'll also showcase "never seen before objects", according to the search giant.

Slightly less worthily, but no less excitingly, the search behemoth also launched a Google doodle store, letting you buy merchandise with your favourite on, as well as updating its archive where you can watch all the old classics.

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