This website arose as I attempted to expand the outreach of the major Millennium gallery at the Science Museum entitled Making the Modern World. My research was supported by a [[sterling]]1.6m grant from the Treasury's Invest to Save programme.

I set out to examine whether this synoptic view of the trajectory of science and technology from 1750 to date could be developed into a new type of website, with a strong narrative component which would be interwoven with an educational resource specifically aimed at 14-18 year old students. My role in the website was Head of Content.

My research concentrated on how to create a powerful, self-contained and retentive narrative environment. This was a bold step at a time when most conventional 'web wisdom' argued that 'searchability' and the capacity to direct users to other relevant sites was important.

In contrast, my team and I set out to retain users in our own site and to create an engaging narrative environment. We also worked hard with our partner institution, Peter Symonds College, Winchester, to integrate explicit educational modules into the site. This was a major challenge since the general interest user group was not expected to be drawn to the educational material, although we did always hope that the broader narrative components would add valuable interest and background for academic students.

In developing this approach we were very dependent on user evaluation studies conducted by Science Museum staff member Jos Pye and this informed the novel and effective navigation system we adopted.

In addition, the site explores the societal and personal effects of techno-science.

Current visitor figures are 1.2 million from 1st September 2006 - 31st August 2007.