Project overview
RRS Discovery holds a significant place in the annals of Antarctic exploration. Led by Lieutenant Robert Falcon Scott, accompanied by notable figures like Ernest Shackleton and Edward Wilson, the legacy of the inaugural expedition (1901-1904) continues to offer invaluable resources for environmental, biological, and physical research. RRS Discovery enjoyed three decades of scientific success, playing a pivotal role in critical expeditions such as the Discovery Oceanographic (1925) and B.A.N.Z.A.R.E expedition (1929–1931). Due to its historical and scientific importance, the ship’s stories and materials have been collected by various UK institutions like the Dundee Heritage Trust (DHT), National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOC) and the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI). Regrettably, this dispersion has resulted in a fragmented scientific narrative, largely inaccessible to the public due to barriers including issues of accessibility, cultural and scientific relevance, restricted geographic spread, mobility, and financial constraints.
Given the fundamental role of environmental studies and underlying STEM sciences in the UK compulsory curriculum (particularly across Key Stages 1 and 2), the exploration of Antarctica is a well-visited topic in schools. This is driven by Antarctica being intricately interconnected to, and forming the basis of, extensive multinational, environmental, and cultural narratives, often hidden from the public eye. This project endeavors to address this fragmentation by re-uniting the ship, personal items from expeditions, research objects, and archives through a unified digital network, accessible to the wider public. The outlined objectives are as follows:
- Digitally record the RRS Discovery, alongside objects held in the NOC and SPRI collections. The digital recording techniques will include laser scanning, structured light scanning and photogrammetry.
- Create a database, which will catalogue objects, documents and narratives, using Linked Open Data (LOD) through an openly accessible RDF triplestore (such as Wikidata). The database will also be connected to our partners and other external websites and catalogues. Alongside this, the visual aspects of the data collected will be represented in a separate, visual database (such as Thinglink) to allow the public to explore the ship and associated stories.
- Organise two Knowledge Exchange (KE) workshops covering topics including scientific dataset collection, archive dissemination and digital storytelling. Additionally, create outreach events for the wider public and students in Southampton and Dundee, plus school material in association with St Denys Primary School.
These objectives aim to strengthen collaboration between the University of Southampton (UoS) and its partners, including the NOC, SPRI and DHT. With the support of the Library Services of Southampton, this project promises a collaborative effort fostering enterprise relationships and making a meaningful contribution to the local community through public engagement events and school visits. The innovative combination of a data network and visual library has the potential to attract press attention, and collaboration with press teams from the NOC and UoS will maximize positive coverage, providing a valuable proof-of-concept for future grant applications with other heritage and STEM organizations. Furthermore, the project aligns with the NOC planned Discovery Investigations centenary celebration in 2025.
The proposed economic, social, environmental or cultural benefit that the project will bring to the parties involved.
Culturally, the project aims to digitally unite the otherwise fragmented record of the RRS Discovery, its archives, personal items, and the scientific samples gathered during its expeditions, while also generating new digital records that will be showcased by the collaborative organisation. This will contribute to preserving the legacy of early 20th-century Antarctic exploration and confer a wider understanding of the UK's historical role in Antarctic exploration and scientific research.
Socially, the project’s focus on the collection of various digital datasets will inherently create an extensive network of objects, documents and people, which will produce new, multi-cultural narratives. Two KE events are planned. In Dundee, the event will be held aboard RRS Discovery, comprising the UoS project team and its collaborators, local curators and members of the local community, expecting 20-30 people to attend. At NOC, the event will involve the UoS project team and its collaborators, local curators and members of the NOC and UoS Staff and Students, expecting 50-100 people to attend. UoS outreach events, such as SOTSEF and Hands on Humanities, will also be attended, typically drawing 1000-2000 attendees per event. Anticipated viewer numbers for the online LOD can be based on comparable projects, such as Beyond Notability (https://beyondnotability.org/) and Unpath’d Waters (https://unpathd.ads.ac.uk/), which have recorded over 500 views per month. The pull-up banners advertising the project, made available for display by DHT, SPRI and NOC, will signpost visitors to the online material; Discovery Point, Dundee, receives up to 80,000 visitors per year. The design and delivery of material suitable for Key Stages 1 and 2 will be developed in conjunction with St Denys Primary School, prior to further dissemination to other local schools.
The work is funded by the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF).
Given the fundamental role of environmental studies and underlying STEM sciences in the UK compulsory curriculum (particularly across Key Stages 1 and 2), the exploration of Antarctica is a well-visited topic in schools. This is driven by Antarctica being intricately interconnected to, and forming the basis of, extensive multinational, environmental, and cultural narratives, often hidden from the public eye. This project endeavors to address this fragmentation by re-uniting the ship, personal items from expeditions, research objects, and archives through a unified digital network, accessible to the wider public. The outlined objectives are as follows:
- Digitally record the RRS Discovery, alongside objects held in the NOC and SPRI collections. The digital recording techniques will include laser scanning, structured light scanning and photogrammetry.
- Create a database, which will catalogue objects, documents and narratives, using Linked Open Data (LOD) through an openly accessible RDF triplestore (such as Wikidata). The database will also be connected to our partners and other external websites and catalogues. Alongside this, the visual aspects of the data collected will be represented in a separate, visual database (such as Thinglink) to allow the public to explore the ship and associated stories.
- Organise two Knowledge Exchange (KE) workshops covering topics including scientific dataset collection, archive dissemination and digital storytelling. Additionally, create outreach events for the wider public and students in Southampton and Dundee, plus school material in association with St Denys Primary School.
These objectives aim to strengthen collaboration between the University of Southampton (UoS) and its partners, including the NOC, SPRI and DHT. With the support of the Library Services of Southampton, this project promises a collaborative effort fostering enterprise relationships and making a meaningful contribution to the local community through public engagement events and school visits. The innovative combination of a data network and visual library has the potential to attract press attention, and collaboration with press teams from the NOC and UoS will maximize positive coverage, providing a valuable proof-of-concept for future grant applications with other heritage and STEM organizations. Furthermore, the project aligns with the NOC planned Discovery Investigations centenary celebration in 2025.
The proposed economic, social, environmental or cultural benefit that the project will bring to the parties involved.
Culturally, the project aims to digitally unite the otherwise fragmented record of the RRS Discovery, its archives, personal items, and the scientific samples gathered during its expeditions, while also generating new digital records that will be showcased by the collaborative organisation. This will contribute to preserving the legacy of early 20th-century Antarctic exploration and confer a wider understanding of the UK's historical role in Antarctic exploration and scientific research.
Socially, the project’s focus on the collection of various digital datasets will inherently create an extensive network of objects, documents and people, which will produce new, multi-cultural narratives. Two KE events are planned. In Dundee, the event will be held aboard RRS Discovery, comprising the UoS project team and its collaborators, local curators and members of the local community, expecting 20-30 people to attend. At NOC, the event will involve the UoS project team and its collaborators, local curators and members of the NOC and UoS Staff and Students, expecting 50-100 people to attend. UoS outreach events, such as SOTSEF and Hands on Humanities, will also be attended, typically drawing 1000-2000 attendees per event. Anticipated viewer numbers for the online LOD can be based on comparable projects, such as Beyond Notability (https://beyondnotability.org/) and Unpath’d Waters (https://unpathd.ads.ac.uk/), which have recorded over 500 views per month. The pull-up banners advertising the project, made available for display by DHT, SPRI and NOC, will signpost visitors to the online material; Discovery Point, Dundee, receives up to 80,000 visitors per year. The design and delivery of material suitable for Key Stages 1 and 2 will be developed in conjunction with St Denys Primary School, prior to further dissemination to other local schools.
The work is funded by the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF).
