Meaghan Macdonald

For more than 14 years, Meaghan Macdonald has led public-facing projects at the Natural History Museum (NHM), connecting the institution’s scientific collections and research with audiences. She now leads the museum’s Fixing Our Broken Planet (FOBP) programme, a major initiative that engages the public with the science and solutions behind the planet's environmental challenges.

Macdonald first joined the FOBP project as project manager for the temporary Our Broken Planet exhibition, which opened in 2021. She has since taken responsibility for the expanded programme, which spans exhibitions, digital content, public engagement and practical resources designed to help audiences understand and respond to environmental issues.

A key focus of Macdonald’s work is translating complex scientific research into accessible, actionable experiences. FOBP aims to move beyond communicating the scale of environmental challenges to give visitors practical ways to engage with solutions, including resources such as the Find Your Climate Action Toolkit.

Macdonald also oversees the programme’s approach to sustainability in exhibition development.

This includes a “fabric first” approach to designing new permanent galleries, as well as a digital self-build model for touring exhibitions. The latter allows partner venues to create exhibitions locally from digital assets, reducing the need to manufacture and transport physical exhibition infrastructure internationally.

Through her work at the NHM, Macdonald is helping to explore how museums can combine public engagement, scientific expertise and more sustainable exhibition practices, while giving audiences practical ways to connect with environmental action.