[1] The underlying buildings and collections remain the property of the City Council, who have the final decision on admission charges.
Thinktank was created from the collection of the City Council's Museum of Science and Industry, Birmingham.
[10] As well as many paintings, sculptures, and other artworks, the collection includes steam engines (including the oldest working engine in the world), aeroplanes, Austin, Rover and MG motor cars, a red phone box, coins, and a Sinclair C5.
The natural history collection includes approximately 5,700 taxidermied specimens, as well as skins, bones, eggs, and nests.
[11][12] Taxidermy specimens of extinct species include a great auk, and a passenger pigeon.