Whipple Museum of the History of Science

Whipple Museum of the History of Science "A fabulous chocolate box cornucopia of a collection"

Open Monday to Friday, 1pm-5pm, & Saturday, 10am-5pm. Open selected Bank Holidays.

Discover a vast array of scientific instruments dating from the Middle Ages to the present day. From microscopes and telescopes to pocket calculators and slide rules, find out more about the tools that scientists have used to understand the world around us.

Summer Bank Holiday closure & museum update 📢Please note that the Whipple Museum will be closed on Monday 31 August for ...
27/08/2026

Summer Bank Holiday closure & museum update 📢

Please note that the Whipple Museum will be closed on Monday 31 August for the Summer Bank Holiday. We apologise for any inconvenience.

🚨 Plus, our opening hours are changing!

From 1 September 2026, we’ll be open:

🕐 Monday–Friday, 1–5pm
🕙 Every Saturday, 10am–5pm

Whether you’re planning a family day out or visiting Cambridge for the weekend, our regular Saturday opening makes it even easier to discover the Whipple Museum.

We look forward to welcoming you soon!

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓️ New opening hours from 1 September 2026: Monday–Friday, 1–5pm, and every Saturday, 10am–5pm

Join us for Making Marks, a day celebrating pioneering women in science, with a special focus on physicist, inventor and...
26/08/2026

Join us for Making Marks, a day celebrating pioneering women in science, with a special focus on physicist, inventor and suffrage campaigner Hertha Ayrton. ⚡️🎵

Throughout the day, enjoy an illustrated talk by Dr Patricia Fara, family talks and hands-on activities exploring women in science, plus two live performances taken from The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade – a new musical by composer Jenni Pinnock and writers Helen Arney and Brian Mackenwells, celebrating Ayrton and other remarkable scientists and mathematicians connected with Girton College.

Whether you’re interested in science, women’s history, musical theatre, or simply looking for a family day out, Making Marks offers a creative new way to discover the women who helped shape science.

📍 Saturday 12 September 2026, 10am–5pm
Whipple Museum of the History of Science
Free School Lane, Cambridge
Part of Open Cambridge Cambridge University Festivals
Supported by Arts Council England funding through University of Cambridge Museums

Programme:
11am – Women in Science: Family Talk
12 noon – Hertha Ayrton: Illustrated Talk with Dr Patricia Fara
1pm – Concert: The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade
2pm – Women in Science: Family Talk
3pm – Concert: The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade
4pm – Hertha Ayrton: Illustrated Talk with Dr Patricia Fara

Concert performances will feature:
Noa Shakhar as Hertha Ayrton, Felix Elliott on piano and Helen Arney as narrator. 🎵

Booking is not required, but performances and talks have limited capacity, so please arrive early to secure your place.

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
Opening hours as of 01 September 2026:
🗓 Monday–Friday: 1–5pm, Saturday: 10am–5pm

🚨 Museum Closure – Friday 14 August 🚨Due to the forecast of hot weather, the Whipple Museum will be closed on Friday 14 ...
13/08/2026

🚨 Museum Closure – Friday 14 August 🚨

Due to the forecast of hot weather, the Whipple Museum will be closed on Friday 14 August as a safety precaution.

We’ll be open again on Saturday, 10am–5pm ⭐️

Thank you for your understanding, and we apologise for any inconvenience.

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Monday–Friday: 12.30–4.30pm
📅 Saturdays: 10am–5pm

Are you excited for tonight’s eclipse? ☀️🌑 More than 90% of the Sun will be covered by the Moon for most of the UK this ...
12/08/2026

Are you excited for tonight’s eclipse? ☀️🌑 More than 90% of the Sun will be covered by the Moon for most of the UK this evening.

Long before projectors, magic lanterns were used to illustrate astronomical phenomena. These slides were part of sets used in scientific lectures, with some designed to demonstrate solar and lunar eclipses through moving parts.

Pictured are slides 29 and 31, showing a solar eclipse mechanism and the band of zodiac constellations. ⭐️

Want to find out more about these slides and see the rest of the collection? Tap the link in our bio to browse our Collections Database and search Wh.4603.

✨ Plan your visit
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Monday–Friday: 12.30–4.30pm
📅 Saturdays: 10am–5pm

🚨Museum Closure – Thursday 13 August 🚨Due to the forecast hot weather, the Whipple Museum will be closed on Thursday 13 ...
12/08/2026

🚨Museum Closure – Thursday 13 August 🚨

Due to the forecast hot weather, the Whipple Museum will be closed on Thursday 13 August as a safety precaution.

We’ll assess conditions and confirm whether we’ll be open on Friday 14 August. Please check our website and social media for the latest updates.

Thank you for your understanding, and we apologise for any inconvenience.

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Monday–Friday: 12.30–4.30pm
📅 Saturdays: 10am–5pm

Behind the scenes, our Collections Team have been busy working on a major collections move project, supported by our sum...
06/08/2026

Behind the scenes, our Collections Team have been busy working on a major collections move project, supported by our summer placement students Pamela, Alejandro and Berengar, alongside volunteers Tav and Sully. ⭐️

The team has been gaining hands-on experience in collections care, including auditing, repacking, accessioning, archival work, and carefully cataloguing and rehousing laboratory glassware in preparation for its move to our new collections store.

Featured in today’s post are objects from the Howard Glassware Collection. The collection comprises around 750 pieces of laboratory and chemistry glassware, dating mainly from the 1950s, and includes items made by a range of manufacturers, including Pyrex.

Some of the previous storage methods were quite inventive! The first image shows an old to***co tin that had been repurposed. Swipe to the end to see a before photo revealing how the glassware was originally stored.

Want to know more? Tap the link in our bio to browse our Collections Database and search Wh.5244. 🧪

We’ll be sharing more behind-the-scenes updates as the project continues throughout the summer.

✨ Plan your visit
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Monday–Friday: 12.30–4.30pm
📅 Saturday: 10am–5pm

🌕 On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon. 🌕The mission was crewed by Neil Armstrong, Michael...
20/07/2026

🌕 On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon. 🌕

The mission was crewed by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.

One of the technologies that helped make the Moon landing possible was developed right here in Cambridge: Tom Bacon’s hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell electrode (Wh.6081).

So, what is a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell?
It generates electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, with water as its only by-product. After decades of research, Tom Bacon developed a practical design in Cambridge during the late 1950s.

NASA adopted Bacon’s fuel cell technology for the Apollo programme because it used the same hydrogen and oxygen carried for propulsion while also providing electricity and drinking water for the astronauts.

President Richard Nixon later reportedly told Bacon: “Without you Tom, we wouldn’t have gotten to the Moon.” 🌒

You can see Bacon’s fuel cell on display in the Whipple Museum’s Learning Gallery.

🚀 Want to know more? Tap the link in our bio to browse our Collections Database and search Wh.6081.

Apollo 11 Hasselblad image from film magazine 40/S - EVA.

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Monday–Friday, 12:30–4:30pm
📅 Saturday, 10:00am–5:00pm

🔬☀️ Summer Science at the Whipple! ☀️🔬Join us this summer for free, hands-on family activities as part of Summer at the ...
13/07/2026

🔬☀️ Summer Science at the Whipple! ☀️🔬
Join us this summer for free, hands-on family activities as part of Summer at the Museums.
Each week, discover a different area of science inspired by fascinating objects from the Whipple Museum’s collections.

Weekly themes:
💡 Light
🎵 Sound
🌍 Earth & Space
🩺 History of Medicine
🧩 Modelling Science

For session dates and times, visit the link in our bio to find out more.

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Monday–Friday, 12:30–4:30pm
📅 Saturdays, 10:00am–5:00pm

We look forward to welcoming you this summer! University of Cambridge Museums

🌍 Climate at the Museum 🌍Can you imagine a cleaner, greener future?Join us on Saturday 20 June, 1–3pm, as artist-activis...
09/06/2026

🌍 Climate at the Museum 🌍

Can you imagine a cleaner, greener future?

Join us on Saturday 20 June, 1–3pm, as artist-activist Jade Pollard-Crowe and some of Cambridge’s brightest early career researchers take over the Museum for an afternoon of creativity, conversation, and climate action, supported by Cambridge Zero.

✨ Create a collaborative climate map
✨ Take part in hands-on activities
✨ Discover inspiring objects from our collections
✨ Hear lightning talks from researchers
✨ Share your ideas for positive change

With activities in the Learning Gallery and Upper Gallery, there’s something for all ages.

Saturday 20 June, 1–3pm
Learning Gallery & Upper Gallery
Drop-in | Free | All ages welcome

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Mon–Fri, 12.30–4.30pm
📅 Next Saturday opening: 20 June, 10–4pm

Come and join our team at the Whipple Museum! ⭐️Visitor Experience Assistants (Temporary)We’re looking for two friendly ...
08/06/2026

Come and join our team at the Whipple Museum! ⭐️

Visitor Experience Assistants (Temporary)

We’re looking for two friendly and enthusiastic Visitor Experience Assistants to welcome and support our visitors on Saturdays, with the possibility of additional weekday shifts.

Experience in a visitor-facing museum role or customer service is desirable, along with an enthusiasm for the Whipple Museum’s unique collections and stories.

Find out more and apply via the link in our bio or on our website.

✨ Plan your visit:
📍 Whipple Museum, Free School Lane, Cambridge
🗓 Mon–Fri, 12:30–4:30pm
📅 Next Saturday opening: 20 June, 10.00–4.00pm

Address

Free School Lane
Cambridge
CB23RH

Opening Hours

Monday 12:30pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 12:30pm - 4:30pm
Wednesday 12:30pm - 4:30pm
Thursday 12:30pm - 4:30pm
Friday 12:30pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

+441223330906

Website

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