Ghost town Spooks, hauntings and tall tales - the University Offices ...

Welcome to an occasional series on
University institutions. First up, the
Whipple Museum of the History of
Science (pictured right)
knOw yOur uniVerSity
yesterday’s science today
IT IS EASY in this age of rapid change to
forget about the scientific instruments
of yesteryear. But a trip to the Whipple
tells us why we should care about them:
most are fascinating objects; many have
unusual stories associated with them; and
nearly all tell us something interesting
about the people and societies who first
brought them into the world.
Take the museum’s collection of
pocket calculators. Marvel at the
heavy-buttoned bricks from the
early 1970s. Admire those sleek,
breast-pocket machines from the
1980s. And enjoy some of the early
children’s calculators that you may
have bought – or have been
bought – as a present many
years ago.
You can enjoy these
endearing machines in isolation –
or as part of a wider display on the
history of calculating devices, which
preoccupied scientists and inventors
for the best part of 350 years.
It is a typically unusual and interesting
collection from this lovingly run museum,
which was founded in 1944 when Robert
Whipple (1871-1953), an avid collector
of scientific instruments and rare books,
donated his personal collection to
the University.
Whipple, who rose to become
Managing Director of the Cambridge
Scientific Instrument Company, was
involved in various learned societies
and institutions, and his interest in the
practice of science led him to amass
an outstanding collection of antique
scientific instruments.
Today, the museum is an integral
part of the Department of History and
Philosophy of Science, with students
making use of the collections for their
studies as well as creating some of the
display cabinets themselves.
COPYRIgHT THE WHIPPLE MUSEUM
“It would be
easy to lose
an afternoon
or two in this
museum’s
company”
Above: Charles Darwin’s
Achromatic Compound
Microscope, the centrepiece
of a temporary exhibition at
the Whipple Museum of
the History of Science
It is also very well curated. The
permanent collections – which include
exhibits focusing on astronomy,
microscopes and educational models –
are wide ranging, the narratives behind
them illuminating, and the labels are
clear and unobtrusive. Despite its rather
modest space, it would be easy to lose an
afternoon or two in its company.
The Whipple also displays collections
on a temporary basis – its Darwin
exhibition, which includes the naturalist’s
microscope and annotated user manual,
has proved particularly popular this year,
according to Museum Assistant Sarah
Robertson. So has its collection of more
than 40 globes, which can be viewed
until December this year.
So the next time you have a spare
lunch hour, why not pay a visit and
learn about the fascinating world of
the history science?
finD Out mOre
➔ The Whipple Museum of the History of
Science is on Free School Lane. It is open
Monday to Friday from 12.30 to 4.30pm.
Now for
girls as well
as boys.
To �nd out more, visit
www.perse.co.uk or call
01223 403805 for a prospectus.
The deadline for applications
for entry in September 2010 is
31st December 2009.
november/deCember 2009 | UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE NEwSlETTER | 11