The Whipple Museum Of History & Sicience
The Whipple Museum was founded in 1944 when Robert Stewart Whipple presented his collection of scientific instruments to the University of Cambridge. The Whipple Museum is partially housed in a large hall with Jacobean hammer-beam roof-trusses, built in 1618 as the first Cambridge Free School. The Main Gallery of the Museum is the original hall of the Perse School, founded as a bequest by Stephen Perse a fellow of Caius College. The building was completed in 1628
The Whipple Museum takes its name from Robert Stewart Whipple (1871-1953) who presented his collection of 1000 scientific instruments, and a similar number of rare books, to the University in 1944.
The Whipple Museum's collection includes scientific instruments, apparatus, models, pictures, prints, photographs, books and other material related to the history of science.
The Museum and its Collection
The museum's holdings are particularly strong in material dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries, especially objects produced by English instrument makers, although the collection contains objects dating from the medieval period to the present day. Instruments of astronomy, navigation, surveying, drawing and calculating are well represented, as are sundials, mathematical instruments and early electrical apparatus.
Special Collections:
The Whipple Museum includes a number of special collections transferred from other colleges and departments in the University of Cambridge, or held on long-term loan.
The Robert Whipple Collection
The historic scientific instruments collected by Robert Stuart Whipple and donated to the University of Cambridge in 1944, forms the founding basis of the Museum's collections. The collection includes microscopes, telescopes, sundials, optical and navigational instruments. For more information see the page on Robert Whipple and the founding of the Museum.
The Cavendish Laboratory Collection
This important collection of physical apparatus includes many of the instruments which were used in Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory during the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. It includes optical instruments, electrical instruments, X-ray tubes, vacuum tubes and thermometers.
The Fitzwilliam Collection
The Fitzwilliam Museum made a long-term loan to the Whipple Museum in 1973 of material relating to the history of science, including a number of sundials and a geomantic compass.
The Heywood Collection
This collection was purchased from the estate of Professor Harold Heywood of Loughborough. It is mainly made up of a very fine collection of microcopes dating from the late 17th century to the end of the 19th century. Other items include microscope accessories, drawing instruments, telescopes, optical instruments and an orrery.
Cambridge Instrument Company Collection
When the Company closed in 1974, it acknowledged its link with the Whipple Museum (whose founder was managing director of the Company) by donating its collection of instruments to the Museum. There are some important prototype items, and the instruments are accompanied by various photographic and printed resources, including a large number of the catalogues and pamphlets produced by the Company.
Plant Sciences Collection
In 1996 approximately 1,000 botanical teaching diagrams came to the Museum from the Department of Plant Sciences. These diagrams were used in departmental teaching over the last one hundred and fifty years, with new ones added as necessary, until the 1980s. The earliest examples include items by John Henslow.
VISITORS INFORMATION:
The Whipple Museum is open from 12:30-4:30pm from Monday-Friday.
Admission to the Museum is free and open to all.
Closed at weekends and bank holidays and occasionally over the Christmas period.
Visitors are advised to check beforehand by contacting the Museum.
Location
The Museum's entrance is located on Free School Lane, (between Bene't Street and Pembroke Street) in the centre of Cambridge.
Wheelchair accessible entrance is located via Downing Street on the University's New Museum's Site.
Situated very close to the other University Museums, King's Parade and 'the backs'.
Getting to the Museum
We encourage visitors to use the Cambridge Park and Ride facilities wherever possible. Please be aware that parking in Cambridge city centre can be expensive.
If you do wish to park in the city centre, the Grand Arcade multi-storey car park on Corn Exchange Street is the closest car park to the Museum.
Travelling to Cambridge
Cambridge is easily accessible by road via the M11 and A14. By train Cambridge can be reached in under 1 hour from London.
The railway station is situated just over a mile from the Museum (a 20-30 min walk, or a short bus or taxi ride - take any bus to the city centre and get off at the bus station).
The bus station is situated on Drummer Street and is a 5-10 minute walk from the Museum. See map for details.
Group Visits: The Whipple Museum welcomes visits by organised groups.
Photography policy
Visitors are permitted to take photographs in the galleries for their personal, educational use only.
Photographs must not be reproduced or published in any form, including on the internet.
Use of flash or tripods is not permitted.
If you wish to use an image of an object from the Museum's collection, please see our image request pages for more information.
Address:
Whipple Museum of the History of Science
Free School Lane
Cambridge
CB2 3RH