Whipple Museum of the History of Science, Cambridge

During my trip to Cambridge I visited three museums in one afternoon. It was hard to narrow down which ones to visit but in the end I picked ones based on general proximity to each other. It also helped that they were all free. The first one I visited was the Whipple Museum named for Robert Whipple who gifted his collection of scientific instruments to Cambridge University in 1944.

Whipple worked his way up through the ranks of the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company and began collecting antique scientific instruments in 1913. His intention with the donation was that a museum would be formed around his collection but that it would also become a teaching resource – that’s why it’s housed within the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. Indeed when I visited there was a very enthusiastic class of primary school age children having a lesson in one of the rooms.

The first object that Whipple collected was this telescope which he purchased in Tours, France in 1913. It cost him 10 francs.

What I was particularly interested in was the display of scientific instruments that had been designed by women. This sextant (used in navigation) dates from 1780 and is signed only as Ramsden. It may not be the exact one that Sarah Ramsden, noted for her mathematical skill and her precision, designed but she was known to work alongside her father, husband and brother in manufacturing such instruments.

Another craftswoman was Ann Adams who also worked alongside her husband – one of the few instruments signed by a woman was inscribed “A & G Adams” (for George her husband) and sold at auction in 2018. It would have been similar to this microscope in the museum’s collection.

The museum has some other interesting items on display including these models of horses teeth that date from 1890 France. They show among other things how a horse can be made to seem older or younger by altering how their teeth look – no doubt useful if you want to get rid of an old horse to an unsuspecting buyer!

Another weird and wonderful item is this ophthalmotrope – a model that demonstrates the way the eye muscles work. Very cool but also slightly creepy!

It’s a really intriguing museum and not very large so only takes an hour or so to go around. It can be found at Free School Lane, CB2 3RH.