Below are details and images from recent past events at the Whipple Museum.
Friday, March 22 at 7:00pm
Opus Anglicanum used music and a sequence of texts chosen by John Allen, Emeritus Professor of Physics, St Andrews University, to chart the changing perceptions of the nature of light through history.
John Allen has chosen Zarathustra, Parmenides, Democritus, Alhazen, Newton, Young and Einstein to be performed by Opus Anglicanum (5 men singing unaccompanied and a narrator) also featured 1st performances of new works by Dobrinka Tabakova to a text by Einstein; and by Gordon Crosse to a text by Hafiz.
With Judith Bingham 'Breguswith's Dream' from 'Necklace of Light'; John Dunstable 'Veni Sancte Spiritus'; Josquin 'In principio erat verbum'; Tallis 'O Nata Lux de Lumine'; and other works.
Monday, March 11 at 1:00pm
The ideas of space and time are pretty obvious in our everyday life. But sometimes the simplest things are the most subtle! Indeed, once we start asking questions about the nature of space and time, we find ourselves facing many difficulties and we realise that we don't have obvious answers: What is space? What is time? Do they have the same properties? Could we imagine anything outside of space and time? We will explain how physics and philosophy can shed some light on these questions.
Thursday, March 21 at 1:00pm
The world according to quantum field theory This talk describes the vision of the Cambridge physicist Paul Dirac, who articulated the idea that a particle is an excitation of an all-pervading field, laying the ground not only for modern physics, but also a new understanding of geometry.
Thursday, March 14 at 6:00pm
The Clerks performed and explored the science of 'auditory streaming' in the majestic surroundings of the Whipple Museum's Main Gallery.
The award-winning vocal ensemble The Clerks returned to the Whipple Museum of the History of Science following their previous performance of 'Roger go to yellow three'. Their work explored the science of 'auditory streaming', the function of hearing which enables us to pick out a single conversation in a crowded room. Attendees became subjects of research by filling out questionnaires based on what they were able to hear.
Saturday, March 16, 2013, 10:00am until 4:00pm
The Whipple Museum was open on Science Saturday with short tours throughout the day.
Tuesday, March 19 at 2:00pm and 3:00pm; Friday, March 22 at 3:00pm
Tours of the galleries followed by a hands-on session using objects from the Whipple's collection. A rare opportunity to actually handle instruments and museum artefacts.
Wednesday, February 13 at 16.30-19.30
Using our Solar System trail, visitors experienced the darkness of space in the Whipple Museum, and found out how humans have investigated and made models of planets, moons and other objects.
Friday, 1st February at 18.00
As part of the Thresholds [http://www.thresholds.org.uk/] project , the Whipple Museum of the History of Science hosted a poetry reading by Don Paterson.
Friday 2 November 2012, 2:00PM - 4:00PM
These artist-led sessions explored the theme of 'dreams and nightmares' through the diverse perspectives and imaginative worlds of the University of Cambridge Museums' (UCM) collections at different sites across Cambridge.
Thursday 1 November 2012, 2:00PM - 3:00PM
Brian Pitts held a public lecture entitled 'Mr Tompkin's nightmares' as part of the Festival of Ideas.
Monday 8 October 2012 until Friday 2 November 2012
To celebrate the 25 years of the twining of Cambridge and Szeged, the New Gallery was host to an exhibition by Hungary's only mint for decorative and commemorative medals and coins.
Saturday 27 October 2012
Regular tours were held throughout the day as the Whipple opened for this special Saturday opening.
Friday 26 October, 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Charlie Draper performed an evening of music played on the rare and unusual theremin; the only instrument to be controlled without touch.
Thursday 25 October, 2:00PM - 3:00PM
What is the real geometry of space? Surely we can just go and measure it? Attendees found out that Henri Poincaré, the French mathematical genius, had a dream that he could resolve the issue.
Saturday 8th September 2012, from 10:00am until 4:00pm.
A special Saturday opening, with regular tours.
Friday 7th September 2012. 2:00pm until 4:00pm.
Visitors explored the highlights of the Whipple's vast number of scientific instruments and took part in a handling session. There was a tour of the galleries followed by a hands-on session using objects from the collection.
Monday 20th August 2012, between 12.30pm and 4.30pm.
Monday 13th August 2012, between 12.30pm and 4.30pm.
The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's 'Cabinet of Curiosity' is visited the Whipple Museum.
Friday 23 March 6:00PM - 7:00PM
On the 23rd March, the Main Gallery was packed with visitors enjoying the rare and enchanting sound of the Theremin. A concert performed by Lydia Kavina, Charlie Draper and Adam Gray, with narration by Orla Polten.
Tuesday 27 March, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
The ideas of space and time are pretty obvious in our everyday life, but once we start asking questions about the nature of space and time, we find ourselves facing difficulties and realise we don't have obvious answers.
On Saturday 17 March the Whipple was open for Science Saturday.
Wednesday 14 March 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Kelley Swain, poet in residence, chaired a discussion on the constraints of creative form in literature and poetry, from Oulipo to the Gothic. This was inspired by the Whipple Museum's Hutchinson collection of mathematical instruments.
Two excellent guest speakers, Dr Joe Crawford of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, and the talented Badaude of Oxford, will speak about their contributions to the Whipple's first art-book (forthcoming). Other contributors to the book, 'The Rules of Form: Sonnets & Slide Rules,' include poet Lesley Saunders, PhD student Caitlin Wylie, and artist & designer Cassie Herschel-Shorland, as well as Joe Crawford and Badaude.
On 15th February visitors voyaged through the Whipple, discovering the secrets of scientific exploration. The Whipple museum holds countless objects used by travellers, from the sextants that measure latitude to the artificial horizons that guided sailors through the dark. Visitors explored these objects and more by completing the torch-lit trail. Their travels continued through the activities brought to the Whipple by the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology as they discovered more about explorers of the past and the people they met.
Friday October 28th 2011
'Roger go to yellow three' was an original vocal and dramatic work by Christopher Fox and Edward Wickham performed by the award-winning vocal ensemble The Clerks. The work explored the science of 'auditory streaming', the function of hearing which enables us to pick out a single conversation in a crowded room. Over 60 people attended, who themselves became subjects of research by filling out questionnaires based on what they were able to hear.
Visit www.theclerks.co.uk [http://www.theclerks.co.uk]for more information.
Thursday October 27th 2011 at the Whipple Museum
In this series of creative writing workshops participants worked with the stories of scientists who changed our ideas of the possible. They were encouraged to create their own poetry and fiction, inspired by items from the Whipple collection.
Presented by the Whipple Museum and Anglia Ruskin University.
Monday October 24th 2011
Live performances and sound installations provided the background for a special late night opening of the museum galleries. This event was run in association with the Museum of Zoology, The Polar Museum, Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences and The Fitzwilliam Museum.
The Main Gallery of the Whipple was transformed into the belly of an imaginary machine. A sonorous, cyclic automaton nestled amongst years of scientific detritus: an installation inspired by the modern replica of Richard of Wallingford's 11th century astronomical clock. The sound piece was itself a replica of sorts; intricate mechanical processes were gradually unhinged and reassembled. This was a piece composed specifically for the Whipple by members of the University of Cambridge's Music Faculty.
Friday October 21st 2011
What happens to an atom if you keep splitting it? How can philosophy have anything to do with the answer? Audience members joined Dr Jeremy Butterfield and Dr Nazim Boatta for a discussion of these issues. This event was so over-subscribed that the talk was repeated on the 26th October.
On Wednesay October 19th 2011, the Whipple celebrated The Acoustical Experiments of Lord Rayleigh, a temporary exhibition of apparatus The museum will open at 5pm for light refreshments and speeches followed by a talk by Professor E. A. Davis at 6pm.
On Friday 9th September there was Music at the Whipple between 5.30pm and 7.00pm. Visitors explored our collections during our late opening with live music in the background.
Saturday opening at the Whipple: on 10th September the museum was open between 10am and 4pm.
On the above dates the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's 'Cabinet of Curiosity' visited the Whipple Museum of the History of Science.
On Saturday 19th March, the Museum was open for the Cambridge Science Festival 2011. Visitors explored the Whipple Museum's collection and investigated how some of our objects work using the handling trolleys.
Find out more about Science Festival [http://comms.group.cam.ac.uk/sciencefestival/]
On 16th March 2011 at 5pm the Main Gallery was host to 'The Tables Turned', a role-play drama about science and Victorian spiritualism.
In Victorian Britain, thousands of people were turning tables. Participants at séances across the country heard long-departed voices, levitated musical instruments, and channelled strange languages, breaching supposed barriers between the natural and the supernatural, soul and matter, the known and the unknown, the quick and the dead. Well-known members of the scientific community, including co-discoverer of natural selection Alfred Russel Wallace and chemist William Crookes, were among them: active enthusiasts of spiritualism, and regular séance-goers. Others, such as Michael Faraday, were more sceptical, and denounced this popular pastime in the periodical press. Many fell somewhere in between on a spectrum of beliefs. But how were people supposed to judge what was going on, and who could be relied on for expert guidance? Was science able to determine whether the séance was real?
In 'The Tables Turned', the British Society for the History of Science's 'Strolling Players' visited the world of Victorian spiritualism. Travelling back in time to the early 1860s, they took their audience to a meeting of a scientific society to question processes of observation, fact-making, objectivity and reasoning, as well as the relationship between expert men of science and the wider public. This highly engaging event used film, role-play, and debate to bring key issues from the history and philosophy of science to life.
Many of these events have been made possible by a grant from MLA Renaissance East of England [http://www.renaissance-east.org.uk/].
Renaissance is all about transforming England's regional museums: making them world class and fit for the 21st century.
The first investment of its kind, Renaissance is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make museums great centres of life and learning, closely connected to their localities, which people want to use. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), the lead strategic body for museums, has secured nearly £150 million from central government for this groundbreaking programme between 2002 and 2008.
[http://www.renaissance-east.org.uk]
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Whipple Museum of the History of Science