When is it shiny enough? Conservation of a Dividing Engine
Over the summer, staff at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science are preparing for their exhibition ‘Astronomy and Empire’ opening in October 2017. Kirstie Williams, University of Cambridge Museums Organics Conservator, was asked to conserve the Dividing Engine for the exhibition. First off, what’s a Dividing Engine? A dividing engine is a device that is used to mark…
What’s next? Highlights from the MuseumNext conference
Last week I had the opportunity to attend MuseumNext in Rotterdam. This years’ theme was ‘Gamechanging’, a full on programme of exciting speakers from around the globe in an interesting city with amazing architecture and museums. With a head still buzzing from all the talks, conversations and experiences, this is a summary of the conference and the key take-aways. So…
39 microtomes… but which looks best?
Jack Rajack, our latest work experience student at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, recently helped to reinvigorate an old Whipple work experience tradition: that the student would get to sample aspects of exhibitions, curation, and collections management by creating their own display case in the museum. We are currently redeveloping our New Gallery, which will shortly be…
