Giant deer, fossil fish teeth, the rocks that built Cambridge... just some of the specimens on display that our staff can't wait to discuss with you. Beware, their enthusiasm is infectious!
Ages 12+, drop into our shop to reserve your free place on the tour.
Drop-in, FREE
How do rare earth element-rich minerals form? What makes some minerals 'critical' and not others? Why are they in the news so often? Discover the work of a small team of Earth Scientists at the University of Cambridge, who study minerals that formed in magma chambers millions of years ago in Greenland. The minerals contain ‘rare earth elements’, which due to their use in powerful magnets are crucial to high-tech industries and the global transition to green energy.
SOURCE is our annual programme of workshops for young people aged 15-25 studying Art and Design at GCSE, A-Level, BTEC and Foundation level.
Book an artist-led workshop, join a tour to get ideas for your themes or bring your portfolio for a review with lecturers from Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University.
The themes for each day are:
- Thursday: Nature and natural forms
- Friday: Human form
- Saturday: Abstraction
Garden Highlight Tours are daily at 11.30am
- Explore the seasonal stars on a 60 minute tour with an expert Guide
- Places are allocated on a first-come basis and numbers are limited to 12 people per Guide
- Not recommended for children under 12 years
Bite-Sized Plant Talks at 1.30pm
Discover the remarkable contributions made to the history of science by pioneering Black scientists. Learn about medical breakthroughs, moon missions, advances in agriculture, and the art of teaching taxidermy.
Access Update at the Whipple Museum: Lift Works 2026
What is an orrery? Why is the clock chiming 13? Why would you collect and display a set of plaster horses’ teeth, some green spectacles and several hundred pocket calculators?
Join us for a tour of the Whipple’s collection in 10 objects, featuring spectacular instruments, fascinating scientific stories, and links to some of Cambridge’s most famous names.
Meet at the reception point in the Main Gallery.
Fury of the peaks: A journey through the new dangers of frozen mountain ranges
Louie Bell is a Geography PhD student at Queen's College with very close ties to the Scott Polar Research Institute after completing his MPhil here in 2024.
From Louie:
Explore the collections of the Whipple Museum to find out more about measuring time, travelling around the world and how ideas have changed and moved through history. Find out about scientists in different times and places and create your own time travelling adventure!
This event is part of the Cambridge Festival programme 2026.
Access Update at the Whipple Museum: Lift Works 2026
Explore a remarkable range of scientific instruments used to make sense of the world, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Discover objects from astronomy, navigation, surveying, drawing and calculation, including sundials, mathematical instruments, early electrical apparatus—and even a microscope once owned by Charles Darwin.
Plus, enjoy hands-on activities in the newly refurbished Learning Gallery, perfect for little ones — or book a Whipple Highlights guided tour. Afterwards, take home a treat from the Whipple gift shop to remember your visit.
Drop in to investigate fascinating igneous rocks from Greenland, under the microscope and in your hands. These rocks contain rare earth elements, which are important components of electric vehicles, wind turbines and devices such as mobile phones and laptops.
Meet our scientists from the University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences who study these rocks, and chat with them about their fieldwork. Join them in looking for clues that the rocks contain rare earth elements. Handle rocks that the scientists collected and place them under UV light to see if they glow.
