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Welcome to the Whipple Museum

We are open five days a week, Monday to Friday 12.30 - 16.30

And selected Saturdays, 10.00 - 16.00

Read more at: The Cavendish Laboratory and the Birth of the Atomic Age

The Cavendish Laboratory and the Birth of the Atomic Age

Glassblowing during the practical class at the Cavendish Laboratory.

2024 marks 150 years since the founding of the Cavendish Laboratory of Experimental Physics. No one could have predicted in 1874 that Cambridge physics would give birth to the atomic age: that the electron and neutron would be discovered, and the atom itself split, on Free School Lane. From delicate glass vessels and...

Opening Times

We are regularly open five days a week, 12.30 - 16:30.

And now open the third Saturday of every month!

Monday 12.30 - 16:30

Tuesday 12.30 - 16:30

Wednesday 12.30 - 16:30

Thursday 12.30 - 16:30

Friday 12.30 - 16:30

Selected Saturdays 10.00 - 16.00

We hope to see you soon!

Explore Collections

Read more at: A Celebration of Navigation: Famous Voyages Depicted on a Globe

A Celebration of Navigation: Famous Voyages Depicted on a Globe

Detail of globe showing inscription "A New TERRESTRIAL GLOBE, Made by Rt Morden, Wan Berry, Ph Lea. And Sold at their Shops at the Atlas in Cornhill, at ye Globe at Chering Cross, and at ye Atlas of Hercules in Cheapside, London.

This 17th century globe depicts the round-the-world voyages of famous English explorers, Sir Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish. Its main function was not practical use, but instead to celebrate the skill of great English navigators and encourage other citizens to follow their footsteps.