Saturday Opening

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.

This Saturday opening also marks the official launch of our new exhibition, The Art of Deception.

Opening on Saturday 17 January, The Art of Deception takes visitors to the Whipple Museum of the History of Science into the shadowy world of collecting and counterfeit. How do fake artefacts find their way into museum collections? Who made them, and why? And how can experts tell what is real from what is not?

The exhibition shines a spotlight on forged scientific instruments that have fooled collectors and specialists alike. From an intricate “silver” globe to striking medical prints, visitors will encounter more than a hundred notorious objects, alongside the careful detective work that ultimately exposed them.

“Forgery is the inevitable dark side of collecting,” says the Museum’s Director, Dr Joshua Nall. “If people are willing to pay good money for a historical artefact, others will always be willing to deceive them by producing fakes. As early as the 1950s, Whipple curators were identifying suspect objects in the collection, many hiding in plain sight. Today, we know there is an ever-growing world of fraud and deception in the market for scientific artefacts.”

“The range of fake objects is really astonishing,” adds the Museum’s Curator, Dr Hannah Price. “Some are extremely sophisticated; others are hard to believe fooled anyone at all. Visitors will have to make up their own minds…”