skip to content
 
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 workbench instruments to one of the first industrial-scale particle accelerators, our new temporary exhibition traces the founding of the Laboratory and its first six decades through its apparatus. Get close up to instruments used by J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford and James Clerk Maxwell, and discover the thriving community that transformed our understanding of the Universe.

Free to enter.

Don't miss out! Exhibition closes Thursday 10 April.

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

 

Early May and Spring Bank Holidays 2025
Please note that we will be closed on Monday 5 May and Monday 26 May for the Bank Holidays.