Behind modest doors all over Cambridge are rooms full of wonders: brass instruments that once measured the stars, a ship that sailed to the poles, cases of butterflies, globes and whale bones. You do not need to see them all. You just need to choose one door.
Cambridge rewards curiosity across many smaller collections as well as its major landmarks. Start with a question that interests you and let a museum take it further, rather than trying to make one day carry the whole city.
Instruments and distant journeys
At the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, instruments and models make the tools of discovery visible. Its founding collection was given by Robert Whipple in 1944. A short walk away, the Polar Museum at the Scott Polar Research Institute opens another world of stories, including material connected with Ernest Shackleton.
Choose a question. Open a museum door. Let Cambridge surprise you at a different scale.
Nature at a different scale
The Museum of Zoology explores animal life, evolution and conservation, while the Fitzwilliam offers art and objects from many periods and places. We tell both of their stories separately. Together they make a city that is, among other things, one great cabinet of curiosities.
Sources & further reading
- Whipple Museum: special collections
- Scott Polar Research Institute: the Polar Museum
- Museum of Zoology: about us
- Fitzwilliam Museum: collections overview
Visitor arrangements and event details can change; check with the relevant institution before visiting.