Museum of the History of Science

The Museum of the History of Science houses an unrivalled collection of early scientific instruments in the world’s oldest surviving purpose-built museum building, the Old Ashmolean on Broad Street, Oxford. We are both a department of the University of Oxford and an active public museum, offering a programme of family-friendly events, gallery tours, table talks and much more, along with taught sessions for schools.

All episodes

Title	Description	People	Date
Mobile in Museums	Theodore Koterwas, Mobile Development Team Lead, IT Services, gives a short talk for Oxford University Museums Staff Conference	Theodore Koterwas	31 October, 2016
Celebrating Diversity: An LGBTQ+ Tour of Oxford University’s Museums and Collections	Beth Asbury, Assistant to the Director and Administration Team, Pitt Rivers Museum, gives a short talk for Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Beth Asbury	31 October, 2016
Quantifying and Mitigating Human Generated Vibration in Museum Exhibits	Daniel Bone, Deputy Head of Conservation, Ashmolean Museum, gives a short talk for Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Daniel Bone	31 October, 2016
Interacting with Artefacts, Oxfordshire Collections Project	Stephen Barker, Oxfordshire County Council Museums Service, gives a short talk for Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Stephen Barker	31 October, 2016
A year in the Zoology Collection	Mark Carnall, Collections Manager (Life Collections), Museum of Natural History gives a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Mark Carnall	21 October, 2016
Memories under the microscope: collaborations between Oxford University Partnership Museums and University of Oxford research departments	Helen Fountain, Reminiscence Officer, Oxford University Museums and Kate Hamblin, Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford Institute for Population Ageing give a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Kate Hamblin, Helen Fountain	21 October, 2016
VERVE: Connecting the public with displays at the Pitt Rivers Museum	Beth McDougall and Madeleine Ding, VERVE Team, Pitt Rivers Museum give a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Beth McDougall, Madeleine Ding	21 October, 2016
Joint Museums Youth Forum Project	Sarah Lloyd and Carly Smith-Huggins, Education Officers, Museum of Natural History give a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Sarah Lloyd, Carly Smith-Huggins	21 October, 2016
Cabinet: Integrating Text and Object in Oxford Teaching	Giovanna Vitelli, Director, University Engagement Programme, Ashmolean Museum gives a short talk for Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Giovanna Vitelli	21 October, 2016
Why community groups work with museums	Nicola Bird, Community Engagement Officer, Oxford University Museums gives a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Nicola Bird	21 October, 2016
Discussing Penicillin	Marie-Louise Kerr, Penicillin Exhibition Curator, Museum of the History of Science gives a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Marie-Louise Kerr	21 October, 2016
Transportation Transformation	Andrew Hughes, Move Project Team Leader, Pitt Rivers Museum, gives a short talk for the Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Andrew Hughes	21 October, 2016
Dodo Roadshow	Scott Billings, Digital Engagement Officer, Museum of Natural History gives a short talk for Oxford University Museums Staff Conference.	Scott Billings	21 October, 2016
The Oxford Philosophical Society and the Royal Society: a meeting of minds?	Dr Anna Marie Roos gives a talk as part of the Museum's celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Royal Society.	Anna Marie Roos	24 July, 2013
Who's to Blame for the Weather?	Professor Allen of the Oxford University Environmental Change Institute discusses one of the most pressing issues of the modern day - Climate Change.	Myles Allen	8 April, 2013
Body Clocks, Sleep and Light	Russell Foster explains the role of light in regulating our bodies and discusses the implications of today's almost constant exposure to light.	Russell Foster	8 April, 2013
The Invention of Clouds	Writer Richard Hamblyn revisits his first book about the 19th-century amateur meteorologist Luke Howard who gave the clouds the names we use today.	Richard Hamblyn	11 March, 2013
Stormy Weather: Exploring Atmospheres in the Outer Solar System	Leigh Fletcher (Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford) talks about current research on the weather of other planets.	Leigh Fletcher	11 March, 2013
Decimalising Time: Calendar and Clocks in the French Revolution	Dr Matthew Shaw, British Library, talks about the extraordinary revisions of time measurement adopted in the French Revolution.	Matthew Shaw	2 July, 2012
Mercator: The Man who Mapped the Planet	Geographer, explorer, writer and broadcaster Nicholas Crane talks about the inspirations behind his book on Gerard Mercator.	Nicholas Crane	2 July, 2012
Simon Forman: astrology, Medicine and Quackery in Elizabethan England	The third in a series of public lectures linked to the Museum's 'Eccentricity' exhibition.	Lauren Kassell	26 October, 2011
From Alligator Wrestling to Fossil Skeletons: Scientific Eccentricity in the Early 19th Century	Dr Vicky Carroll talks about the eccentric tendencies of early 19th-century natural historians. Whether hunting for fossils or wrestling alligators, these scientists certainly had an active interest in their field work!	Vicky Carroll	20 September, 2011
Crackpots and Eggheads: Eccentricity in Natural History	In the first in a series of 'Eccentricity' lectures, Dr Brian Regal talks about the search for 'monsters', in particular the hunt for Sasquatch or 'Bigfoot', and the "crackpot" natural historians who were obsessed with the search.	Brian Regal	28 July, 2011
Al-Mizan: Astrolabes in Cultural Context	A public lecture by Dr. Silke Ackermann, Curator of European and Islamic scientific instruments at the British Museum. Part of the Al-Mizan exhibition which explores the connections between the sciences and arts in Muslim societies.	Silke Ackermann	6 April, 2011
Al-Mizan: Mapping the Earth in Medieval Islam	A public lecture by Professor Emilie Savage-Smith, FBA, Emeritus Professor of the History of Islamic Science, University of Oxford. Part of the Al-Mizan exhibition which explores the connections between the sciences and arts in Muslim societies.	Emilie Savage Smith	6 April, 2011
Interview: Peter Scott on Marconi and Radio Manufacturing	Professor Peter Scott discusses his research into competitive advantage and innovation in the interwar British radio industry using the Marconi Archive, Britain's most extensive and important archive for the radio and related industries.	Peter Scott, Jim Bennett	1 April, 2011
Radio Manufacturing in the Interwar Years	Professor Peter Scott (University of Reading) presents the inaugural Douglas Byrne Marconi Lecture based on his research on Marconi and radio manufacturing between the World Wars.	Peter Scott	1 April, 2011
The Museum of the History of Science: An Introduction	Short video presented by Jim Bennett, Director of the Museum of the History of Science, looking into the history of the museum and some of its curiosities.	Jim Bennett	10 December, 2009
Einstein's Blackboard	Jim Bennett, Director of the Museum of the History of Science, talks about one of the museum's prized exhibits, a blackboard Albert Einstein used in a lecture he gave to the university in 1931.	Jim Bennett	10 December, 2009
Steampunk Exhibition	Short video about the Steampunk exhibition, from the Museum of the History of Science until February 2010 with the museum's director, Jim Bennett, explaining the various exhibits.	Jim Bennett	10 December, 2009
Telescopes Now Lecture 4: The Pierre Auger Observatory	In the fourth and final lecture in the 'Telescopes Now' series, Professor Alan Watson talks about his work at the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory.	Alan Watson	3 March, 2009
Telescopes Now Lecture 3: The Gemini Telescopes	In the third in a series of lectures by senior astronomers about recent developments in telescopes, Professor Roger Davies talks about his work on the Gemini Telescopes.	Roger Davies	3 March, 2009
Telescopes Now Lecture 2: Jodrell Bank, the Lovell Telescope and e-MERLIN	In the second in a series of lectures by senior astronomers about recent developments in the telescope, Professor Phil Diamond talks about his work at Jodrell Bank on E-Merlin, and in particular the Lovell Telescope.	Phil Diamond	3 March, 2009
Telescopes Now Lecture 1: The William Herschel and the Hubble telescopes	In the first in a series of lectures by senior astronomers about recent developments in telescopes, Professor Alexander Boksenberg talks about his work with the William Herschel and the Hubble telescopes.	Alexander Boksenberg	3 March, 2009

Museum of the History of Science

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