Groups and Locations

history, science, technology, archives, database, digital, search, collections, photograph, Biblical

The Museum of the History of Science, which reopened in 2001 following a three-year refurbishment, effectively serves as a centre for History of Science studies in Oxford, and this website offers several resources likely to be of use to researchers in the history of instruments. A fully searchable collections database is currently in development, providing catalogue information and, in some cases, photographs of instruments; the Museum’s collection of images, including many portraits of scientists and instrument-makers, is also in the process of being digitised; and the site also hosts a full searchable index for rete, the mailing list for the historical study of scientific instruments. A page of links to other institutions with significant instruments collections is maintained. There is also a collection of well-produced, atmospheric ‘online exhibits’ on diverse themes, including: early-modern Biblical metaphors of knowledge; the application of geometry in warfare; portrait images of the astronomer Tycho Brahe; early photographic processes; and the scientific history of Oxford, which may interest students and general readers. The site also provides general information about the Museum, its library and staff, online copies of its newsletter, Sphæra, and details of its Master’s-level postgraduate course.