How do rare earth element-rich minerals form? What makes some minerals 'critical' and not others? Why are they in the news so often? Discover the work of a small team of Earth Scientists at the University of Cambridge, who study minerals that formed in magma chambers millions of years ago in Greenland. The minerals contain ‘rare earth elements’, which due to their use in powerful magnets are crucial to high-tech industries and the global transition to green energy.
From 11 February to 12 April, Talking Plants invites you to take part in a live experiment exploring how artificial intelligence can help us connect more deeply with the plant kingdom. By scanning QR codes positioned throughout the Glasshouses, you’ll be able to talk to 20 remarkable plants, each represented by a generative AI chatbot.
Ask questions, follow your curiosity and discover more about each plant’s habitat, life cycle, ecological role and cultural significance. Every conversation is unique, shaped by what you choose to ask and how you choose to engage.
Join us for a celebratory late opening marking the exhibition launch of The Auzoux Project at the Whipple Museum. Over the past six months, artist Anna Brownsted and our Whipple Scribble community have been co-creating a takeover of our Victorian Parlour, inspired by the incredible papier-mâché models of Dr Louis Auzoux. Experience the installation up close and explore the Museum after-hours with a glass of wine.
de Freston has long painted his wife, the award-winning novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave, often in shifting literary and mythological roles which see her in the guise of Ophelia, Lady Macbeth and Eurydice. These portraits form part of the couple’s long-standing multimedia collaborations across books, films, graphic novels and performance. But the works in poíēsis emerged from a period of profound personal upheaval.
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.
Plus, enjoy hands-on activities in the newly refurbished Learning Gallery, perfect for little ones — or book a Whipple Highlights guided tour. Afterwards, take home a treat from the Whipple gift shop to remember your visit.
Now open, The Art of Deception takes visitors into the dark underbelly of the world of collecting. How do fake artefacts end up in museums? Who made them, and why? And how do we detect them?
Opened in January, this new exhibition puts the forged scientific instruments that have fooled collectors and experts under the spotlight. From an intricate “silver” globe to eye-popping medical prints, visitors can explore over a hundred notorious objects, alongside the careful investigative work that exposed them.
From plates and perfume bottles to teapots and tableware, take a closer look at intricately detailed, technically innovative and visually striking enamelled art objects and find out how this skilled artform was elevated to new heights.
Opening Times
Tuesday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm | Sundays and Bank Holidays: 12 – 5pm
This display reveals the treasure of the Plowden songbook, a rare manuscript of 77 songs in Persian, Urdu, Classical Hindi and Punjabi, brought to life through detailed illustrations of musicians, dancers, singers and courtesans.
Opening Times
Tuesday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm | Sundays and Bank Holidays: 12 – 5pm
Celebrating a career lasting nearly seven decades, our exciting display brings together a lifetime of the artist’s work.
Discover the connections between art across time and explore Bowling’s works and his artistic influences, from Titian to Turner and his contemporary Aubrey Williams to Tracey Emin.
Opening Times
Tuesday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm | Sundays and Bank Holidays: 12 – 5pm
