Did you know that hidden behind a Victorian facade on Free School Lane is the original 1618 hall of Cambridge’s Free School? Join the Whipple Museum’s Curator Dr Hannah Price for a walk up one of Cambridge’s most historic and scientific streets. Along the way, we’ll encounter medieval friars and seventeenth-century schoolboys, James Clerk Maxwell and Rosalind Franklin, and many more secrets...
Drop in. Meet at the Whipple Museum’s front desk.
The Great Comet of 1618 was the very first comet to be studied through a telescope. It was so bright it was spotted all over the world! Whoosh into the Museum’s Learning Gallery for hands-on family fun, and find out more about the comet and other science stories.
Drop in. Learning Gallery.
The Whipple collection contains some astonishing scientific instruments from the 17th century, but how were they used in practice? In this special Open Cambridge talk, the Museum’s Director Dr Joshua Nall will introduce you to a short history of 17th-century instruments and their use.
Drop in. Seated talk in the Learning Gallery.
We will be live online chatting about winter wildlife, with some expert interviews and contributions from our Young Zoologists Club. You'll be able to put your questions LIVE to our experts on the night.
Join via our You Tube channel (which will be linked from the events list on the Museum of Zoology website).
FREE. Suitable for families and all ages.
Date:
Wednesday, 26 November, 2025 - 19:00 to 20:00
Rowan Huntley, MA is the artist behind the upcoming special exhibition at the Polar Museum, Through Ice and Fire. This talk will give a behind the scenes look at Rowan's artistic processes and the science of creation. The artwork in Through Ice and Fire explores the scientific work of Dr Joanne Johnson and echoes Rowan's deep emotional connection with the natural world.
Delivered in partnership with local community organisation Dementia Compass since 2012, our Portals to the World programme aims to support museum learning for people with dementia and their care partner.
These free monthly sessions take place across the eight University of Cambridge Museums and the Botanic Garden. Each session combines a short talk with a gallery tour and object handling, specifically designed for those with dementia. Sessions are relaxed, friendly and supportive.
There are two session choices on offer per month on Wednesdays or Thursdays, 2 to 3.30pm.
If you feel like you’re slowing down, this is the programme for you.
Museum Boost is a programme of FREE monthly dance sessions inspired by stories from the University of Cambridge Museums and taking place at Mill Road Community Centre in Cambridge.
The sessions run on Fridays from 2.30 to 4pm:
- Friday 10 October
- Friday 14 November
- Friday 21 December
- Friday 30 January
- Friday 27 February
- Friday 27 March.
This is a partnership programme between the University of Cambridge Museums and Cambridge City Council.
In honour of our beautiful Jacobean building, originally Cambridge’s Free School, we’re exploring everything 17th-century, from historic scientific instruments to the secrets of our building. We’re open all day with family activities, curator talks and behind-the-scenes tours. Forsooth, gentles, it will be a merry meeting!
Programme :
Same-sex desire does not need modern labels and categories in order to exist across time.
From goddesses and ancient myths to powerful emperors explore the spectrum of identities that exist across time, place and culture in amongst the statues and sculptures of the atmospheric Cast Gallery at the Museum of Classical Archaeology.
From designer bookbindings to eye-catching homeware, leather produced in Nigeria – prized for its premium quality and impeccable aesthetics – has been used to elevate everything from books, shoes and bags to one-of-a-kind personal items for centuries. Take a closer look at never-before-seen examples from across the University of Cambridge’s collections, from the 1800s to now, and uncover a story of empire, craft and labour.
