History of Science: Museums, memorials, historical places and exhibits

We collect here only museums for fields related to astronomy. Please note that some of them may be devoted rather to popular science than to history of science.

Museums displaying also history of astronomy items are listed in the list of astronomy museums. Please let me know when you are aware that a museum listed here holds such items (astrolabes, astronomical clocks, sextants, sundials, telescopes, etc.). In this case it will be moved to the other list.

General items

ICOM - The International Council of Museums
Museum Documentation Association
Museum Informatics Project at the University of California, Berkeley
The Museum Discussion List (Museum-L)
- Frequently Asked Questions (WWW document)
- Frequently Asked Questions (ASCII file via ftp)
- Listserver Archive
Museum Related Discussion Lists
E-Mail Discussion Groups Frequently Asked Questions (WWW document)
Frequently Asked Questions (ASCII file via ftp)
Individual museums and local directories
General history of science museums not found here may have been included in History of astronomy: Museums for the reason that they display also history of astronomy items.
- Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
  - Satrosphere, a Hands-on Science Centre
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  - Nint Technologie Museum
  - Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum
  - Universiteitsmuseum de Agnietenkapel
  - Universiteitsmuseum de Agnietenkapel (in Dutch)
- Atlanta, GA, USA
  - Fernbank Natural History Museum
    Including astronomy and physics, but there seems to be no historic items.
- Aurora, Illinois, USA
  - SciTech
    Includes popular astronomy
- Bad Pyrmont, Germany
  - Guenther Dalek's Haus der Uhren (clock museum)
- Berkeley, California, USA
  - Lawrence Hall of Science
  - Museum and Non-Book Collections at the University of California
- Berlin, Germany
  - Akademie der Wissenschaften (in German)
  - Alte Bibliothek ("Kommode") (in German)
  - Humboldt-Universität (in German)
  - Museum für Verkehr und Technik (in German)
- Bienne, Switzerland
  - Omega Museum (in French)
    Chronographs, clocks, watches, some related to astronomy
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  - Computer Museum
  - Museum of Science
- Bozeman, MT, USA
  - American Computer Museum
- Bradford, United Kingdom
  - National Museum of Photography, Film & Television
    Includes exhibits originating from John Herschel (See also The Herschel Album)
- Brisbane, Australia
  - Physics Museum at the University of Queensland
- Bristol, CT, USA
  - American Clock & Watch Museum
- Cache Valley, Utah, USA
  - Discovery Center at Utah State University (5 Jun 1996: disappeared)
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  - The Science Centre/Planetarium
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  - MIT Museum
  - Harvard University: Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
- Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
  - Museum of the Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia
- La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
  - (in French) Musée international d'horlogerie «L'homme et le temps»
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
  - Museum of Science and Industry
    Unfortunately, the exhibit on timekeeping and clocks has been closed at the beginning of July 1995.
  - Museum of Science and Industry
  - Fermilab Exhibit
- Columbia, PA, USA
  - NAWCC Watch and Clock Museum
- Columbia, South Carolina, USA
  - McKissick Museum (See also here.)
- Dearborn, Michigan, USA
  - Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
- Delft, The Netherlands
  - Techniek Museum Delft
- Den Helder, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
  - Marinemuseum
- Denmark
  - MuseumsGuide Danmark (in Danish, English and German)
  - Museums Håndbogen (in Danish)
    Guide to museums in Denmark
- Detroit, Michigan, USA
  - Detroit Science Center
- Dubrovnik, Croatia
  - Dubrovnik Maritime Museum
    There are also nautical instruments, logbooks, and charts on display.
- Durham, North Carolina, USA
  - North Carolina Museum of Life and Science
- Ehime, Japan
  - Ehime General Science Museum
- Florence, Italy
  - History of Science Museum
- Fukuoka, Japan
  - Fukuoka Science Museum
    The data refers to the planetarium.
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  - Historisches Museum (in German)
    Concentrates on history of industry and technology.
- Göteborg, Sweden
  - Exprimentum, Science Museum
- Göttingen, Germany
  - The University
    Including Sternwarte (observatory) with Gauss memorial
  - Universität (in German)
- Groningen, The Netherlands
  - Universiteitsmuseum
- Haarlem, The Netherlands
  - Teylers Museum
- Haifa, Israel
  - Israel National Museum Of Science
- Haigerloch, Germany
  - Atomkeller Museum
    The site, where the last German experiments on nuclear fission were conducted during World War II
- Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  - Discovery Centre
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
  - The Museum of Scientific Discovery
- Honolulu, Hawaii , USA
  - Bishop Museum and Planetarium
- Houston, Texas, USA
  - Houston Museum of Natural Science
- Ithaca, New York, USA
  - Sciencenter
- Jackson, Michigan, USA
  - Michigan Space Center
- Japan
  - Museums in Japan
    Including science museums
- Kansas City, Missouri, USA
  - K.C. Museum of History and Science
  - Kansas City Museum
    Including a science center and a planetarium
- Kushiro, Japan
  - Kushiro Science Museum
- Lansing, Michigan, USA
  - Impression 5 Science Museum
- Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA
  - Heritage Map Museum
- London, UK
  - British Museum
  - National Maritime Museum with Old Royal Observatory
  - Science Museum
- Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
  - Bradbury Science Museum (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
- Maartensdijk, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  - Het Barometermuseum
- Magdeburg, Germany
  - Technikmuseum Magdeburg (in German)
- Manchester, UK
  - Museum of Science and Industry
- Mannheim, Germany
  - Landesmuseum für Technik und Arbeit
- Miami, Florida, USA
  - Miami Museum of Science
- Milan (Milano, Mailand), Italy
  - Museums of Milan: Science and technique (6 Jun 1996: disappeared)
- Munich (München), Germany
  - SiemensForum (formerly SiemensMuseum) (auch in Deutsch)
- Nagoya, Japan
  - Nagoya Science Museum
- Netherlands
  - Education/technology/science museums
- Newark, NY, USA
  - Hoffman Clock Museum
- Norwich, Vermont, USA
  - Montshire Museum of Science
- Oakland, CA, USA
  - Chabot Observatory & Science Center
- Oklahoma City, USA
  - Kirkpatrick Center
    Home to the Air Space Museum, The International Hall of Fame, the Omniplex Science Museum, and the Red Earth Center.
- Osaka, Japan
  - Science Museum
    The data refers to the planetarium.
- Portland, Oregon, USA
  - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
- Paris, France
  - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
  - Musée des arts et métiers (in French)
    - L'instrument scientifique
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  - The Franklin Institute Science Museum
- Pisa, Italy
  - Museo degli Strumenti per il Calcolo (in Italian)
    The Museum of Computers
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  - Carnegie Science Center
- Provo, Utah, USA
  - Carl F. Eyring Science Center of Brigham Young University
- Richmond, Virginia, USA
  - Science Museum of Virginia
- Rockford, IL, USA
  - The Time Museum
- Salem, Massachusetts, USA
  - Peabody Essex Museum
    Among Maritime Arts & History: Maps and Instruments of Navigation
- San Francisco, CA, USA
  - Exploratorium
- San Jose, CA, USA
  - The Tech Museum of Innovation
- Sainte-Croix, Switzerland
  - Centre international de la Mécanique d'Art (CIMA) (in French)
    Displays also clocks and watches
- Seattle, Washington, USA
  - Pacific Science Center
- Spillville, Iowa, USA
  - The Bily Clock Museum
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
  - St. Louis Science Center
- St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia: see Brisbane
- Stockholm, Sweden
  - Berzelius Museum
  - Telemuseum: The history of telecommunications
- Tampa, Florida, USA
  - Museum of Science and Industry
- Tokyo, Japan
  - The College Science Museum
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  - Ontario Science Centre (see also here)
- Toyama, Japan
  - Toyama Science Museum
    The data refers to the planetarium.
- Trento, Italia
  - Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali (in Italian; English pages in preparation)
- Upton, Newark, UK
  - Museum and Library of the British Horological Institute
  - Upton Hall Watch & Clock Museum
- Urbino, Italy
  - Museum of old instruments of the Physics Laboratory of the University of Urbino
- Vevey, Switzerland
  - Musée suisse de l'appareil photographique (in French)
- Washington, D.C., USA
  - National Air and Space Museum
- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  - Commercial Computing Museum
- Wilmington, Delaware, USA
  - Hagley Museum and Library
- Winterthur, Switzerland
  - Technorama der Schweiz (in German)
- Wittenberg (Lutherstadt Wittenberg), Germany
  - Weber House and plaque depicting Wilhelm Weber
  - Weber-Haus und Plakette Wilhelm Webers (in German)
  - Bust of Wilhelm Weber
  - Weber-Büste (in German)
- Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
  - Science Centre
- Worcester, MA, USA
  - New England Science Center
- Würzburg, Germany
  - Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Gedächtnisstätte (in German)
- Zaandam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
  - Uurwerkenmuseum (Clock museum)
See also:
- History of astronomy: Museums
Exhibits

Many of the past exhibits may still be visited in virtual form.
- Library of Congress Vatican Exhibit
- British Library Exhibitions
- 100 Jahre Ostwald's Klassiker der exakten Wissenschaften (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1990
- Große Männer ? - Biographien über Naturwissenschaftler und Ingenieure (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1992
- Zur Geschichte von Kernspaltung und Atombombe (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1993
- Augen-Blicke: Technische Entwicklungen in der Photographie (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1994
- Collegium Carolinum & Technische Universität - 250 Jahre braunschweigische Universitätsgeschichte (in German; 6 Jun 1996: disappeared)
  Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, 14. Mai bis 19. November 1995
- The Renaissance engineers from Brunelleschi to Leonardo da Vinci
  Paris, cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, November 14, 1995 - May 31, 1996
History of museums
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  - Museum of Science
- Florence, Italy
  - Institute and Museum of History of Science
    (Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze)
- London, UK
  - Science Museum
Other lists
- WWWVL History of Science: Museums, exhibitions and images
- The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Museums
- Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums
- Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums (other version)
- Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums (mirror in Europe)
- Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums (other version, mirror in Europe)
- Science: Museums and Exhibits
- Science Museums
- Virtual Science Museums, Observatories and Planetaria
- General Science Museums
- General / Science / Museums
- Science and other Museums on the Web
- Science Museums and exhibits
- Other Museums and Places to Visit
- Hands-on Science Centers Worldwide (There is a mirror of an older version.)
- Online Museums
- Museum Online Resource Review
  - Science
- Clock and Watch Museums
- Clock Museums and Libraries
- Internet Resources on Horological Museums
- Museums, exhibitions, and organizations providing material on computer history (2 Oct 1995: currently not available)
- Museums and Museum-related URLs (7 Jun 1996: disappeared)
- Musée des arts et métiers - Kiosque
- Art, History, Culture erman)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1994
- Collegium Carolinum & Technische Universität - 250 Jahre braunschweigische Universitätsgeschichte (in German; 6 Jun 1996: disappeared)
  Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, 14. Mai bis 19. November 1995
- The Renaissance engineers from Brunellescaps.edu/htmlpages/online.html"> Museums Online
- Museums
- Museums
- Andere Museen / Other Museums
- Guide to Museums and Cultural Resources on the Web
- The ARC Exhibitions Museums & Galleries Index
- Naval and Maritime Museums
- Pointers: Maritime Museums and Research Projects
- Online Maritime Museums
- The Lost Museum of Sciences
- Guide to Swiss Museums and Exhibitions: Science and technology
Deutschsprachige Museen (in German)
Deutsche Museen mit Bezug zur Industrie- und Technikgeschichte (in German)
Museums in the Netherlands
Nordic Museum Links
Science museums: Find more with Alta Vista
Clock museums: Find more with Alta Vista

To the History of Astronomy homepage

Wolfgang R. Dick
wdi@potsdam.ifag.de

History of Science: Museums, memorials, historical places and exhibits

General items

Exhibits

History of museums

Other lists

To the History of Astronomy homepage

Latest update: 17 June 1996