Collections

Collections

Conservation

Conservation is a crucial part of keeping our collections in pristine condition for display. Read about five conservation interventions our objects underwent to get them in their display-ready state.

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Armillary Sphere (70229) in the Top Gallery, History of Science Museum, University of Oxford (Photo by Ian Wallman)

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[Anon.], Mirror of Wonders and Goal of Every Seeker in the Art of Medicine, folios 124v and 125r

Manuscripts listing online

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Research visits

Update: research visits suspended during move to new storage facilities

Library and associated research visits are temporarily suspended until spring 2026. We will update you as soon as research visits are available again.

Objects in our collections remain on limited access.

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Loans

Read our loans policy.

Armillary sphere

This large and impressive brass armillary sphere is both a working astronomical instrument and a decorative object of display, with a finely modelled sculptural base.

Blackboard used by Albert Einstein

This blackboard was preserved from Einstein’s second lecture in Oxford, on 16 May 1931, and its equations connect the age, density and size of the universe.

Diptych sundial and portrait of Lewis Evans

Lewis Evans, the founding benefactor of the Museum, was passionate about mathematical instruments, particularly those used for timetelling.

Geared astrolabe

‘Behold the disc! It will show you many of the wonders that prove the wisdom of the Merciful; its different motions are by virtue of a single mover, and it has meanings going beyond all meanings.’

Lewis Carroll's photographic equipment

The lid of this wooden box carries the initials C.L.D, which stand for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who is best known as Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Marble copy of John Dee's Holy Table

John Dee is known today for his ‘angelic conversations’ in which – with the help of his medium – he conjured a series of angels in the years between 1582 and 1589.

Moon pastel and Selenographia

This enormous depiction of the moon, over 5ft in diameter, was completed in 1795 by the celebrated portrait artist John Russell.

Moseley's X-ray spectrometer and his mother's pocket diary

Using X-ray spectroscopy, Moseley discovered that every chemical element’s identity is uniquely determined by its atomic number, representing the positive charge on its nucleus.

Original penicillin culture and specimen

The wartime transformation of penicillin into a clinical product for patients was achieved in Oxford and its impact fundamentally changed medicine.

Roman vertical disc sundial

This tiny sundial is one of just a handful of ancient portable dials to survive. Though only 6cm across, it mirrors the whole Roman world.

Spherical astrolabe

The universe in your grasp. That is the promise of this spherical astrolabe, which is perfectly sized to nestle neatly in the palm of a hand.

Wimshurst twin plate electrostatic machine and X-ray material

When Wilhelm Röentgen (1845–1923) announced his discovery of X-rays in 1895 he caused a scientific sensation. That it was possible to see inside a living body provoked amazement amongst the wider public too.