by Emily Whittingham, PhD student and Museum intern
A history of the microscope in ten objects
Emily Whittingham, an intern at the Museum and PhD student in the history of microscopy, explores the history of the microscope in England from the 1600s to the present day.
Oxford's sewage disposal system protects against epidemics
MultakaOxford volunteer Valerii Malko, a philosophy professor from Ukraine, shares his research into the history of public health and sewage systems in Oxford.
Andrew Robinson, author of Einstein in Oxford (Bodleian, 2024), explores the story behind Einstein's blackboard and the enduring appeal of one of the world's most famous scientists.
Find out about the Babbage Archive project. Enabled by support from the Clay Mathematics Institute and a UKRI grant, the Museum is conserving and digitising a precious archive of Babbage material.
Making your mark: the Comtesse de Lespinasse’s Astrolabe
From powerful Sultans to a French countess, Dr Sumner Braund tracks down the owners of a rare Mesopotamian astrolabe, exploring the marks they left — and the price they paid.
The travels of an astrolabe: Persia to Afghanistan
Dr Sumner Braund follows the Shah Abbas II astrolabe over two centuries from its origins in the Safavid court of the mid-1600s to its extraction from Bala Hissar in Kabul.
Dr Sumner Braund continues her exploration of the Islamic instruments in our founding collection, confronting the impact of European colonialism on how we tell their stories.
Museum Director Dr Silke Ackermann discusses the boy in the Chardin portrait and reflects on what it means to be a meeting point for people, science, art and belief.
