Past exhibitions and displays

The Museum has been creating virtual versions of its exhibitions since 1995—take a look:

Which museum treasure would you like to unwrap?

We couldn't narrow it down to just one, so we're sharing 25 of our favourite festive-themed objects and stories in our first seasonal Curiosity Calendar.

Open a daily door to curious connections ...

1-25 December 2021
Online

Heartbeat of the City watches display (9) 1800 x 840 px

Watches that tell stories: Aviation, Exploration, and Innovation

From undersea exploration and early flight to crossing deserts and firing the first shots on D-Day …

Discover watches that witnessed history in the making with personal tales of the bold aviators, curious explorers, and ingenious innovators who owned them.

From 9 October 2020 - 28 November 2021
Basement Gallery

Vaccine Trials - In Science and Art with Fran Monks (Zoom portraits of vaccine trial volunteers)

Photo Oxford 2021 - Vaccine Trials - In Science and Art

Join us to celebrate the pandemic's unsung heroes: ordinary people who volunteered for the vaccine trials.

Experience a stunning glass sculpture of an Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine nanoparticle alongside compelling Zoom portraits of vaccine trial volunteers by local artist Fran Monks. In partnership with Photo Oxford.

From 15 October - 15 November 2021
Entrance Gallery

Precious and Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld - Cultures in Conversation

Immerse yourself in a selection of some of the world’s finest pieces of Islamic metalwork ranging from Iran to Egypt.

From stunning court fashion to intriguing astrolabes, these objects combine forms and decorations from very different places. Each one tells us a story which always starts and ends in a different place.

9 October 2020 - 10 January 2021
Entrance Gallery

People I Science I Business: Oxford Instruments

Celebrating the extraordinary story of Oxford Instruments to mark 60 years since its foundation. The first modern spin-out from the University, it has grown from a company of two, Martin and Audrey Wood, to a global enterprise.

30 October 2019 - 1 March 2020

Basement Gallery

Preview image for Anna Dumitriu Bioart exhibition: work entitled 'Ex Voto'

Anna Dumitriu: BioArt and Bacteria

BioArt is an emerging area of artistic practice that brings together art and science, using biological media and scientific as well as artistic methods to create artworks.

28 September 2017 – 18 March 2018

preview image for Back from the Dead showing a stack of slides traced from X-ray crystallography of rubidium penicillin

Back from the Dead: Demystifying Antibiotics

A special exhibition that traces the miraculous and precarious nature of antibiotics from the 1940s to the present day.

4 November 2016 – 21 May 2017

‘Dear Harry…’ Henry Moseley: A Scientist Lost to War'

This special exhibition marks Moseley’s great contribution to science and reveals the impact of his death on the international scientific community and its relationship with government and the armed forces.

14 May 2015 – 31 January 2016

Geek is Good

Was Chaucer a geek? Were the beautiful devices of the past the geek gadgets of their day? And with our screen-based, computer-driven lifestyles are we all geek? Beginning in the present day this exhibition sweeps backwards in time, from the geeky enterprise of 1980s home computing all the way to medieval astronomical instruments.

15 May – 2 November 2014

In Print

From woodcuts, engravings, etchings, and lithographs through to the modern process print, In Print showcases some highlights of the Museum’s collection – from the important to the obsolete to the downright odd.

11 February – 8 June 2014

Natural Histories

The exhibition was a collaboration with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, which closed during 2013 for essential roof repairs. The display of its specimens in the History of Science Museum building in Broad Street represents a return of natural history to its original Oxford home.

14 May – 29 September 2013

Revealing The Brain

This exhibition of objects and video shows how scientists have gradually revealed the anatomy, functional regions, architecture, and electrical activity of the brain, and draws on work in Oxford from the 17th century to current research at the frontiers of neuroscience.

12 March – 2 June 2013

Let's Get Physical

A display of books and related archive material from the collection revealing the instruments and teaching of physics as was the fashion in the 18th century. These books show some of the most attractive illustrations of demonstrations of natural philosophy.

15 January – 26 May 2013

Atmospheres

‘Atmospheres’ draws on the Museum’s collection, featuring many objects never previously displayed together with material preserved in the University’s science departments, providing Oxford examples of the broader development of meteorology from ancient origins to modern space science.

20 November 2012 – 7 April 2013

Fancy Names & Fun Toys

The first steps towards true motion pictures, began with simple yet marvellous toys of optical illusion. From the fancily named Thaumatrope to the simple Flip Book, the toys outlined in this exhibition heralded the emergence of cinema whilst retaining an enduring appeal long after movies hit the silver screen.

November 2012 – January 2013

The Renaissance in Astronomy

An exhibition by the Royal Astronomical Society and the History of Science Museum to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Gerard Mercator.

11 May to 9 September 2012

Traces

A blog revealing the arc of a student exhibit at the Museum for the History of Science on display.

24 April – 24 June 2012

Eccentricity

This special exhibition shows some of the most intriguing and unexpected objects, often hidden away in the store, telling their stories, and the stories of their eccentric owners.

10 May – 16 October 2011

Elliott Brothers

This display illustrates the range of Elliott’s work in British instrument manufacturing in the 19th and 20th centuries, from drawing instruments to industrial measurement, navigational devices to engineering models.

24 May – 31 July 2011

Anvilled Stars

Matthew Galpin's meteor mirrors lay hidden amongst objects in the Museum's Top Gallery during his temporary exhibition.

20 November 2010 –6 February 2011

Islamic art featuring a pair scales, symbolising balance

Al-Mizan

Al-Mizan’ is the Arabic word for balance – both the familiar measuring instrument and the metaphorical pursuit of justice and harmony in all human endeavours. This exhibition explores the connections between the sciences and arts in Muslim societies.

26 October 2010 – 20 March 2011

Steampunk

The world’s first museum exhibition of Steampunk art, curated by American artist and designer Art Donovan, showcased the work of 18 Steampunk artists from across the globe, featuring Steampunk machines in action and costumed visitors on the Museum’s Steampunk Catwalk.

13 October 2009 – 21 February 2010

Compass and Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England, 1500-1750

Architecture in England was commonly identified as a branch of practical mathematics through design, the practical skills of drawing, and a reliance on measurement, calculation and proportion. This exhibition examines the work of such renowned figures as Sir Christopher Wren and Inigo Jones, together with less familiar characters, from Henry VIII’s engineers to London’s entrepreneurial instrument makers.

16 June – 6 September 2009

Heaven on Earth: Missionaries and the Mathematical Arts in 17th-century Beijing

In the year of the Beijing Olympics and the ‘China Now’ festival throughout the UK, the Museum built an exhibition around a remarkable set of 17th-century Chinese prints. Prepared under the direction of the Jesuit astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest, the set is a key witness to early modern cultural contact between Europe and China.

24 May – 7 September 2008