Author: Robyn Haggard

Lynn’s Story

Metronome, c.1830, Inventory Number: 40764. Much older than the metronome in Lynn's story, this object forms part of the collection at the Museum of the History of Science.

Metronome, c.1830, (Inv. 40764). Much older than the metronome in Lynn’s story, this object forms part of the collections at the Museum.

Name: Lynn

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

From: Alberta, Canada

Object: Metronome

Story: When I started learning how to play the trombone my mom bought me a wind up metronome, an old fashion one. I had this metronome for years, but it mostly lived in a drawer. One rare day I took it out to practice with. As I was practicing something felt wrong. After a while I realized the metronome was speeding up and slowing down. I went and convinced my mom I needed a new electric metronome. She went and got me one even though she was pretty sure the old metronome wasn’t broken. It was only later when I was practicing with my new metronome that I realized that it wasn’t the metronome changing tempo, it was me! The technology and the science behind it worked fine. I was the one messing up!

About the Project

‘For the Love of It’ is a student exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford that looks at memories of science and scientific objects, past and present. Our physical exhibition, running from Tuesday 28th April till 2nd August, showcases five personal stories from visitors to the Museum, and also the stories of two historical amateurs, who, like us, did science for the love of it.

This online blog will be a place to share personal stories and fond memories of scientific objects from our daily lives. These stories can help us to see how science plays a role in what we often consider to be non-scientific activities. Think of the candy thermometer used to make caramel, or the metronome used to keep time in a musical performance. Both of these have been developed from scientific principles, but often we do not think of them as ‘scientific’. We hope to be able to collect a range of these stories from visitors to the Museum and online blog, to show that you do not need to be a scientist to enjoy or interact with science! We will also be aiming to illustrate the stories with pictures of objects of the same type which are found in the Museum’s collections, linking your stories to the Museum. Perhaps you will spot one of these photographed objects if you visit in person. If you have a story to share, please submit it through the ‘Submit a Story’ link at the top of the page, so we can add it to the blog.

If you have any general questions or would prefer to send us a story by e-mail, please contact robyn.haggard@history.ox.ac.uk.