Your Stories

Martin’s Story

Case of drawing instruments, Late 19th Century (Inv. 46102) A particularly beautiful set of drawing instruments seen by Martin in the Museum’s collections, which is lined in red velvet and silk.

Name: Martin 

Age: Confidential

Occupation: Historian of visual things

From: Oxford, UK

Object: Case of Drawing Instruments

Story: This is a story of unrequited love. The geometry set my parents gave to take to school was a crude steely affair in a rattly green box of  tin. Boys with more affluent parents boasted pricey sets, with shiny brass compasses and dividers lying in recessed velvet beds and housed in polished wooden boxes. It was a case of visual lust. Mine worked OK, but they lacked style. Later, as a historian, I became aware that the stylishness and polish of de-luxe scientific instruments spoke less of raw functionalism and more of status. It is something of a rule that the more basic and functional an instrument was the less likely it was to survive. The ones we admire today in museums are often presentation pieces, destined to be possessed by members of the upper echelons of society. Looking at boxes of instruments in the Museum of the History of Science, shame and lust are not far away.

Andrew’s Story

Compass, 18th Century (Inv. 35051) and Map of Switzerland, Early 19th Century, (Inv. 10424)

Compass, 18th Century (Inv. 35051) and Map of Switzerland, Early 19th Century (Inv. 10424). Do you think you would be able to navigate with these?

Name: Andrew

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

From: Oxford

Subject: Map and Compass

Story: I grew up in a family of outdoor enthusiasts–backpacking, hiking, and camping were common activities of family bonding. My parents’ love of the natural world rubbed off on me: among my fondest childhood memories are my family’s weekend backpacking trips through the mountains of the American Pacific Northwest. During my venturings into nature, I became acquainted with the combined use of maps and compasses as instruments of navigation. I learned how to align maps with landmarks, triangulate my position on a map, and orient myself within a given terrain using a compass. Even more, I found the joy in this form of navigation–in tracking the progress made and distance gained during a long outing. In the near future I look forward to trying orienteering as a sport, which involves using these same tools to navigate towards a destination in an unfamiliar landscape.

Rachel’s Story

'Marconi' Auto-Alarm Bell Type, c. 1920 (Inv. 14147).

‘Marconi’ Auto-Alarm Bell Type, c. 1920 (Inv. 14147). Used on board ships, probably to alert the crew to a distress signal, this bell would also sound at a loud volume.

Name: Rachel

Age: 25

From: Oxford, UK

Occupation: Museum education trainee

Object: Electric Bell

Story: When I was about 8 or 9, I had a box of wires, magnets, bells, buzzers and other old electrical stuff, which I kept in the shed at the bottom of the garden. I also had a couple of large and heavy capacitors/rechargeable batteries (not entirely sure which) which my dad had fitted handles to, so I could wind them and charge them up. I remember going to the shed when I was bored or annoyed, getting it all out on the bench and playing with it. I especially liked winding the handle on a battery for as long as I could, then connecting it to the wires of an electric bell, making it ring very loudly for several seconds. I found the volume almost scary, but I loved that I was the one who had created the power that went down the wires and made it ring.

Trevor’s Story

Magnetic Compass, mid 19th Century (Inv. 69863)

Magnetic Compass, mid 19th Century (Inv. 69863)

Name: Trevor

Object: Compass

Story: With a simple compass and a yardstick, I constructed a scientific device to align a satellite dish on my roof with a satellite in the sky miles, and miles, and miles away. I managed to receive a signal on my first try! I boasted to my friends, who in turn bought satellites and then asked me to bring that scientific device I created over to their places. Moral of the story: When you make science work for you, friends will make you work for them (for free).
(I might have ‘lost’ that scientific device soon afterwards, much to the disappointment of some other friends)

Belinda’s Story

Badge, c. 1977 (Inv. 59865).

Badge, c. 1977 (Inv. 59865). It’s a shame it doesn’t say ‘Science and Music in Twenty-first Century Oxford’.

Name: Belinda 

Age: Mature!

Occupation: Secretary, Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine

From: Harrow, Middlesex, UK

Object: Tuning Fork

Story: When I was a child I was fortunate enough to have piano lessons, ballet lessons, etc, and at the age of 11 was put in for an audition to win a place at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts to do ballet.  For the audition you had to dance, play an instrument, and sing.  Singing was not my forte so my parents bought me a tuning fork to help with practice and I had huge amounts of fun trying to mimic the fork but alas it did no good.  I still won a place at the school, which was held open for me for 2 years, but my parents could not afford the fees, and there were no scholarships available at the time, so I couldn’t fulfil my dream of becoming a prima ballerina.  However, even though I cannot hold a tune, ‘can’t sing, won’t sing’ does not apply to me and if there is music about I sing my heart out to the horror of anyone that can hear me!

Robyn’s Story

Compound Microscope, c. 1853 (Inv. 53440). Despite being 150 years old, this microscope from the Museum's collection looks similar to the one Robyn had.

Compound Microscope, c. 1853 (Inv. 53440). Despite being over 150 years old, this microscope from the Museum’s collection looks remarkably similar to the one from Robyn’s story – although that one wasn’t so shiny.

Name: Robyn

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

From: Surrey, UK

Object: Microscope

Story: For Christmas one year, when I was about 9, I was given a small microscope for children, and for the first couple of weeks I could not have been more excited. But, once I had looked at my hair, some onion and some (very dull) soil I was convinced I’d run out of things to do with it. This changed when my younger sisters came home from school with nits and I realised that I could place them under the microscope once they had been combed out. I can still remember the fascination and horror we all felt at seeing a living creature through the microscope lens.

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!