Your Stories

George’s Story

Have you built anything like this? Photo credit: Polikarpov I-16 07 by Andy Moore (License)

Have you built anything like this? Photo credit: Polikarpov I-16 07 by Andy Moore (License)

Name: George

Age: 83

From: Wigan

Occupation: Physicist (Retired)

Object: Model Aircraft

Story: As a child I became interested in making and flying model aircraft. This interest led to the development of various skills and interests (the use of tools, soldering, calculations of areas, wanting to understand concepts of force, centre of gravity, momentum, etc.). When my school studies included physics and various branches of mathematics, I was eager to learn rather than be passive – the skills of my hobby readily found scope in my studies. Note, I am still making model aircraft and building electric circuits!

Ruth’s Story

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Why don’t you try this at home too? We don’t recommend eating it either! Photo credit: Milk 340/365 by Eric.Ray (License)

Name:  Ruth

Age: 33

Occupation: Teacher of English

From: Birmingham

Object: Milk

Story: I used to sneak a cup of milk out of the kitchen at home when I was a tiddler, and conduct ‘experiments’ on it – largely this involved leaving it in the garden for a couple of days and being amazed that it turned into something vaguely resembling lumpy yoghurt. I wasn’t brave enough to eat it though. Even I had limits.

Leyre’s Stroy

Projection Microscope, 1930s (Inv. 67914) 80 years ago this projector would have been used to project the image from microscope slides.

Projection Microscope, 1930s (Inv. 67914) 80 years ago this projector would have been used to project the image from microscope slides.

Name:  Leyre

Age: 25

Occupation: Retail

From: Spain

Object: Cameras and Projectors

Story: I studies cinematography and I’ve always been interested in cameras. That’s why when my grandparents’ neighbour died their family offered them to pick some old things and they took a typewriter, two cameras and a super 8 projector. Which made me very happy. The projector came with some old movies – quite strange. I still have them at home and I still travel with one of the cameras.

Alice’s Story

Prismatic Binoculars, by C.P. Goerz, Berlin, c. 1914 (Inv. 34066)

Prismatic Binoculars, c. 1914 (Inv. 34066) Do you have binoculars like this pair from the Museum?

Name:  Alice

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

From: Essex

Object: Binoculars

Story: When I was a child I used to love looking at the birds in our birdbath out of the kitchen window. One year my mum brought me a pair of binoculars and ‘Bill Oddie’s Book of British Birds’. With my new binoculars I was able to look at the birds far more closely, using the binoculars to magnify their plumage and features. This enabled me to look them up in my book and identify what kinds of birds they were – what species, their sex and their age. Though it was mainly starlings and sparrows I once saw a woodpecker and even advanced to visiting the local country park to look at wading birds.

Isabelle’s Story

Colour Photograph (Paget Process) of Part of a Flower Bed, by Sarah Angelina Acland, c.1915 Inv.18849.

Colour Photograph of Part of a Flower Bed, by Sarah Angelina Acland, c.1915 (Inv.18849)


Name: Isabelle

Age: 7

Occupation: School

From: Guildford

Object: Beanstalk

Story: In reception I planted a beanstalk seed and I watered it every day until a small stalk popped out of the ground. The next day the stalk had grown a tiny bit more than the last day. Every day it grew a tiny bit more until beans grew out if the stalk and I got to take the beanstalk home.

Derrie’s Story

Name: Derrie

Age: 11

Occupation: School

From: Leicestershire

Object: Blowing up a balloon

Story: First I put baking powder into a balloon then I poured vinegar in and tied the end. The two reacted to give a gas which expanded and blew the balloon up.

Ashley’s Story

Name: Ashley

Age: 52 (50 when I first saw this!)

Occupation: Engineer

From: Leicestershire

Object: Exploding Coke Rocket

Story: Drop a polo mint into a bottle of coke. Put the lid on and it explodes then erupts like a volcano.

Callum’s Story

Hand-Held Refracting Telescope, English, 18th Century (Inv. 52178)

Hand-Held Refracting Telescope, English, 18th Century (Inv. 52178) This telescope is over 200 years old, do you think it would survive being dropped like the one Callum has?

Name: Callum

Age: 9

Occupation: School

From: Wolverhampton

Object: Telescope

Story: I was looking through my telescope when Venus came out. I was busy watching it and accidentally knocked my telescope over, it landed on my head and it was quite painful.