History of Astronomy

History of Science: Museums, memorials, historical places and exhibits

General items

• ICOM - The International Council of Museums
• Museum Documentation Association
• Museum Informatics Project at the University of California, Berkeley
• The Museum Discussion List (Museum-L)
  • Frequently Asked Questions (WWW document)
  • Frequently Asked Questions (ASCII file via ftp)
  • Listserver Archive
• Museum Related Discussion Lists
• E-Mail Discussion Groups relevant to the museum profession
• InfoMuseum
  Informations System Software for Museums
• Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center
• The Museum Computer Network
• Museums with Significant Holdings of Computer Hardware
• Worldwide List of Naval and Maritime Museums
• Find more about museology with Alta Vista

Individual museums and local directories

The following list includes only museums for fields related to astronomy. Please note that some of them may be devoted rather to popular science than to history of science.

Museums displaying also history of astronomy items are listed in History of astronomy: Museums exclusively. Please let me know when you are aware that a museum listed here holds such items (astrolabes, astronomical clocks, sextants, sundials, telescopes, etc.). In this case it will be moved to the other document.

• Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
  • Satrosphere, a Hands-on Science Centre
• Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
  • New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
• Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Computer Museum
  • Nint Technologie Museum (9 Dec 1996: disappeared)
  • Universiteitsmuseum de Agnietenkapel
    (In case of outdated link search for this museum.)
  • Universiteitsmuseum de Agnietenkapel (in Dutch)
    Or see this short information in English.
• Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany
  • Adam-Ries-Museum (in German)
• Arcata, , California, USA
  • Scientific Instrument Museum, Humboldt State University Chemistry Department
    Physical science instruments
• Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Fernbank Natural History Museum
    Including astronomy and physics, but there seem to be no historic items.
• Aurora, Illinois, USA
  • SciTech
    Includes popular astronomy
• Bad Pyrmont, Germany
  • Guenther Dalek's Haus der Uhren (clock museum)
• Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • Maryland Science Center
• Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
  • Headwaters Science Center
• Berkeley, California, USA
  • Lawrence Hall of Science
  • Museum and Non-Book Collections at the University of California
• Berlin, Germany
  • Akademie der Wissenschaften (in German)
  • Alte Bibliothek ("Kommode") (in German)
  • Humboldt-Universität (in German)
  • Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin
• Bienne, Switzerland
  • Omega Museum (in French)
    Chronographs, clocks, watches, some related to astronomy
• Bonn, Germany
  • Deutsches Museum Bonn (in German) (Or see this short English version.)
    Science and technology in Germany after 1945 / Forschung und Technik in Deutschland nach 1945
• Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Computer Museum
  • Museum of Science
• Bozeman, MT, USA
  • American Computer Museum
• Bradford, United Kingdom
  • National Museum of Photography, Film & Television
    Includes exhibits originating from John Herschel (See also The Herschel Album)
• Brisbane, Australia
  • Physics Museum at the University of Queensland
• Bristol, CT, USA
  • American Clock & Watch Museum
• Cache Valley, Utah, USA
  • Discovery Center at Utah State University (5 Jun 1996: disappeared)
• Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • The Science Centre/Planetarium
• Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • MIT Museum
  • Harvard University: Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
• Canberra, Australia
  • Questacon
    Including astronomy, but there seem to be no historic items.
• Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
  • Museum of the Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia
• La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
  • (in French) Musée international d'horlogerie «L'homme et le temps»
• Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Museum of Science and Industry
  • Museum of Science and Industry
    Unfortunately, the exhibit on timekeeping and clocks has been closed at the beginning of July 1995.
  • Fermilab Exhibit
  • Lederman Science Center on the Fermilab site
• Columbia, South Carolina, USA
  • McKissick Museum (See also here.)
• Como, Italy
  • The Temple of Alessandro Volta
• Cruquius, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
  • Museum de Cruquius
    (In case of outdated link search for this museum.)
  • Cruquius Museum
• Dearborn, Michigan, USA
  • Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
    • American Time and Timepieces
• Delft, The Netherlands
  • Techniek Museum Delft
    (In case of outdated link search for this museum.)
• Den Helder, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
  • Marinemuseum
    (In case of outdated link search for this museum.)
• Denmark
  • MuseumsGuide Danmark (in Danish, English and German)
  • Museums Håndbogen (in Danish)
    Guide to museums in Denmark
• Detroit, Michigan, USA
  • Detroit Science Center
• Dongen, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands
  • Brabants Electriciteits Museum
    (In case of outdated link search for this museum.)
• Dresden, Germany
  • Technische Sammlungen Dresden (in German)
• Dubrovnik, Croatia
  • Dubrovnik Maritime Museum
    There are also nautical instruments, logbooks, and charts on display.
• Durham, North Carolina, USA
  • North Carolina Museum of Life and Science
• Ehime, Japan
  • Ehime General Science Museum
• Finland
  • Maritime and Naval Museums: Finland
• Florence, Italy
  • History of Science Museum
• Florida, USA
  • Kennedy Space Center (Or see here.)
  • Eine Tour zum Kennedy Space Center (in German)
• Fukuoka, Japan
  • Fukuoka Science Museum
    The data refers to the planetarium.
• Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Historisches Museum (in German) (or see here)
    Concentrates on history of industry and technology.
  • Museum für Uhren und Schmuck (in German)
• Germany
  • Deutsche Museen mit Bezug zur Industrie- und Technikgeschichte (in German)
  • Deutschsprachige Museen (in German)
  • WebMuseen (in German)
    Verzeichnis der deutschsprachigen Museen, deren Sonderausstellungen, Literatur und Shopartikel
  • Museen in Bayern (in German)
  • Sächsischer Museumsführer (in German)
• Göteborg, Sweden
  • Exprimentum, Science Museum
• Göttingen, Germany
  • The University
    Including Sternwarte (observatory) with Gauss memorial
  • Universität (in German)
  • University Library
  • Universitätsbibliothek (in German)
  • Auditorium maximum
  • Auditorium maximum (in German)
  • City Museum (More information in German)
    With exhibits on the history of the university.
  • Städtisches Museum (in German)
    Mit Exponaten zur Universitätsgeschichte
• Großbothen, Germany
  • Wilhelm-Ostwald-Gedenkstätte (in German)
• Haifa, Israel
  • Israel National Museum Of Science
• Haigerloch, Germany
  • Atomkeller Museum
    The site, where the last German experiments on nuclear fission were conducted during World War II
• Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Discovery Centre
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
  • The Museum of Scientific Discovery
• Heidelberg, Germany
  • University Library
  • The Students' Prison
  • Old University
  • University Museum (Universitätsmuseum)
  • University Museum (Universitätsmuseum)
  • University Museum (Universitätsmuseum)
• Hong Kong, China
  • Hong Kong Science Museum
• Honolulu, Hawaii , USA
  • Bishop Museum and Planetarium
• Houston, Texas, USA
  • Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia
  • Irkutsk State Technical University History Museum (See also here.)
  • Irkutsk State Technical University History Museum (in Russian)
• Ithaca, New York, USA
  • Sciencenter
• Italy
  • Musei Online
    Database of Italian museums.
    • Museums of science and technology
• Jackson, Michigan, USA
  • Michigan Space Center
• Japan
  • Museums in Japan
    Including science museums
• Kansas City, Missouri, USA
  • K.C. Museum of History and Science
  • Kansas City Museum
    Including a science center and a planetarium
• Kushiro, Japan
  • Kushiro Science Museum
• Lansing, Michigan, USA
  • Impression 5 Science Museum
• Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Heritage Map Museum
• Liverpool, UK
  • National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside
    • Liverpool Museum
    • Merseyside Maritime Museum
• London, UK
  • British Museum
  • National Maritime Museum with Old Royal Observatory
  • Science Museum
    • Main WWW server
    • Preliminary WWW page
    • Short information
    • Science Museum Library
• Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
  • Bradbury Science Museum (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
• Los Angeles, California, USA
  • California Museum of Science and Industry (under construction)
• Maartensdijk, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  • Het Barometermuseum
    (In case of outdated link search for this museum.)
• Magdeburg, Germany
  • Technikmuseum Magdeburg (in German)
• Manchester, UK
  • Museum of Science and Industry
• Miami, Florida, USA
  • Miami Museum of Science
• Milan (Milano, Mailand), Italy
  • Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnica "Leonardo da Vinci" (Homepage; in Italian, English in preparation)
  • Leonardo da Vinci Science and Technology Museum (information)
  • Museums of Milan: Science and technique
• Mountain View, California, USA
  • The Computer Museum History Center
• Munich (München), Germany
  • SiemensForum (formerly SiemensMuseum) (auch in Deutsch)
  • SiemensForum (in German)
• Nagoya, Japan
  • Nagoya Science Museum
• Netherlands
  • Holland: Museums
    • Education/technology/science museums
    • Museums with a Cartography collection
    • Museums with a Clocks, musical instruments collection
    • Museums with an Optics collection
    • Museums with a Physics collection
    • Museums with a School teaching/education collection
    • Museums with a Shipping/ship building collection
    • Museums with an Industry/industrial development collection
  • Dutch museums on the Internet
• New Haven, CT, USA
  • Bas-relief in memory of Josiah Willard Gibbs
• Newark, NY, USA
  • Hoffman Clock Museum
• Newport, Rhode Island, USA
  • Thames Science Center
• Norwich, Vermont, USA
  • Montshire Museum of Science
• Oklahoma City, USA
  • Kirkpatrick Center
    Home to the Air Space Museum, The International Hall of Fame, the Omniplex Science Museum, and the Red Earth Center.
• Osaka, Japan
  • Science Museum
    The data refers to the planetarium.
• Paderborn, Germany
  • Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (in German)
    Museum for the history of computing
• Paris, France
  • Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
  • Museums of Paris: Sciences
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  • The Franklin Institute Science Museum
• Phoenix, Arizona, USA
  • Arizona Science Center
• Pisa, Italy
  • Museo degli Strumenti per il Calcolo (in Italian)
    The Museum of Computers
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Carnegie Science Center
• Portland, Oregon, USA
  • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
• Provo, Utah, USA
  • Carl F. Eyring Science Center of Brigham Young University
• Rijnsburg, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands
  • Het Spinozahuis
    (In case of outdated link search for this museum.)
• Richmond, Virginia, USA
  • Science Museum of Virginia
• Rockford, IL, USA
  • The Time Museum
• Russia
  • Russian Museums
    • Science, Technology, Industry
• Salem, Massachusetts, USA
  • Peabody Essex Museum
    Among Maritime Arts & History: Maps and Instruments of Navigation
• San Diego, CA, USA
  • Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
• San Francisco, CA, USA
  • Exploratorium
• San Jose, CA, USA
  • The Tech Museum of Innovation
• Sainte-Croix, Switzerland
  • Centre international de la Mécanique d'Art (CIMA) (in French)
    Displays also clocks and watches
• Seattle, Washington, USA
  • Pacific Science Center (Home page)
  • Pacific Science Center (Information)
• Singapore, Singapore
  • Singapore Science Centre
• Spillville, Iowa, USA
  • The Bily Clock Museum
• St. Louis, Missouri, USA
  • St. Louis Science Center
• St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia: see Brisbane
• Stockholm, Sweden
  • Berzelius Museum
  • Telemuseum: The history of telecommunications
• Syracuse, NY, USA
  • Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology
• Tampa, Florida, USA
  • Museum of Science and Industry
• Tokyo, Japan
  • The College Science Museum
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Ontario Science Centre (see also here)
• Toyama, Japan
  • Toyama Science Museum
    The data refers to the planetarium.
• Trento, Italia
  • Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali (in Italian; English pages in preparation)
• Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
  • Harmon Science Center
• United Kingdom
  • MuseumNet
    Index of UK museums, not specifically science museums
• Upton, Newark, UK
  • Museum and Library of the British Horological Institute
  • Upton Hall Watch & Clock Museum (8 July 1997: disappeared)
• Urbino, Italy
  • Museum of old instruments of the Physics Laboratory of the University of Urbino
• Vevey, Switzerland
  • Musée suisse de l'appareil photographique (in French)
• Vienna (Wien), Austria
  • Schausammlung des Archivs der Universität Wien (in German)
• Washington, D.C., USA
  • National Air and Space Museum
• Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  • Commercial Computing Museum
• Wilhelmsdorf, Germany
  • Zirkelmuseum (in German)
    Compass museum
• Wilmington, Delaware, USA
  • Hagley Museum and Library
• Winterthur, Switzerland
  • Technorama der Schweiz (in German)
    There seem to be no history of science exhibits.
  • Technorama der Schweiz (in German)
• Wittenberg (Lutherstadt Wittenberg), Germany
  • Weber House and plaque depicting Wilhelm Weber
  • Weber-Haus und Plakette Wilhelm Webers (in German)
  • Bust of Wilhelm Weber
  • Weber-Büste (in German)
• Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
  • Science Centre
• Worcester, MA, USA
  • New England Science Center
• Wroclaw (formerly Breslau), Poland
  • The Museum of Wroclaw University
• Würzburg, Germany
  • Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Gedächtnisstätte (in German)
  • Röntgen-Gedächtnisstätte (in German)

See also:

• History of astronomy: Museums

Exhibits

Many of the past exhibits may still be visited in virtual form.

• Library of Congress Vatican Exhibit
• British Library Exhibitions

• 100 Jahre Ostwald's Klassiker der exakten Wissenschaften (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1990
• Große Männer ? - Biographien über Naturwissenschaftler und Ingenieure (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1992
• Zur Geschichte von Kernspaltung und Atombombe (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1993
• Augen-Blicke: Technische Entwicklungen in der Photographie (in German)
  Universitätsbibliothek der TU Hamburg-Harburg, 1994
• Collegium Carolinum & Technische Universität - 250 Jahre braunschweigische Universitätsgeschichte (in German; 6 Jun 1996: disappeared)
  Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, 14. Mai bis 19. November 1995
• The Renaissance engineers from Brunelleschi to Leonardo da Vinci
  Paris, cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, November 14, 1995 - May 31, 1996
• Renaissance engineers from Brunelleschi to Leonardo da Vinci
  Florence, Italy, 22 June 1996 - 6 January 1997
• Diversity and Order: French Science in Print, 1600-1740
  Cambridge, Mass., USA, Spring 1999

History of science museums

• Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Museum of Science
• Florence, Italy
  • Institute and Museum of History of Science
    (Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze)
• London, UK
  • Science Museum

Other lists

• WWWVL History of Science: Museums, exhibitions and images
• The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Museums
• Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums
• Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums (other version)
• Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums (mirror in Europe)
• Physics Around the World: History of Science & Science Museums (other version, mirror in Europe)
• Google Web Directory - Reference > Museums > Science
• Science: Museums and Exhibits
• Science Museums
• Science > Museums
• Virtual Science Museums, Observatories and Planetaria
• General Science Museums
• General / Science / Museums
• Science and other Museums on the Web
• Science Museums and exhibits
• Other Museums and Places to Visit
• Hands-on Science Centers Worldwide (There is a mirror of an older version.)
• Various Online References (including museums)
• Museum Online Resource Review
  • Science
• Museus (in Portuguese)
• Clock and Watch Museums
• Clock Museums and Libraries (23 July 1996: disappeared)
• Internet Resources on Horological Museums
• Museums, exhibitions, and organizations providing material on computer history (2 Oct 1995: currently not available)
• Museums and Museum-related URLs (7 Jun 1996: disappeared)
• Musée des arts et métiers - Kiosque
• Art, History, Culture and Science Museums
• Museums, Exhibits and Gardens
• Museums (14 Nov 1995: disappeared)
• Museums Online
• Museums
• Museum Links for Historians
• Andere Museen (in German)
• Guide to Museums and Cultural Resources on the Web
• The ARC Exhibitions Museums & Galleries Index
• Naval and Maritime Museums
• Pointers: Maritime Museums and Research Projects
• Online Maritime Museums
• Other [Maritime] Sites
• The Lost Museum of Sciences
• Links zu anderen Museen (in German)
• Database for Swiss Cultural Heritage DSCH (or see here)
  • Guide to Swiss Museums and Exhibitions: Science and technology
• Nordic Museum Links
• Science museums: Find more with Alta Vista
• Clock museums: Find more with Alta Vista

Wolfgang R. Dick. Created: 16 Jan 1995. Latest update: 8 July 2004