Collections Blog
Explore our museum and library collections and the stories they tell about the history of science.
Periodic Table Tennis
On scientists with a passion for Ping-Pong.
The Power of Perspective
How contrasting stories found in our collections help us embrace the complexity of the history of science.
Dr. Seaborg Goes to Washington
And then goes back. And then back again. And back again...
What Does a Scientist Look Like?
Our oral history collection can help students reframe their images of scientists—and of themselves.
Natural Passions
How protected lands inspire scientific pursuits.
From Peril to Preservation in the Bredig Archives
Chaim Weizmann, Fritz Haber, and a home for Jewish scientists.
Who Knew History Could Be So Delicious?
Discovering the history of umami in the Science History Institute’s archives.
Around the World in (Almost!) 80 Collections
Using digitized items and their data to take a global journey.
Covering Science
On the appeal of decorative scientific book cloth bindings.
A Tale of Two Editions
Material evidence for a Frankfurt second edition of ‘Utriusque cosmi maioris.’
‘High’ School Science
Most object labels tell us what something is. Why one in our collections tells us what something is not.
Sustaining a Scientific Mission in Exile
The correspondence of Ernst Berl and the Bredig family.
The Power of a Teacher
How chemistry offered an international path to survival.
The Legacy of Industrial Lead
Racialized and economically oppressed children are disproportionately poisoned by lead’s remnants in the built environment.
‘Kurrent’ Events
Deciphering Old German Script in the Bredig Archives.
The Price of Gold in a ‘Golden Age’
Two humorous poems illuminate the politics of science funding in the 1950s.
There Are More Fish in the C
The CD drive, that is. Meet some of our newest born-digital collections.
Stomping the Margarine
Life when we had to color our food.