The Science History Institute Museum will close for renovations beginning December 22.
The Othmer Library will remain open by appointment.

Join our museum’s Gallery Guides for a “drop-in” tour of Lunchtime, our special exhibition on the history and development of school lunch.

Learn about the complicated relationship between food scientists, the government, and the public throughout the last 200 years as ideas about nutrition and education have evolved.

Does school lunch affect student performance? How did innovations in agricultural science lead to the national school lunch program? What challenges do school lunch advocates face today? And why do we have guinea pigs to thank for our understanding of basic nutrition? We will answer all these questions and more!

This tour has an interactive component, too! You’ll have the chance to touch specially chosen artifacts from our handling collection, examine them in detail, and draw connections between your own experiences of school lunch and this fascinating facet of food history.


Drop-in tours are free and no reservations are necessary.

Featured image: Detail of “Metalam Makes Your Meal Complete,” advertisement for Dow Chemical Company, 1963.

More events

December 21, 2024
For Families

Stories of Science: Cozy Chemistry

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

magazine ad featuring a baby in high chair pouring milk over a tray
December 21, 2024
Drop-In Tours

School Lunch Tour

This interactive drop-in tour reveals how food scientists, the government, and the public have shaped in-school nutrition.

Oral history bound copies, recorder, microphone
January 6, 2025
Classes & Workshops

Oral History Training Institute

This virtual training workshop introduces researchers to oral history and research interview methodologies.

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