The Whipple Museum of the History of Science

In this book the diverse objects of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science's internationally renowned collection are brought into sharp relief by a number of highly regarded historians of science in fourteen essays. Each chapter focuses on a specific instrument or group of objects, ranging from an English medieval astrolabe to a modern agricultural 'seed source indicator' to a curious collection of plaster chicken heads. The contributors employ a range of historiographical and methodological approaches to demonstrate the various ways in which the material culture of science can be researched and understood. The essays show how the study of scientific objects - including instruments and models - offers a window into cultures of scientific practice not afforded by textual sources alone.

'The Whipple Museum and its associated scholars continue to illuminate how matter and meaning intersect in fourteen fascinating items from the collection, from mosses to mechanical monkeys, computers to cloud cameras. Taken together, these lively essays are an object lesson in how close attention to the material history of science changes how we think about what science is, who does it, and how it changes.' - Lorraine Daston, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science


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