This weekend, over 700 of London’s buildings will open their doors to the general public. The Open House architectural extravaganza includes private homes, government buildings, schools, offices, historic sites and just about any other type of building you care to name. And that includes scientific buildings. As usual, I’ve rounded up the best science highlights from the festival. Feel free to recommend other venues in the comments:
Brunel Museum
Sat – 10am-5pm. Sun – 10am-5pm. Regular tours. Last entry 4.50pm
Railway Avenue SE16 4LF
Museum devoted to engineering and the world’s first tunnel beneath a major river, constructed by Marc Brunel in the early Victorian era. The tunnel’s still there, carrying the (at this point badly named) London Overground line.
College of Optometrists
Sun – 1pm-5pm. Last entry 4.45pm
42 Craven Street WC2N 5NG
One of those secret little medical museums that London conceals by the dozen. A near neighbour of the Benjamin Franklin house.
Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution
Sun – 12noon-4pm. Unrestricted entry to Victoria Hall, guided tours to other rooms. Last entry 3.15pm.
11 South Grove N6 6BS
I’ve yet to visit this place, but it’s been a bastion of enlightened thought since the 1840s.
IET London
Sat – 10am-5pm. Hourly tours, first come basis.
2 Savoy Place WC2R 0BL
This former examination Hall for the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Physicians is now home to the Institute of Engineering and Technology. You’ll also find a statue of Michael Faraday outside.
Kirkaldy Testing Museum
Sat – 10am-4.30pm. Regular tours, first come basis. Last entry 4pm
99 Southwark Street SE1 0JF
A museum dedicated to engineers’ test rigging, with the most Gradgrindian pediment in London.
Linnean Society
Sat – 10am-5pm. Last entry 4.45pm.
Burlington House, Piccadilly W1J 0BF
An old favourite. This is the place where Darwin and Wallace’s theories of natural selection were first publicly expounded. You’ll also see a gorgeous library dedicated to taxonomic methodology. Unfortunately, the bank-vault basement room containing all Linnaeus’ specimens will be off limits – but maybe if you catch them at a quiet moment and ask really, really nicely…
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Sat – 10am-5pm. Tours on the hour, first come basis. Last tour 4pm.
Keppel Street WC1E 7HT
Impressive classical-cum-art deco hulk in the middle of Bloomsbury, with a recent and unexpected extension out back. Noted for the golden disease vectors that adorn its balconies. Look out for the hidden swastikas in the library.
Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret
Sat – 10.30am-5pm. Sun – 10.30am-5pm. Last entry 4.45pm.
9a St Thomas Street SE1 9RY
Another of those squirky (small and quirky) medical museums. This one lay undiscovered in the upper stories of a church for many decades. Today, you can see a restored 18th Century operating theatre and a small garret with an exhibition about herbal remedies.
Queen Mary College, Inst of Cell, Blizard Building
Sun – 10am-4pm. First come basis, queuing if necessary. Last entry 4pm.
4 Newark Street E1 2AT
This one’s a priority. You’ve never seen a lab quite like this. Colourful, bulbous meeting rooms and the Centre of the Cell hang above teaching laboratories.
Royal College of Pathologists
Sat – 10am-5pm. Last entry 4.45pm
2 Carlton House Terrace SW1Y 5AF
Pathological curiosities and information about the profession fill this double-house near the Royal Society. Worth visiting to get the spectacular views of the Mall.
Royal College of Physicians
Sun – 10am-4pm. Regular tours bookable on the day. Last entry 3.30pm.
11 St Andrew’s Place, Regents Park NW1 4LE
The light, roomy interior belies the stark brutalist exterior of this building by Denys Lasdun (architect of the National Theatre).
Royal Institution
Sat – 11am-4pm.
21 Albemarle Street W1S 4BS
Home of my bi-monthly science pub quizzes. As well as a few centuries worth of more worthy events. Recently renovated by Terry Farrell.
Royal Geographic Society
Sat – 10am-5pm.
1 Kensington Gore (Exhibition Road entrance) SW7 2AR
Always welcoming venue often overlooked in favour of the nearby South Kensington museums.
Royal Society
Sat – 10am-5pm, Sun – 11am-4pm. Tours every 20 mins, first come basis.
6-9 Carlton House Terrace SW1Y 5AG
Perhaps the most important scientific organisation of all time is housed in a stunning, marbled terrace building.
Royal Society of Chemistry
Sat – 10am-4pm. Sun – 10am-4pm. Last entry 3.30pm
New Burlington House, Piccadilly W1J 0BA
Diagonally opposite the Linnean Society – fit them both in if you can.
South London Botanical Institute
Sun – 1pm-5pm. Regular tours, first come basis. Last entry 4.30pm.
323 Norwood Road SE24 9AQ
An unexpected South London study centre for plants and ecology.
UCL Tour
Sat – 10am-4pm. Regular tours from information point (Front Quad, Gower Street)
Gower Street WC1E 6BT
The only tour featuring a Nature Network blogger – Jeremy Bentham can be viewed in his preserved state in the UCL corridors. The tour also visits the library and UCL’s museums.
All images by M@.
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Yay! I also found the non-scientific one elsewhere, so double-plus-thanks for all the hard work. Am not entirely sure of my plans yet, but buildings, yay.
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What a fantastic post, Matt. Thanks so much for doing all the work. Now all we have to do is to find some shoes that will last the course…..
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Thanks both – although I must admit that much of this is a rehash of a similar post last year.
For those who’d like non-science recommendations for the weekend, here are "some more tips":https://londonist.com/2010/09/open_house_london_2010_highlights.php.
And do ask if you have any queries about Open House – I’ve been round hundreds of the venues.
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Test button matt
Test em matt
Test i matt
Test textile matt
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Nice site testing poetry there =)
I ended up going to three entirely non-scientific places, and walked past the Maughan Library at KCL by chance after seeing something else, saw the open house sign and walked in there. It’s not on your list here, but has some science holdings as well. besides that one, I saw City Hall, 120 Fleet Street, and the Quaker Friends house on Euston Road. Crappy iPhone pictures on Flickr.
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Ha, I meant to delete that. Oh well.
Ah yes, King’s Library. I’ll add it in next year. City Hall’s interesting. Great views from the top. And 120 Fleet Street is a real surprise. Love the stairwell.
I’ve yet to make it to Friend’s House – it’s so close to Nature and Wellcome that I always assume I’ll end up in the cafe there at some point. But never have yet.