The Royal Institution: Science Lives Here. 5 June 2018

Tuesday, 5 June 2018

The Royal Institution of Great Britain
http://www.rigb.org/

The first stop for the Library and Information Studies (LIS) group was the Royal Institution, founded in 1799 by James Banks, President of the Royal Society. Our tour was led by Dr. Frank James, Professor of History of Science and Head of Collections.

Dr. James pauses by the grand staircase and statue of Michael Faraday.

The RI website describes the vision and mission statements of the institution as follows:

Our vision is:

"A world where everyone is inspired to think more deeply about science and its place in our lives."

Our mission is:

"Building on our heritage to create opportunities for everyone to discover, discuss and critically examine science and how it shapes the world around us."

The RI carries out its mission through the Faraday Museum, named after scientist Michael Faraday known for his work with electromagnetism and the therapeutic properties of gases. The museum is free to visit and showcases the people, theories and artifacts involved with some of the greatest scientific discoveries in the world.

This interactive display encourages users to identify the 10 chemical elements
discovered by RI scientists as they are sung in The Elements song.

To experience The Elements song by Tom Lehrer for yourself, click the You Tube link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYW50F42ss8

Lehrer, Tom. "The Elements". Tom Lehrer in Concert. Lehrer Records, 1953.

A collection of miners' lamps developed by Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday.

In addition to the Faraday Museum, the historic 440 seat lecture hall is utilized to host speakers and an annual lecture series. The beautiful RI building also houses libraries, meeting rooms, a state-of-the-art nanotechnology lab and Young Scientist Centre--all designed to facilitate scientific thought and discovery for both young and old.

Dr. James told us that the RI is currently developing resources designed to engage children through digital media. It is the hope that the entire archive will be digitized in the future and made readily accessible to all.

On a personal note, the exhibit of most interest to me was a display featuring the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I was surprised to learn that one of the characters in the novel named Professor Waldman was based on RI scientist Humphry Davy!

The novel Frankenstein was propped open to allow readers to discover passages featuring Professor Waldman.