Science Tourism
 

I was wondering if any Fodorites had any suggestions for science related sites- I am interested in Zoology and will probably visit a couple of Darwin sites as well as some natural history museums while in Europe. I will be in London, Paris, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Thanks so much!

We love the science museum in Paris. In fact we spent a day there in the Fall...going again next week. There is a nanotechnology conference there. Part of the museum is the Geode where they show Imax presentations.

The first time we went there were many kids there for the demos...saw things we had never seen in the
US..on genetics, etc... very very unusual displays and most with interactive parts..

It's way out..but worth the trip.

The Grande Galerie de l'Evolution at the Natural History Museum in Paris is a zoologocial treasure trove. www.mnhn.fr

London's science sites are going through a bit of a change at present, with some venerable second-division place (like the Royal Institution) closed for refurbing, and some interesting new arrivals (the Wellcome Foundation's galleries open in June)

There's a useful list of medicine-related museums at www.medicalmuseums.org. There's a fairly full list of all science-related museums at the Advanced Search page of www.24hourmuseum.org.uk (scroll to "Science and Technology").

Not often thought of for science, the "Enlightenment" gallery at the British Museum shows the world as 18th century enquirers saw it, with the instruments, artefacts and monographs they used for their breakthroughs in - well, everything really.

Oxford's Museum of the History of Science (mostly for instruments) and University Museum (mostly for the history of palaeontology, and it's where the 1860 Huxley-Wilberforce evolution debate was held) are only an hour away by train, or about 90 mins by buses that depart every 5-10 minutes.

The Science Museum in London (www.sciencemuseum.org.uk) is fantastic and has Stephenson's Rocket (important early locomotive) as well as all sorts of other crucial technological artifacts from the 18th to the 21st century.

For something a little quirkier, my personal favorite is the Kew Bridge Steam Museum, which has the world's largest Cornish Beam engine and London's only working steam railway.

If your interest is more in zoology than technology, you will probably be more excited about the Natural History Museum. I've never been there, so I can't comment, but it is one of the most highly regarded institutions of its type in the world.