The Whipple and Sedgwick Museum

CB Mentoring were honoured to be invited to tour both the Whipple and Sedgwick Museums. Entering The Whipple Museum on a warm Saturday morning, we were given a whirlwind tour of some of the exhibitors favourite pieces whilst the museum was closed to other visitors.

The children were able to get up close and personal with a lot of the collections, learning the at times problematic stories behind the history of some inventions as well as what it was like to be scientist at a time when neither equality nor diversity were close to being in anyone’s vocabulary. From looking at early scientific measuring tools to varying versions of the globe, it was fascinating to explore how much of what we believed to be true, due to it being ‘scientifically proven’ has changed with and maybe because of shifts in culture and societal norms.

The Sedgwick Museum tour was equally fascinating. Exploring the stories behind some of the curator’s favourite items in the collection we heard stories of the sociological and political impacts some of the pieces had. The children were fascinated to learn how much history was on their doorstep and just how chequered the past behind some of the objects had.