Discoveries is an exhibition about imagination and knowledge, about the pleasures of looking, and the power of objects to generate wonder as well as new ideas. Presenting singular objects and unearthing little-known treasures in the extraordinary interiors of Two Temple Place on
London’s Embankment, Discoveries is the first major exhibition to bring together the fascinating collections of the eight University of Cambridge Museums.

Co-Curator of Discoveries and Director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge Professor Nick Thomas said: “I am delighted that these awe-inspiring objects - fragments of enormous human endeavour and effort - can be seen at Two Temple Place in London. Many are leaving Cambridge for the first time and together they present a microcosm of the limitless notion of discovery through time. They represent man’s quest to find his place within the world (and far beyond), and also his triumphs, frustrations and wrong turns.”

The exhibition challenges and responds to the very notion of ‘discovery’ as it explores the limits as well as the frontiers of knowledge and the connections between visionary thinking and scientifically-observed vision. The ornate and atmospheric spaces of Two Temple Place are cabinets of curiosities, displaying objects that span millennia, from the majestic to the minuscule: Charles Darwin’s recently re-discovered Tinamou Egg, the only surviving egg from the HMS Beagle voyage, accidentally cracked by Darwin himself; a surprising juxtaposition of art works from the First Millennium BC to the present day; and rare zoological specimens such as a complete skeleton of a dodo.

Visitors are invited to experience the exhibits as peculiar objects with stories to be unravelled and to encounter the idea of museums, not just as repositories of things, but active places of learning and revelation. 19th Century religious prints attempt to counteract the progress of science by demonstrating the Earth as the centre of the universe, while Inuit snow goggles crafted from wood point the way towards today’s polarised version. Historic instruments sit alongside cutting edge technology — The Discovery telescope used in Victorian explorations to the North and South Poles, and which in 1984 was taken aboard the Space Shuttle ‘Discovery’ travelling some 2.5 million miles, keeps company with the ‘Triwizard Tournament’ Digital Optical module, a ground-breaking instrument at the forefront of 21st Century cosmological and astrophysical polar research.

Two Temple Place
2 Temple Place
London WC2R 3BD United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)20 78363715
info@twotempleplace.org
www.twotempleplace.org

Opening hours
Monday, Thursday - Saturday from 10.00am to 4.30pm
Wednesday from 10.00am to 9.00pm
Sunday from 11.00am to 4.30pm

Related images

  1. Thomas Akilak (1961–), Drum Dancer, 1987, Grey serpentine and caribou horn, 30 x 35 x 18 cm, © Scott Polar Research Institute
  2. Woodwardian Collection: ‘Bones, Teeth &c of fishes’, Gift from Dr John Woodward (1665–1728). From the collection of Agostino Scilla (1629–1700), © 2011. Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
  3. Snow goggles, Wooden Inuit goggles. Used during the Discovery expedition, 1901–04, © Scott Polar Research Institute