A few months ago, I showed you two ship models on show in our maritime galleries, both called Savannah. The 1818 version was the first steamship to cross an ocean (even though she did so mostly under sail power)… …while her 1959 namesake was the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship. The first nuclear ship was a naval submarine, USS Nautilus, launched in 1954, with British equivalents following a few years later, such as HMS Resolution. The latest British nuclear boat, HMS Astute, […]
David Rooney discusses even more history of the lighthouse.
David Rooney takes a closer look at the lighthouse and its role in sailor’s final approach to port.
David Rooney recaps ‘Time and the Moon’, a Science Museum event hosted by the BBC’s science correspondent, Pallab Ghosh.
David Rooney takes a closer look at crystal controlled marine chronometers.
Keeper of Technology and Engineering, David Rooney, celebrates 125 years since bicycles took the form that we know today.
Keeper of Technology and Engineering, David Rooney, takes a closer look at Waterloo Station by Terence Cuneo.
David Rooney, Keeper of Technology and Engineering, celebrates the anniversary of the first Channel crossing in a balloon.
David Rooney, Keeper of Technology and Engineering, uncovers the Channel Tunnel objects in our collection.
If, like me, you use the railways a lot to get around, you’ll know that the timetables changed last weekend. For those living in the south-east of England, it’s said to be the biggest timetable shake-up in 40 years. With so many services being altered, it’s more important than ever to know the right time. Our newly-refurbished ‘Measuring Time’ gallery is stuffed with clocks and watches from the Middle Ages to the present. It’s a great collection and well worth […]
Some time ago, I told you about Louis Brennan’s remarkable gyroscopic monorail car. His 1907 model is at the National Railway Museum in York. Brennan used it to convey somewhat reluctant family members across his garden on a stretched wire. He went on to make a full-sized version, capable of carrying ten tons… … which was displayed in 1910 at the Japan-British Exhibition at London’s White City. By then, his invention had become well-known. H. G. Wells, in his 1908 book […]
The wonderful caricature of a windswept midwife by Thomas Rowlandson in my last post got me browsing through other prints by this famous artist. They’re a great window into the past. The caption of this one states, ‘Lose their compass, their ship slips between the teeth of a fish unknown in this part of the world’. Not what you want to happen, really, when out for a sail. It was one of Rowlandson’s wonderful images to accompany the tall tales […]