Engineering
Steam engines at work
We've animated some of the full-size steam engines in our collections, so you can see how they work.
Inside the Spitfire
Take a close-up look at Britain's 'most famous plane' and read the personal stories of the people who designed, built and flew the aircraft.
Advances in aviation
Aviation matures, bringing military terror but also the chance to roam the world.
New science, new materials, new power
A second industrial revolution brings electricity and science-based products.
Rational manufacture
New, rationally organised manufacturing systems gradually transformed industry.
Atomic Clocks
The time by which we all live is now maintained by incredibly accurate atomic clocks. Find out how they work, why we need their accuracy and how they may become even better in the future.
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson was the first female pilot to fly alone from Britain to Australia. Discover the story behind this extraordinary flight and the person who made it.
Babbage
Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, conceived in 1834, is one of the startling intellectual feats of the nineteenth century. Trace the story of the man widely regarded as the great ancestral figure of computing.
Blockmaking
Pulley blocks in a ship's rigging may appear insignificant, but the machinery invented to build them at Portsmouth dockyard played a major role in manufacturing history.
Big clocks
Find out about the development of early public clocks, from the 14th century examples at Salisbury and Wells to the 19th century mechanism which operates Big Ben.
King George III
The King George III Collection at the Science Museum is a unique assembly of early apparatus for demonstrating scientific principles. Through these objects scientists were able to disseminate their knowledge of the 'new science'.
John C. Bourne
John Cooke Bourne was a prolific artist and illustrator who pioneered the realistic depiction of the construction of the railways in Britain.
Huygens' Clocks
Christiaan Huygens spent years devising new mechanisms to improve timekeeping, including the pendulum and the balance wheel and spring - devices which governed almost all clocks and watches for the next 300 years.
