The Old Cavendish Experience is being developed to showcase the history of science at the old Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, with a planned opening to the public in 2026.
We will invite audiences to experience immersive live events in the world-famous laboratory and lecture theatre. The theatrical events will tell the story of the laboratory’s achievements in the 19th and 20th centuries when it was at the centre of some of the most important advances in physics worldwide.
It will bring the history of the world-famous Cavendish Laboratory to life for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. It will entertain, educate, engage and inspire.
Join us in our mission to share the science and history:
• Witness the discovery of the electron
• Watch as the atom is split
• Explore the structure of DNA
• Observe the discovery of pulsars
Meet the extraordinary characters and their scientific teams:
• J.J. Thomson demonstrating the existence of the first subatomic particle, the electron
• Ernest Rutherford and his team using one of the first particle accelerators to split the atom and verify Einstein’s most famous equation E=mc2, (which lit the fuse of the nuclear age)
• Francis Crick and James Watson, uncovering the structure of DNA
• Jocelyn Bell and Antony Hewish discovering pulsars
Marking this extraordinary history, the Old Cavendish Laboratory was made a Grade II listed building in 1950.
“It will provide a marvellous venue in which the University can showcase its past and present, and educate the next generation”
Dame Mary Archer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Science Museum Group
We invite you to become a partner, and contribute, as we develop The Old Cavendish Experience.
Header image: Abstract DNA molecule; Practical class 1933. Cavendish Laboratory; Atomic particle illustration; Jocelyn Bell Burnell at the Mullard Radio Observatory in 1967
Centre image: Exterior of the old Cavendish Laboratory building
Lower image: The Maxwell Lecture Theatre