Cambridge has been named among the most beautiful places in England. The city of Cambridge is probably most famous as the home of the University of Cambridge, which was founded in 1209 and ranked among the best universities in the world. There are plenty of museums to visit in the city of Cambridge and the surrounding areas, and they all have something different to offer. Some of these museums even have free entry, so they are great for a day out on a budget.
Here is a list of some of the best museums in Cambridge:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/
Trumpington St, Cambridge CB2 1RB
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the lead partner of the spectacular collections of the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) and Botanic Garden. From antiquity to the present day, the Fitzwilliam Museum houses a world-renowned collection of over half a million beautiful works of art, masterpiece paintings and historical artefacts.
They are free to visit for all.
Visit their website for further details
The Polar Museum
https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum/
Lensfield Rd, Cambridge CB2 1ER
The Scott Polar Research Institute, established in 1920 as part of the University of Cambridge, is a centre of excellence in the study of the Arctic and Antarctic. The research covers both the natural and social sciences, and the Institute also houses the World’s premier Polar Library, extensive archival, photographic and object collections of international importance on the history of polar exploration, and a Polar Museum.
Visit their website for further details
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
http://www.sedgwickmuseum.org/
Downing Pl, Cambridge CB2 3EQ
The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences is the oldest of the University of Cambridge museums; it was established in 1728 as the Woodwardian Museum. Since then, the collection has grown from about 10,000 fossils, minerals and rocks to at least 2 million. A walk through the museum will take you on a 4.5 billion year journey through time, from the meteoritic building blocks of planets to the thousands of fossils of animals and plants that illustrate the evolution of life in the oceans, on land and in the air.
Free entry
Visit the website for further details
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3DZ
MAA is a museum of humanity’s history over hundreds of thousands of years, of world cultures over recent centuries, and of Indigenous life and art in the present.
MAA is also a local museum. For nearly 140 years, it has been the place where archaeological finds from Cambridge and from our region are preserved, researched and displayed.
Visit the website for further details
Whipple Museum of the History of Science
https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/
Free School Ln, Cambridge CB2 3RH
The Whipple Museum’s collection includes scientific instruments, apparatus, models, pictures, prints, photographs, books and other materials related to the history of science.. The Whipple Museum was founded in 1944 when Robert Stewart Whipple presented his collection of scientific instruments to the University of Cambridge.
Visit the website for further details
Museum of Zoology
https://www.museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk/
Downing Pl, Cambridge CB2 3EJ
The Museum is one of Cambridge’s major attractions, displaying thousands of specimens spanning the entire animal kingdom, from elephants, giant ground sloths and giraffes to birds, reptiles, insects and molluscs. As well as being open for the public to enjoy, they are used for academic study by researchers and students worldwide.
The Museum holds many wonderful treasures, such as specimens discovered by great naturalists, including Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Changing displays and temporary exhibitions highlight unusual and significant items from the Museum’s stores, such as the skeleton of the extinct Dodo.
Free entry
Visit the website for further details
Museum of Cambridge
2-3 Castle St, Cambridge CB3 0AQ
Visit us and explore over 300 years of Cambridgeshire history and heritage. The Cambridge Museum’s collections include objects related to the everyday life, customs, and traditions of the area’s local people. The stories that these objects share can still have meaning today.
Visit the website for further details
Duxford Imperial War Museum
https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford
IWM Duxford Airfield, Cambridge CB22 4QR
Visit Imperial War Museum Duxford and see historic aircraft take to the skies from the airfield where Spitfires first flew. Get up close to gigantic aircraft at Europe’s largest air museum and uncover hundreds of personal stories. IWM Duxford’s historic site includes a vast range of enormous hangars, gigantic aircraft, a live airfield and a wide collection of personal stories of those who have lived, fought and died in conflict from the First World War to the present day.
Please visit the website for further details
The Centre for Computing History
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/
Rene Court, Coldham’s Rd, Cambridge CB1 3EW
The Centre for Computing History is much more than a museum. Based in Cambridge, it hosts hands-on exhibitions, educational workshops and a wide range of activities and events. CCH aims to deliver inspirational learning opportunities to a wide range of audiences – from preschoolers to the over-70s – so people become confident and creative users of information and digital technology. They offer on-site education services, including programming, electronics workshops, and other interactive learning using 1980s BBC Micros and Raspberry Pis.
Open Wednesday-Sunday, 10 am-5 pm
Visit the website for further details
Have we missed any of your favourite museums in Cambridge? Please let us know!