Our last visit to the RI in 2003 was heavily over-subscribed so we were pleased to offer another opportunity in March 2009. Brief details are recorded here. A full report by Neil Brown was published in SIS Bulletin 101 (June 2009), pp.34-36. The Royal Institution had recently undergone a £22m building project partially funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Royal Institution’s iconic collections of original scientific apparatus and images were now on display, many items for the first time. These included, amongst much else, the earliest miners’ safety lamps made by Humphry Davy, the first electric transformer and generator made by Michael Faraday, the picture showing Faraday lecturing before the Prince Consort (which formed the background of the £20 note in the 1990s) and a model of the first enzyme to have its structure determined by Lawrence Bragg and his team.

Tours of the building usually commence on the first floor. The displays on this floor relate to the theme of communication and, unless it is in use, include a visit to the historic large lecture theatre where the Christmas Lectures are recorded for broadcast. The ground floor deals with various aspects of the Royal Institution’s activities, past and present, whilst the Lower Ground Floor is devoted to the history of scientific discovery in the building. This is themed in four sections – chemical elements, light, Faraday, heat and cold. The tour concludes with architectural images of the development of the building and ends in the cafe.

We were delighted that Frank James, Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution and Head of Collections and Heritage, was hosting our visit. The tour commenced at 2.30pm and finished by 5.30pm. Included in the cost was tea and cake in their new café/restaurant. The cost was £15 per person.

A booking form was distributed with the December Bulletin. This had to be returned to the Executive Officer to be received no later than 6 February 2009.