Science Trip to Stonyhurst
On Tuesday 28th February, 25 Year 10 pupils studying Separate Science enjoyed a trip to Stonyhurst College to view some of the scientific and historical collections. Stonyhurst’s rich collections of historical artefacts are among the most important to be found anywhere. The College dates its first acquisition to 1609, making it the oldest museum in the English speaking world. Some of the artefacts seen by the pupils included the Charles Waterton Collection of preserved animals, a 17th century Islamic manuscript for calculating Ramadan, an Islamic Celestial Sphere, 17th and 18th century maths and geography textbooks, 1930s imperial typewriter, relic (eye) of Edward Oldcorne SJ, relic of the Holy Thorn belonging to Mary Queen of Scots, prayer book belonging to Mary Queen of Scots, St Edward Campion collections including ‘The Campion Rope’, a 1493 original of the Nuremburg Chronicle, ‘The Stonyhurst Mummy’, and many more…
After lunch the pupils had a guided tour of the College buildings and grounds, and then concluded their visit with a lesson in the Stonyhurst Observatory, a functioning observatory and weather station, which dates back to 1838. The pupils were tested on their knowledge of Astronomy and learned about the type of telescope and its uses in Astronomical research today.
