Museums have a history of both wonder and controversy. But where did it all begin? Scroll on, and use click-and-drag, to see and virtually explore some of the world's oldest buildings dedicated to the collection and exhibition of art and artefacts. 

The Capitoline Museum, or Musei Capitolini, is very probably the world’s oldest museum. Located in Rome, just a stone’s throw from the Colosseum, the museum houses a fantastic collection of classical art and archaeology. The history of the  museum dates right back to 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a number of important ancient bronzes to the people of Rome.

The collection was placed on Capitoline Hill, close to the location of the current museum. In 1734, The museum was officially opened to the public, making it the first place in the world specifically designed as a location for common people to enjoy art.  

Located just a short walk from the Capitoline Museum, The Vatican is the second-oldest museum in the world. The museum can trace its roots back to 1506 when Pope Julius II purchased the iconic sculpture Laocoön and His Sons and placed it on public display.    

As well as the inaugural sculpture (which is still on display in the museum) visitors can enjoy a number of other priceless artworks including The School of Athens, by Raphael, The Last Judgement, by Michelangelo and Caravaggio’s Entombment of Christ. Around 25,000 people visit the museum every day, making it one of the most popular galleries in the world.

The Royal Armouries has been admitting visitors to view its extraordinary collection since 1592. In 1660, the attraction opened to the general public, allowing locals to see exhibitions specifically designed to showcase the power and splendor of the English monarchy. 

Today, the museum’s collection focuses on arms and amour, with around 70,000 pieces on display. These artefacts date from antiquity to the present day, giving visitors a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of warfare and weapons engineering. 

In 1661, the University of Basel and the City of Basel clubbed together to buy the Amerbach Cabinet, a fantastic collection of artworks, many by famous German painter Hans Holbein. In 1671, the collection was made open to the public and, in 1823, it was joined with the previously private works held in the Faesch Museum.

The collection in the Kunstmuseum covers an incredible breadth of history, with works dating from the 15th century to the present day. This impressive span gives visitors a unique insight into the development of art and artistic movements and makes for a fascinating day out.

Our next museum can be found in one of the world’s oldest and most renowned places of learning, Oxford, England. The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology. Founded in 1683, its collection stretches from pre-history to the present day.

Free to visit, the Ashmolean is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the history of art and archaeology. If you can't travel to Oxford in person, the museum has recently made over 200,000 object records available to browse or search in their online collection.

Inspired by nature

People have told stories about dragons for thousands of years, but what inspired the tales of these remarkable creatures?

Step into our gallery of mythical beasts, and discover their tangled connections with the natural world.

'Probably the most famous of all magical beasts, dragons are among the most difficult to hide. The female is generally larger and more aggressive than the male, though neither should be approached by any but highly skilled and trained wizards. Dragon hide, blood, heart, liver and horn all have highly magical properties, but dragon eggs are defined as Class A Non-Tradeable Goods. There are ten breeds of dragon, though these have been known to interbreed on occasion, producing rare hybrids.'
– Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them™

Olivia Lomenech Gill produced the artwork for an illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them™.

Where possible, Lomenech Gill based the beasts on real animals, using museum collections as inspiration. This included a visit to the Natural History Museum in London.

While she used lizards as a reference for dragons, Lomenech Gill was also influenced by another iconic dragon: Smaug of J R R Tolkien's The Hobbit.

In the Harry Potter™ film series, a dragon skeleton is seen hanging from the ceiling of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom at Hogwarts™.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Its skull has spines, spikes and sharp teeth, which are typical features of many of the dragon breeds that appear in the wizarding world created by J K Rowling.

Tales of dragons and other mythical reptiles may have started with sightings of enormous snakes and the discovery of dinosaur bones.

Dragons sit alongside real animals such as giraffes and rhinos in this 360-year-old book of natural history, The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents by Edward Topsell, published in 1658.

Dragons are described as a type of serpent, and the book includes several varieties from across the globe. Some slither on their bellies like snakes, while others have legs and wings.

'There be some Dragons which have wings and no feete, some again have both feete and wings, and some neither feete nor wings.'
– Edward Topsell, 1658

Dragons also sit alongside real animals such as lions and zebras in this encyclopaedia of the world's animals, Theatrum Universale Omnium Animalium, by Johannes Jonstonus.

Originally published in the 1650s, it shows several varieties of dragon from across the globe. Some slither on their bellies like snakes, while others have legs, wings and horns.

The legend of the lindwurm

In 1335 a skull like this one was found near the city of Klagenfurt, Austria. People had never seen anything like it before. They thought it came from a two-legged flying dragon, known as the Lindwurm, which was rumoured to have terrorised locals.

Scientists later found that the skull belonged to a long-extinct woolly rhinoceros. Woolly rhinoceroses lived in Europe and Asia from 500,000 to 14,000 years ago, during the Ice Age.

Giant snakes

Indian rock pythons can grow up to 6.7 metres (22 feet) long. Perhaps they might have inspired tales of the snake-like dragons of India described by Roman author Pliny the Elder 2,000 years ago.

Pliny writes of these dragons crushing elephants to death. While no snake has ever been documented taking down an animal that big, Indian rock pythons can constrict and kill prey as large as antelope.

'The dragon is of so enormous a size, as easily to envelop the elephants with its folds and encircle them in its coils. The contest is equally fatal to both.'
– Pliny the Elder, 77 CE

Chinese dragon

Could this little alligator have inspired stories of great Chinese dragons? Ancient texts describe Chinese dragons digging burrows, breathing out rain clouds and sleeping in pools during winter.

Similarly, Chinese alligators hibernate underground, and in spring steam rises from their nostrils as they bellow to attract a mate.

From dirigibles to dinosaurs and spacesuits to stethoscopes, science museums around the world hold thousands of years worth of human discovery and innovation. Click and drag to walk around some of their top exhibitions using Street View...

This is the world's largest collection of aviation and space artifacts, encompassing all aspects of human flight from its very beginning, to the Mars missions, and beyond. Click to move forward to take a tour of this gallery...

Ever wanted to experience the Space Shuttle from an astronaut's-eye view? Scroll on for an immersive, 360-degree tour...

Here's the star attraction. Click and drag as the video plays to look around you and discover Discovery...

Even in space, there are some home truths to attend to. How to answer nature's call among the stars? Click and drag to look around as the Smithsonian brings you an astronaut's answer to this "number one" question...

The City of Space is a science museum and discovery center focused on the exploration of space - the final frontier. It was opened in June 1997 and is located on the eastern outskirts of Toulouse, France. 

Inside, are interactive exhibits, including a replica rocket control room, two planetariums, and an IMAX cinema. Outside are full-size replicas of the European Ariane rocket, the Soviet spacestation Mir, and Hubble Telescope.

The Belgian Museum of Natural Sciences takes visitors all the way back in time, to the death of the dinosaurs and the beginnings of human life. The highlight of the collection is its 30 fossilised Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878.

The hall which houses these rare and remarkably intact fossils is the largest dinosaur exhibit in the world. But don't forget to take a look at the modern mammals in the collection: the mammoth, blue whale, and Tasmanian wolf.

London's Exhibition Road is a nerve-centre of knowledge, home to more than 10 internationally-renowned institutions and museums. One of its most exciting attractions is the Science Museum, celebrating human ingenuity from flight to mobile phones, medical tech to TV.

Among its many weird and wonderful exhibits is a trip deep into the uncanny valley with a robotics room, charting the history of humanoid androids from Harry the Trumpet-Player robot to the Japanese "Kodomoroid" robo news anchor. 

Japanese excellence in science and technology is celebrated at the Naogya City Science Museum in three main sections on modern technology, life sciences, and general science with a variety of hands-on exhibits.

Most importantly, it's also home to the largest planetarium in the world. Click, drag, and use the arrows to explore it here.

This Philadelphia Academy is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading naturalists of the early American republic with the expressed aim of, "the encouragement and cultivation of the sciences".

The Academy first opened its collections to the public in 1828. The popularity of its exhibits soared in 1868 with the debut of the world's first mounted dinosaur skeleton, Hadrosaurus. Today, the museum even offers sleepovers for promising young palaeontologists.

The National Science Museum in the South Korean city of Gwacheon is dedicated to honouring the achievements of scientists across Korean history, and those of more recent, international Nobel prize winners.

Divided between medicines, physics, chemistry, and 'world saving' inventions, the museum seeks to inspire the next generation of inventors and technicians.

In 2012 much of the museum was renovated to coincide with the opening of the Planetarium, and many interactive installations were added. The upper floors of the museum are now dedicated to space and future technology.

Still got a thirst for discovery? Blast off into the Orion Nebula with this 360 video.