How the Great Exhibitions spawned science museums

How did the Great Exhibitions of the 19th and 20th centuries help trigger the birth of science museums? Discover the story of the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

Exposition de Paris 1889 - JournalNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

The World's Fairs

Between the mid 1800s and mid 1900s Great Exhibitions – universal, international, national and specialised – represented one of the most efficient ways to blend and disseminate knowledge. These events were symbols of positivism and faith in progress. They were dedicated to the arts as much as to industry, with ample space for science and technology.

Il Palazzo di cristallo. Giornale illustrato dell'Esposizione del 1851 a LondraNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

World Fairs, in particular, originated from the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. Here, for the first time, different Countries presented their most recent innovations.

At first, Great Exhibitions were also successful because they offered the opportunity to "see the world" in a time when traveling was still a rare privilege.

Manifesto dell'Esposizione di Chicago 1933National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Some of these objects - exhibited at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan - come from the Italian history and science exhibition created for the 1933 Universal Exhibition in Chicago “A Century of Progress”.

They form one of the founding nucleus of the Museum’s collections.

Other objects reveal more about new materials, innovative technologies, curiosities and antiquities, that found their glory or their oblivion in these occasions.

Macchina differenziale di Charles BabbageNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Charles Babbage's difference engine

Charles Babbage is one of the fathers of computing. He began designing his Difference Engine – a device that could perform complex calculations - in 1822 but never completed it. Babbage enthusiastically welcomed the 1851 World Fair. He wrote that the exhibition was aimed at the development of free trade in raw materials and manufactured goods among all Nations. He claimed it was in everyone's interest that each country could advance in knowledge and industrial skills. At the Universal Exhibition in London in 1862 he exhibited parts of his Analytical Engine, also unfinished.

Pila di VoltaNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Volta's battery

In 1899, one hundred years after the invention of the battery, the city of Como dedicated a major exhibition to Alessandro Volta. In 1927, the centenary of his death was celebrated by numerous exhibitions, such as those dedicated to the Hydroelectric industry, the International telephony and telegraphy, and the National silk industry. An international congress of physicists was also organised, with the presence of the most famous scholars of the time. The Volta Temple in Como, built for this occasion, presented the scientific tools used by Volta in his experiments on electricity, symbolically represented by the battery.

Pantelegrafo di Giovanni CaselliNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Caselli’s pantelegraph

The Pantelegraph was invented by Giovanni Caselli in the mid 1800s. For the first time, this device gave the chance to send pictures from a distance. First distributed in France and only later appreciated in Italy, it was widely prised at international level during the First Italian Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, held in Florence in 1861.

Pantelegrafo di Giovanni CaselliNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

This replica was made for the 1933 Chicago World Fair, for the Exhibition of Italian Inventions, where fascist Italy aimed to present the scientific and technological creations of the Country.

Telegrafo HughesNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Hughes’ telegraph

Invented in 1855 by the British musician David Hughes, this is in fact an enhanced Morse telegraph. The traditional key used for point-line sequences is replaced by a keyboard with 28 keys, one for each letter of the English alphabet, similar to that of a piano. In 1867, at the Universal Exhibition in Paris, Hughes won the gold medal for this invention that combined the technology behind electromagnetic devices with that of musical instruments. Hughes’ telegraph was later presented at the 1900 World Fair in Paris as a representative technology of the 1800s.

Ricevitore di telefono BellNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Bell’s telephone receiver

Alexander Graham Bell's telephone was one of the most greatly acclaimed technologies at the 1876 Philadelphia World Fair. Due to his recently patented invention he received the gold medal by the Committee of Electric Awards. At the Fair, Bell’s strongest supporter was the Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil who, during a public demonstration in the Education Building, enthused the judges exclaiming, "Oh my Goodness, it’s talking". To demonstrate the potential of the new invention, Bell transmitted piano concerts via phone from Philadelphia to New York.

Magneti Marelli camera and tv

1939 was a pivotal year in the history of television. The first experimental broadcasts were in fact taking place both at the World Fair in New York and at the Exhibition of Italian Inventions which was taking place in Milan, at the Palace of Art, in conjunction with the Leonardesca Exhibition. Thanks to a large window, visitors could watch as filming took place with Magneti Marelli cameras in a 500 sqm recording studio. Television sets had a long vertical Cathode Ray Tube with a screen reflected by a mirror positioned at forty-five degrees.

Semipneumatico Pirelli CelerflexNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Pirelli tire made of vulcanized rubber

Many new materials were presented during World Fairs. This was also the case for: vulcanized rubber (London 1851, and Paris 1855), resulting from a lab mistake; Parkesine (London 1862), one of the first plastics produced to "save elephants"; Nylon (New York 1939), created to make women's legs beautiful and soon converted into parachutes to win wars. Whether or not they brought fame and fortune to their inventors, all these materials have changed the way we now live.

Lingotto di alluminioNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Aluminium ingot

Aluminium was presented for the first time at the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris: 12 small ingots, of a total weight of under one kilogram, extracted spending a great deal of time and money. On its first appearance, Aluminium was a precious material, not the revolutionary metal that would change the world. This only happened 30 years later, when a new method to produce it cheaply and abundantly turned it into the ubiquitous material that we all know today.

Banco ottico di Macedonio MelloniNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Macedonio Melloni’s bench

This equipment is very similar to an optical bench and it was used by the mathematician and physicist Macedonio Melloni to analyse the infrared radiation, which at the time was called "caloric radiant." In fact, in 1831 in Paris, Melloni discovered that radiant heat behaves similarly to light, so he began studying its properties of reflection, refraction and polarization. Because of the importance of his studies, Melloni was nicknamed "the Newton of heat" and received the appreciation of Michael Faraday. This replica was built in 1933 for the Italian pavilion at the Chicago World Fair.

Motore a combustione interna Barsanti-MatteucciNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Barsanti and Matteucci internal combustion engine

Could steam engines be replaced by others, more efficient, economical and small, yet equally reliable and functional? The "new gas engine" – created by Barsanti and Matteucci in 1853 – was a first response to this problem. At the Paris World Fair in 1855 industry was in turmoil and by 1860 the wellpublicized Lenoir engine was a success despite its low efficiency. In 1861, in Florence, at the First Italian Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, the Italian engine called for attention. Patented and perfected until 1866, it disappeared due to production complications. History later celebrated the Otto and Langen engine, identical in essence and champion at the 1867 Paris World Fair.

Edison DynamoNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Edison dynamo

This dynamo comes from the first power plant based in continental Europe, opened in Milan in 1883 by initiative of Giuseppe Colombo. In 1881 the Professor of the future Politecnico of Milano had visited the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris. On that occasion he had admired the Palais de l'Industrie illuminated by 500 Edison incandescent lightbulbs powered by the Edison system for the centralized production and distribution of electricity in direct current. Grasping its innovative potential in public and private lighting, Colombo decided to import the system in Italy.

Regolatore tachimetrico a pressione d'olioNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Speed control system for hydraulic turbines

How can the speed of turbines be regulated with a relatively simple and inexpensive device that can function in all hydroelectric plants? In 1900 the company Ing A. Riva Monneret & C. patented a device that solved this problem posed by the developments of the hydroelectric field in the late 1800s. The technical solution of this control system became a point of reference for all European manufacturers. The president of the company “Costruzioni Meccaniche Riva” Guido Ucelli selected items representing the Italian excellence in 1933 at the Chicago World Fair. Exhibited next to this speed control system was a scale model of the turbines built in 1899 for the Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant.

GR 552 036 LocomotiveNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Steam locomotive GR 552 036

The first steam locomotive of this type was presented at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris as an example of Italian excellence. The exhibition on railway systems taking place inside the Hall of Machinery showed the milestones of the industry and its latest innovations. In addition to their growing size and speed, trains were to ensure the same comfort of a hotel. With its two sleeping cars and restaurant, the international convoy "Indian Mail" – towed by the GR 552 on the Italian railway tract – fulfilled precisely those expectations.

Leone di CapreraNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Leone di Caprera

In 1880 three Italians used this schooner to cross the Atlantic, reach Garibaldi in exile on the island of Caprera and hand him the signatures of fellow immigrants in Uruguay. As a symbol of this adventure, the Leone was exhibited in Milan, in the lake of Villa Reale in via Palestro during the 1881 National Fair. The event took place in the Public Gardens, the Villa Reale Park and the Senate palace. Although not comparable to the great World Fairs, the Milanese event reaffirmed the role of the city as economic and industrial capital of Italy.

La Nave di Caligola del Lago di NemiNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Rainaldo Arcaini, Ptolemy and Caligula’s ships

These two watercolours by architect Rainaldo Arcaini were presented at the 1906 Universal Exhibition in Milan where they obtained the “City of Milan” award. The pictures represent two antique legendary ships: that of the king of Egypt Ptolemy IV, and that of the Emperor Caligula.

La nave di Tolomeo IVNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

The ships were more like floating platforms, large islands topped by architectural structures.

Caligula’s ships lay on the bottom of the Nemi lake and were only recovered in 1928-30 thanks to the technical involvement of Guido Ucelli, founder of this Museum.

MOTORE AERONAUTICO - ISOTTA FRASCHINI ASSO 750National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Engine - Isotta Fraschini Asso 750

This is the type of engine used by the 25 Savoia Marchetti S55X seaplanes that flew across the Atlantic towards Chicago, on occasion of the 1933 World Fair in Chicago. Led by Italo Balbo, Minister of Aviation, they landed in Lake Michigan with a spectacular performance. The event celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Aviation and demonstrated the expertise of Italian industry. Welcomed by the crowd, aviators collected honours and visited the Exhibition, where this engine was exhibited in the Hall of Science alongside other examples of the “Italian genius”.

Credits: Story

Exhibition by
Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia
Leonardo da Vinci

Via San Vittore 21
Milano

www.museoscienza.org

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