The objects in this gallery from the Peabody’s History of Science and Technology Collection shed light on centuries of teaching, research, everyday life, industry, and injustice at Yale and beyond. Most are from Europe and North American in the last 500 years, yet they connect to stories from around the world and across millennia.
The intriguing and significant items on display illustrate that science and technology rely on collaborations and exchanges. Countless people – including women and indigenous and enslaved individuals – have contributed to this collective work across time and around the world.
Click to expand images below.
Science at Yale
Yale University has a long history of research, education, and innovation – with ties to national and global events, interests, and injustices.
Sky, Land and Sea
Wonder at telescopes, astrolabes, sextants, models of the heavens and other devices used over the centuries in astronomy, navigation, and surveying!
Seeing and Disbelieving
Explore reality and illusions in a room dedicated to optics – magic lanterns, slides, cameras, and microscopes of all kinds, including Yale’s first microscope from 1734.
Scientific Glass
Master glassmakers used air, flame, and molten glass to craft scientific apparatus in the 1800s and 1900s–including at Yale.
![Computing Machines, Human Computers](https://peabody.yale.edu/sites/default/files/page-content/2025-06/exhibits_5K7A3519_AM_web.jpg "<strong>Computing Machines, Human Computers</strong><br /><span>"Computers" were originally humans , including women and people of color. Electronic computers emerged during World War II to decipher codes and calculate weapon trajectories.</span>")
Computing Machines, Human Computers
"Computers" were originally humans , including women and people of color. Electronic computers emerged during World War II to decipher codes and calculate weapon trajectories.
All photos: credit Andy Melien / Yale Peabody Museum