A blue badge tour of scientific
history
Cambridge & Great Eastern Regional Group: Science Walk
 On
a warm evening on 30 June 2005, a group of 15 keen individuals
set off on the Cambridge Science Walk under the trusty BlueBadge
guidance of June Johnson, who had her own scientific connections
with the city.
The walk began outside the Cambridge Guildhall
where a brief history of the area was given, after which we
then set about our walk. We headed first in the direction
of Trinity College, where the great Sir Isaac Newton once
resided. We even saw a descendant of the very tree Newton
was thought to be sitting under when he made his extraordinary
revelation concerning that small subject, gravity. It was
interesting to note the statue of Henry VIII above the college
entrance who over the years had lost his sceptre in favour
of a broom handle (with one wag suggesting that to complete
the contemporary scene perhaps the orb in the other hand should
be replaced with an IKEA catalogue!). We then meandered along
King Street where we saw the once practice of the dentist
George Cunningham, who was the first to think about ‘preventative
dentistry’.
We were also shown the laboratories where Crick,
Watson and Wilkins made their discovery about DNA, and seeing
as our guide was an assistant to Crick and Watson, we were
told some unofficial, unsavoury stories about the pair, which
won’t be entered into here! Among the many other
places we were shown, was the zoology department where one
can see a huge whale, which had been washed up on the south
coast of England, hanging from the rafters.
 The
zoology museum also lays
claim to having a whole dodo skeleton (although not all from
one dodo – a typical shabby trick that one would not
find at the Natural History Museum in Oxford, from where the
writer of this report hails!). The first anatomy laboratory
theatre was also pointed out to us, situated along Downing
Street. In years gone by, when bodies were difficult to come,
by they often took the bodies from prison morgues.
All in all, the Cambridge Science Walk was a
thoroughly interesting and enjoyable evening, and we all learnt
a lot more about Cambridge than just science. Our guide was
a true expert in her field and was extremely friendly and
helpful. The group retired to The Eagle (formerly the Eagle
and Child though there is a much more famous one of these
in Oxford!) for suitable refreshment and contemplation of
the rich scientific heritage of Cambridge, which had been
brought to life by June Johnson.
By Dr Antony Richards
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