Learned Societies

London's learned societies and their public doors: the lecture theatres, libraries, collections and exhibitions of the institutions that have been arguing about the world since the seventeenth century, most of them free to walk into. What is on is listed under each society, and in What's On.

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Royal Society

The oldest scientific academy in the world, with free public lectures and exhibitions in its Carlton House Terrace rooms.

Public talksExhibitionsLibrary you can useFree to enterWorth it for the building

Also in Science & Engineering.

Founded in 1660, presided over by Newton for twenty-four years and by every great name since, the Society moved into 6-9 Carlton House Terrace in 1967, a building that had been the German embassy until 1939 and still has Ribbentrop's staircase. Inside are the portraits of the Fellows from Boyle and Hooke to Attenborough, the charter book every Fellow has signed since 1663, and a library and archive open to anyone who books; the Open House weekend in September lets you wander it free, and the Summer Science Exhibition in July fills it with the year's research and the researchers.

Where
6-9 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5AG
Nearest station
Charing Cross · 5 min walk

Open House 19 and 20 September, 10:00–17:00, free; the library Monday to Friday by appointment

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

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