Museo della Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica

The collections of the Museum of the Science and Technology Foundation consist of three main sections originating from the nineteenth-century collections of the Library, the Physics Cabinet and the Natural History Cabinet, together with the attached Technological Museum of the Technical Institute of Tuscany.

The collection of the Physics Cabinet has been reorganized in the rooms provided for it back in 1891, making the most of the original fittings. The collections of the Cabinet of Natural History comprise a vast number of items. It features a remarkable number of scientific instruments covering optics, electricity and magnetism, acoustics, physical mechanics, hydraulics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, meteorology and applications of electricity.

The Natural Sciences Collection, including applications of Commodity Science, comprises specimens of mineralogy, lithology, palaeontology, botany and zoology, as well as manufactured products. Some of the objects on display are of exceptional historical and scientific value, including the “wax-impregnated canvases” created by Egisto Tortori, who worked in the field of wax modelling at La Specola; the glass models of marine invertebrates made by the Blaschka family; and artefacts traditionally associated with the Accademia del Cimento.

The museum's scientific offering is further enhanced by the Library and the Astronomy Gallery, which leads to the dome, where lectures and events are regularly held with the support of the digital Planetarium.

The Museum regularly organises educational activities for schools and, every weekend, workshops and guided tours for children, young people and adults, welcoming individuals and families alike.