Queen Street Mill Textile Museum (credit: QSM on Facebook)

It has its original hand stoked, coal fired, Lancashire boilers that produce the steam to drive ‘Peace’, a tandem compound engine. Peace drives the shafts which worked 1000 looms throughout the mills working life. Today, the shafts still turn for weaving demonstrations.

The mill is in steam every day the museum is open, so if there are visitors, the engine runs!

Queen Street Mill is the sister museum to Helmshore Mills Museum, which spins cotton weft threads on original spinning mules before Queen Street

weaves it. It was also used as the location for the mill scenes in the new film The King’s Speech.

Hendrichs Drop Forge, Solingen, Germany (picture: LVR Museum)

Two months after it was closed, the LVR Industrial Museum took over the complete site including the buildings and technical equipment. Even the employees stayed, in fact, and nowadays they take visitors on guided tours through the drop forge or demonstrate how scissors have been made with the drop hammer.

Around the turn to the twentieth century Solingen was known as “the workshop of the world”. Every year millions of scissors, knives and weapons were
turned out here. Steel goods have been produced in this area since the Middle Ages. The environment was ideal as there were almost inexhaustible supplies of ore. The nearby woods and forests ensured there was enough fuel to keep the fires burning, and the River Wupper and its many tributaries provided the necessary hydraulic power for all the forging and grinding operations.

The introduction of drop forging techniques helped Solingen to grow to its position as the world’s largest producer of scissors. The Hendrichs factory
contained 33 drop hammers, which made it the largest drop forge in the area. The forging dies themselves came from its own workshops, and in addition the factory contained a grinding works for processing the moulded blanks into finished tools. In this way it was able to house both of Solingen’s key industries under a single roof.

Detroit Science Center

As well as hundreds of hands-on things to do, it offers attractions courtesy of some of the world’s best-known automakers. Therefore, expect to see plenty of flashy automotive-sponsored exhibits, including the Chrysler Science Stage for demonstrations, Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre, Michigan’s only domed IMAX, and the Toyota Engineering Theater, one of the largest 4-D theaters.

Alongside regularly-changing exhibits, there are permanent attractions such as the rocket laboratory, the Life gallery and the US Fun Steel Factory.

Spinning at the Textile Mill Cromford in Ratingen (photo courtesy LVR)

Johann Gottfried Brügelmann was an extremely wealthy merchant and textile magnate from Wuppertal at the end of the 18th century. He admired the business acumen and inventive spirit of the English so much that he decided to exploit their know-how to the fullest with the help of industrial espionage.

One glance at his palatial villa is enough to give you an impression of his self-assured economic power. The “metronome of the dawning industrial age” – a clock – hangs prominently over the magnificent stairway of his house and shows: “Time is money”.

Behind the magnificent residence the tall factory rises into the sky, where the huge wooden bucket wheel dominates the ground floor.  The first factory on the European continent came into being in Ratingen, in 1784.

In 1977, almost two hundred years later, the production finally expired. After a long and painstaking period of preparation the LVR Industrial Museum was finally opened in 1996. The original machines do not longer exist. That means, the clattering machines, now in operation in the museum, have at least one thing in common with their predecessors: they are also modelled on English originals – this time completely legally in the service of historical reconstruction.

They are accompanied by sound and video installations, and the explanatory texts paint a multi-facetted portrait of the grinding work in an early industrial spinning mill.

It’s a pretty neat way to spend a few hours if you’re a fan of either — temporary exhibitions tend to feature well known names or specific themes (such as Looney Tunes characters or the recent exhibit on diaristic cartooning of female Jewish artists) , while permanent collection of over 6,000 items holds pieces of historical significance and some of the cartoon world’s greatest names.

Visitors can take part in one of the excellent cartooning workshops (see the website for further details, but normally held on Saturdays), or a pick from a host of other events held regularly at the site.

A guide shows off the machinery at the Alternberg Tin Works in Oberhausen, Germany (photo courtesy LVR)

Television screens show what a grinding job it was to operate the powerful and gigantic hammer. Indeed, the museum has a huge collection of discarded steel-making machines: a two-wheel rotary press from the 1920s, a Krupp steam locomotive, as well as rollers, lathes, planes and other similar equipment. Some of them are still in working order and used for presentations.

The exhibition in the old rolling mill deals with 150 years of iron and steel production along the rivers Rhine and Ruhr, and it’s obvious that technology has played a huge role in the history of this area. Visitors can even stroll through a blast furnace and see molten pig iron being made from iron ore and coke.

Furthermore it is important to take a look at the everyday live of workers in the shadow of the factories. Topics like working-class housing estates, schools, health insurance and shopping in the company’s own cooperative store. The damage to the environment and the health were regular conflict subjects with the factory owners.

Indeed the Altenberg zinc factory had to be cleaned of lead, quicksilver and other pollution in the earth and brickworks, before the museum could move in. Nine different sections are equipped with audio-visual terminals, which show the rise and fall of heavy industry in the Ruhr Area.

San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum (photo Berkbotanist)

Ideal for a pleasant stroll or a more serious scientific visit, the Garden is divided both geographically and thematically, meaning visitors can wander from seeing the natural flora of California into the more exotic species of South Africa, before moving on to a calming area filled with plants classified as “fragrant”.

In total, there are some 8,000 species, cultivated with the help of California’s warm mediterranean climate and meticulously labelled by the Garden’s plant collections team. Particularly worth a visit is the Redwood Trail, a forest planted at the turn of the 20th century which represents a typical Redwood community — there is a PDF walking tour of the trail on the website.

Also worth a mention for academics is the Bookstore and the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture, which contains 27,000 volumes, one of California’s finest collections.

Daily tours are available.

The FourEyesUp London Guide app offers a multitude of sights that are designed to appeal to a new type of connected, scientifically-aware or technology-minded traveller.

Users can browse London attractions sorted into 11 categories including Science Museums, Computer sightseeing or places to learn, or quickly select from destination tags highlighting the work of some of the city’s most illustrious science and technology icons, such as Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Guglielmo Marconi, Alan Turing or John Logie Baird.

To make the perfect geek holiday even easier to plan, chapters covering items such as buying a mobile phone and 3G dongle, London’s best bloggers and Tweeters and where to find free wifi are also included, making the app something of a Swiss Army knife for techie travellers.

Things to see and do in the app include:

• See London’s only lighthouse and learn about Faraday’s contribution to it
• Try your hand at being a pilot in professional flight simulators
• Visit Benjamin Franklin’s house, now home to a museum of his scientific work
• Join an adults-only science debate at the Science Museum’s lesser-known Dana Centre
• Hit some of London’s electronics, camera or cult comic shops, the best of which are reviewed and listed
• Visit a high-tech restaurant for dinner and stay the night, with a choice of gadget-rich hotels with free wifi

Each destination includes a comprehensive description and map, as well as opening times, prices, web links, Twitter handles and pictures where available.

The app also provides search functionality and is location-aware, allowing users to quickly pinpoint sites of interest in their proximity using GPS functionality on their device.

After the trip, a link in the app allows visitors to leave feedback and comments for other sci-tech travellers on the FourEyesUp website at http://www.foureyesup.com.

“The FourEyesUp London Guide caters to a generation of travellers that want more than the usual sights included in most travel guides, which seem to largely ignore the importance of science and technology in the fabric of London life,” said FourEyesUp publisher Nicholas Holmes.

“It’s ideal for visitors to the city, but also makes a perfect tool for a scientific or technology-minded Londoner and I anticipate it being very popular with parents looking for an educational way to amuse their children.”

The app is launching at a promotional price of £0.59/€0.79/$0.99 and is available to download from: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/foureyesup-london-guide/id407091825.

The groundbreaking FourEyesUp London Guide is the first in a series of five global sci-tech guide applications to be released over the next 12 months by FourEyesUp, the world’s first online science and technology travel guide.

All feature many of the science and technology community’s favourite places, sourced using the unique “Suggest a destination” feature at http://www.foureyesup.com.

The next in the series, FourEyesUp Silicon Valley Guide, will be released in late Q1 2011 — sci-tech travellers with destination suggestions, or improvements to the FourEyesUp London Guide, should get in contact using the FourEyesUp website.

About FourEyesUp

Travellers are changing, and FourEyesUp is a travel guide for a new generation of travellers.

Founded in 2010 to showcase the world’s best science and technology locations, the FourEyesUp website and travel guides make it easy for today’s scientifically-aware, technology-minded globetrotters to find something of interest to them, wherever they go in the world.

Featured by BBC World News and Ehrensenf.de, described as “a great resource for geeky travel destinations” by Lifehacker and “ideal for people who judge a holiday by the amount they learned along the way” by The Register, the concept of FourEyesUp has resounded around the world with an audience which was once niche but is becoming mainstream.

Visit the website for more information: http://www.foureyesup.com

Demo videos, logos and further information are available at the FourEyesUp Press site

Follow FourEyesUp on Twitter to discover our favourite places and fun facts every day! http://twitter.com/foureyesup

A brilliant light flashes from Pigeon Point lighthouse (photo Mila Zinkova)

The 115-foot tower is one of the tallest in the US and was originally illuminated by an oil lamp, which was replaced by a 1,000w Fresnel Lens in 1926, when the lighthouse was electrified. That lens is still there today, complete with 24 flash panels, and if you time your visit right, you might even see it illuminated, providing some 500,000 candlepower.

Unfortunately, the lighthouse itself is closed to the public but you can still take a tour of the ground, which are fascinating in their own right. Looking down to the rocks below, visitors often see seals and gray whales passing by, along with a huge variety of birds which make the adjoined national park their home.

Most brilliantly of all, the old lighthouse keeper’s quarters have been converted into a charming hostel, complete with free wifi and stunning views of the ocean. See http://www.norcalhostels.org/pigeon/ for further details.

Discovering wool at the Müller Cloth Mill in Euskirchen, Germany (photo courtesy LVR)

The Müller woollen mill began life as a simple paper mill, but wool began to play a role in the mid 19th century when a spinning mill and cloth fulling mill were built here.

In 1894 a cloth manufacturer named Ludwig Müller bought the building and oddly, he never modernised his factory and the battery of machines which he purchased around 1900 were never replaced (likewise the steam engine made in 1903). For almost 60 years it kept working reliably with its old-fashioned transmission belts.

Business was declining during the final years of the mill’s existence and in 1961 orders had almost ceased to exist. Even then the owner at the time, Kurt Müller, believed that the lean period would soon be over. He sent his workers back home, closed the factory as it was and decided to wait for better times. They never came.

30 years later the LVR Industrial Museum seized the opportunity to take over the moth-balled factory and turned it into a museum site. The building was restored from top to bottom, the ancient piles of dust removed and the machines repaired. The remaining equipment, including the coffee mugs and scribbled notes from the employees remained untouched as far as possible. The result is a life-size authentic woollen mill that looks and works almost as it did three generations before – a fascinating trip.

Note that the exhibition can only be visited during public guided tours, which run Tues – Sat: 11.00, 14.00, 15.30; Sun: 11.00, 12.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00.

London's Cartoon Museum, with a portrait of Dennis the Menace in the window (photo Lonpicman)

Opened in 2006, the museum was the first in Britain dedicated to comic art and holds items from some of London’s most famous cartoon publications such as Viz, Punch, Beano and Dandy as well as items from major artists and celebrities such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. In total, the museum’s collection spans some 1,500 cartoons, caricatures and comics — although it’s unfortunately a little small to hold them all comfortably.

The displays have an excellent range from old to newer material, making it suitable for children, although they may be more interested in the regular sessions the museum holds on how to create cartoons for yourself.

There is also a fun gift shop.

Discovering early power stations at the Ermen & Engels Cotton Mill, Germany

The mill was founded in 1837 by Friedrich Engels senior, in the Agger valley in Engelskirchen. As with everywhere in the region, the machines at the Ermen & Engels cotton mill were first driven by water, but in the long term the River Agger was not a sufficiently reliable source of power.

Starting in 1845 steam engines began to compensate the fluctuating water levels. By 1903 so much electricity was produced that whole Engelskirchen was able to benefit from it — Engels’ textile factory had become a power station supplying an increasing number of households.

The heart of the factory, which heralded a new era, was an extremely long switchboard panel and until 1924 the spinning mill provided enough power to cover its own needs. It was finally closed down in 1979 to reopen as the industrial museum from nowadays in 1987.

Today, audiovisual installations and films bring to life the technology and the pulsating atmosphere of the time, with visitors able to view exhibits charting the rapid development of electrical office and kitchen equipment. An electrically driven ring spinner recalls the turbulent times in the textile works.

TIP: A short walk away from the main museum site there is the Oelchenshammer, an old water-driven smithy which is still in working order.

Bethlem Royal Hospital in London (photo Mtiedemann)

The Bethlem Royal Hospital Archives and Museum Service keep archives that go back several centuries, some of which are on display in the museum for members of the public to see. Some of these include restraining devices, patient records and primitive “treatment” devices.

Those with research needs can visit the archives, and the hospital also maintains and art gallery of pictures created by people suffering from, or with other connections to, mental illness.

Exploring how paper is made at the Papiermühle Alte Dombach in Bergische Gladbach, Germany (photo courtesy Papiermühle Alte Dombach)

Today Bergisch Gladbach is still a paper-making centre, and at the Paper Mill, you can see why.

From the very start the River Strunde played a decisive role, its raging currents providing the necessary water and simultaneously driving the mechanical
pulping machines. Although the first paper mill went into action here as early as 1582, the Alte (old) Dombach was built in 1614 and was in operation for almost 300 years.

At the time more than 200 people were employed in local paper works. Women and children had the filthiest working conditions, and the unpleasant task of sorting and cutting up the rags which were frequently rotting. In addition, many workers suffered from rheumatism as a result of the dampness resulting
from the pulp. On top of that the noise of the pulping machines was deafening.

Ground wood gradually began to replace rag fibres from the middle of the 19th century and around the same time the first mechanical paper makers were installed in the Neue (new) Dombach mill.

In 1930 the factory was closed. The industrial museum opened in 1999 and also covers modern aspects of paper-making such as the mass production of
paper for packing material or advertising purposes – not forgetting the environmental consequences!

San Francisco's Wave Organ - can you spot the listening points (photo Atlant)

Driven by the waves of San Francisco bay, the organ produces a somewhat mesmorizing series of sounds, from rumbles to gurgles and hisses, depending on the tide (it’s most effective at high tide, so check times before you leave).

For the more curious, the whole thing is made possible by a series of PVC plastic tubes driven into the rock, which reverberate as the waves hit the end and conduct the sound to the surface as the water sloshes around inside them. The structure includes plenty of seats to take a rest and has a somewhat unusual structure, making it ideal for the whole family.

Zeum in San Francisco, California (photo courtesy Zeum/Bill Faulkner)

Housed in a building designed by Adele Naude Santos, the 34,000 square foot facility has been put together to nurture what it describes as the “three C’s” of 21st century literacy — Creativity, Collaboration and Communication. Founded in 1998, it now welcomes over a quarter of a million visitors every year through general admission and school trips.

In the spirit of this new literacy, Zeum boasts some excellent facilities which really engage visitors of all ages such as animation studios and a music production laboratory which kids can try for themselves. Other activities include being a VJ and producing a music video. Staff are always on hand to help through the exhibits, which range from hands-on activities to galleries and exhibitions showcasing local art.

See more here:

Don’t miss the Zeum Carousel, a century-old carousel featuring a whole menagerie of elaborately hand-carved animals, including horses, giraffes, and camels.

Regular visitors should consider a membership, which allows free year-round visits.

Making waves at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in San Francisco, CA (photo courtesy Bay Area Discovery Museum)

This means that as well as a variety of indoor adventures, it’s great for outdoors activities too, and the center aims to foster discovery through enabling a connection with the environment.

Children needing to burn off some energy tend to be huge fans of the 2.5 acre outdoor “Lookout Cove”, an interactive play area featuring icons of the Bay Area and exhibits aimed at raising kids’ awareness of the natural environment, such as a spider’s web or the rock basins.

Inside, Bay Hall takes a more indepth look at the Ports of San Francisco and Oakland, switching the focus from nature to technology such as trains and levers. Visitors can also construct their own boats and test them in a wave pool, or build structures in the Discovery Museum’s Art Studios (with simpler activities included for young children).

As so much of the center is focused on outdoors activities, it’s worth checking the weather before you leave — there’s also a handy webcam on the website it you want to make sure for yourself!

Fact: The Bay Area Discovery Museum is located in Fort Baker… Which is the fictional location of Starfleet Command in the Star Trek universe.

The striking purple exterior of the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose, CA (photo: discoverymuseum on Wikipedia)

Here, interactive exhibits and well known characters such as Bob the Builder bring science and technology to life in a uniquely child-friendly way — if you thought other science museums were interactive, wait until you see this one.

Housed in a 52,000 square foot striking purple building, everything about this place screams child-friendly and has done since its opening in 1990. Expanded in 1998, it now offers over 150 interactive exhibits touching on scientific themes using accessible scenarios such as a kid’s garden, bubbles and water.

Not to be missed is the Rainbow Pizza and Market, where visitors can create their own healthy pizzas, or the Art Loft, which provides materials and tools to inspire creation. Both of these are on the second floor, with the ground floor holding the temporary and permanent exhibits.

If you’re  a regular, it’s worth investing in a membership (available for families or grandparents), which offer free admission for a year, special opening hours, discounts in the shop and advanced previews.

Fact: The Children’s Discovery Museum stands on Woz Way… Named after Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, who was the largest single donor to the museum.

The California Science Center in Los Angeles' Exposition Park (photo Richard Kim)

Billed as the West Coast’s largest hands-on science center, the California Science Centre offers almost everything that a visitor could need, whether they are an individual visitor, family or school group.

Opened in 1998, the center is located in historic Exposition Park and consists of the 245,000 square foot main building and several satellite buildings such as the Sketch Foundation Gallery and Wallis Annenberg Building for Science Learning. Exhibits in the main (Howard F Ahmanson) building are split into two types — the Creative World covering human innovation, and the World of Life, which focuses on the natural environment.

Visitors entering the museum can’t fail to notice the grand Science Court, a public space bathed in natural light which is 112 feet high and features a mesmerising sculpture named Hypar.

Moving through the museum, the experience is characterised by interactive exhibits allowing guests to climb, touch, experiment and play. Highlights include the 50 foot, anatomically correct body simulator and the child’s sized TV studio, complete with cameras.

Housed in a separate building is the impressive Air and Space Gallery, featuring real artifacts from the fields of aircraft, stars and telescopes, humans in space and the planets. Outside, the Science Plaza offers energetic visitors space to run around and further interactive features to explore.

There are several restaurants (including a Burger King and Taco Bell), a large retail outlet and an IMAX Cinema.

The Standpipe Tower at Kew Bridge Pumping Station in London (photo by Stephen Craven)

It holds a large collection of different steam engines, many of which were used to pump water to London homes for years, along with the fantastic Water for Life Gallery, which explores the history of water supply and usage in London.

Difficult to miss from a distance thanks to the elaborate Italian-style Standpipe Tower, the building held steam engines up until 1944 and was used to pump water between 1838 and 1958, when the engines (both electric and steam by then) were retired.

The centre of the large building is the Steam Hall, which holds the rotative engines and smaller engines from several manufacturers, each explaining the use of steam in an imaginative way, but the highlight is probably the 90″ engine, the largest working beam engine in the world. Manufactured in 1846, it could singlehandedly pump 6.4 million gallons of water to London every day, and is still fired up for visitors to see on occasional weekends.

The Steam Hall rotative engines only are in steam most weekends, with the Cornish engines only running on selected weekends and Bank Holiday Mondays (see the website for full details of planned runs).

Cosmocaixa Science Centre in Madrid, Spain (photo courtesy Cosmocaixa on Facebook)

CosmoCaixa Madrid (there’s also one in Barcelona) offers a wide range of galleries exploring topics such as the senses, evolution and space.

Don’t miss the chance to take a walk through the hall of matter, a look at the fundamentals of physics which govern Earth and the Universe.

Cosmocaixa also boasts a planetarium.

The dome and stunning grounds of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California, US

Built on land donated by Griffith J Griffith in the late 1896, the observatory was inspired by the one at Mount Wilson, which “moved him profoundly” and the project started in 1912, although it wouldn’t be completed until 1935, long after Griffith’s death.

Lower-than-usual materials prices during the Great Depression meant that the finishing of the building was unusually fine, with the depression-era Federal public works program employing six sculptors to create the Astronomers Monument, dedicated in November 1934.

Today, the observatory remains a national leader in public astronomy, just as Griffith intended it to be. The stunning building still features the planetarium, original telescope and Foucault’s Pendulum in the central Rotunda, as well as new additions such as the Transit Corridor. Equally impressive are the grounds, which command stunning views of the Los Angeles Basin, right out to the Pacific Ocean.

Once inside, it’s best to divide time between the exhibits (free) and the planetarium shows, for which charges apply. As Griffith requested, the public can view the stars through the original 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope, which is normally trained on the Moon, the planets or other bright objects — its open every evening when the sky is clear, although you’ll have to share it with up to 600 other guests.

Also not to be missed on clear days is the Coelostats, which offer excellent views of the sun, and the other telescopes which are dotted around the observatory.

The planetarium has been upgraded with new technology, but its still in the same place (and the original doors are still there), so it’s well worth a visit to see one of the shows. When space-related media events are happening, the “Even Horizon” multimedia theatre is also opened to the public in addition to its regular schedule of lectures and other events.

Every month, free public star parties are held  with the assistance of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and the Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers at the Griffith Observatory from 2:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m — see the website for further details.

The Bradbury Science Museum, the public museum of the Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico, Unites States (photo Blueag9)

Los Alamos’ claim to fame, of course, is that it was the top-secret home of the Manhattan Project during WWII, which eventually gave the world the nuclear bomb under the leadership of Robert J Oppenheimer. Nowadays, the lab’s location is both known and highly-regarded as a destination for a very interesting day out.

Although the site’s main purpose is still research and development into nuclear weaponry, it’s now a world-class scientific institution that conducts research into everything from biology to astronomy.

Visiting the labs almost always includes a visit to the Bradbury Science Museum, an interactive installation which brings some of Los Alamos’ work to life. Exhibitions include the History Gallery, which tells the story of Los Alamos, the Defense Gallery telling the tale of the institution’s primary purpose (nuclear work relating to national securty) and the Research Gallery which goes into more detail about the experiments that are conducted there.

Los Alamos’ status as one of the world’s leading nuclear research institutions means it’s collected some fairly impressive artifacts — visitors can see the B61 and B83 bombs, Fat Man, a bomb casing identical to the one dropped on Nagasaki and technical artifacts from the New Mexico test site.

The Bradbury also holds a theatre and an auditorium, which are used for regular screenings or events — check out the Facebook page for further information.

The Southern Pacific 6051 locomotive at the California State Railroad Museum (photo N2xjk)

Located in Old Sacramento, this charming museum tells the story of rail’s contribution to the building of California, with exhibits that really do bring the magic of steam-travel to life. Visits start with a fascinating documentary about the role of railways in the Gold Rush, but after that is when it really gets interesting.

Visitors can ride a real steam train for a 40-minute, 6-mile roundtrip ride along the levees of the Sacramento River, experiencing exactly what it was like to travel in the age when these “iron horses” connected California to the rest of the country.

In total, there are 21 restored locomotives and cars, which date back to the 1860s, along with a mock-up of a 19th century construction site which features the locomotive Gov. Stanford and a 24-foot-high bridge.

Parents with children can let them run wild in the Thomas play area, and family tickets are available for regular visitors.

The entry hall at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, France

With permanent, interactive and fun exhibitions covering subjects such as chemistry, geology, mathematics, physics and life sciences, there’s enough here to keep you going for a whole day, and that’s without the range of temporary exhibitions which are also staged in the decadent halls of the Grand Palais.

The current exhibition on “Touch”, for instance, includes over 50 interactive exhibits exploring our sense of touch and explaining the difference between active, passive and emotional touching.

In total, there are over 60 different exhibitions held every year, along with workshops where visitors and school parties are invited to get involved.

Don’t miss the particularly strong astronomy section, which offers seven exhibitions and a planetarium (quite impressive, considering its location in the center of Paris) and could take an entire afternoon by itself.

Tip: Combined passes for the Palais de la Découverte and the Cité des Sciences are available at the Universcience.fr website.

Rockets at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California (photo by Kevin Stanchfield)

Here, some of the brightest brains on the planet work to create the technology that puts humans into space, as they have done for decades. Originally founded in the 1930′s, JPL is now at the forefront of deep space exploration, and is involved with designing research craft for space, designing observational satellites for Earch and managing the enormous Deep Space Network of antenna stations, which tracks and controls space craft in deep space.

Most notably in JPL’s history is the construction of  the Voyager Explorers, enabling scientists to get the first pictures of faraway planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. Rather unbelievably and as a testament to this site (considering they were built and launched in the 1970s), both Voyager 1 and 2 are still out there exploring, at the far edge, returning data to Earth about the boundaries of our solar system.

At the regular tours and open days held at JPL, visitors can see exactly what went into building Voyager, as well as learning about some of the other neat stuff that goes on inside the building.

Next year, for instance, the JPL will launch four new missions, the Earth-orbiting Aquarius, Jupiter-bound Juno, GRAIL to Earth’s moon and our next flagship rover mission, Mars Science Laboratory — and scientists and engineers are on hand to answer questions about all of them.

Don’t miss the chance to attend a lecture as part of the von Kármán Lecture Series, which boasts a fascinating lineup of speakers on the space program’s missions, instruments and other technologies.

An exhibit at the Musée Curie in Paris, France (photo by Travus)

The museum itself is part of Curie’s history, as it was constructed in 1911 by the University of Paris for Marie Curie to conduct research in.

She worked here for some thirty years, during which she earned her second Nobel prize and became one of the most famous women in science.

Visitors can still see the laboratory as it was then, complete with her instruments and documents and exhibits that explain the nature of the work she was doing.

As well as the Curie-related exhibits, the Musée Curie holds a full archive of historical documents, making it an important academic resource for anybody interested in the history of radiation or its applications in medicine.

The museum is open weekday afternoons and a guided tour is available.

NOTE: The Musée Curie is now closed until 2011, check the website for further details

The wind tunnel at the NASA Ames Research Center, in California (photo Andareed)

In this tunnel, scientists at Ames have contributed to the development of flight (both space flight and subatmospheric flight) by testing new theories and technologies developed for supersonic aircraft. It was extensively used in the development of several aircraft that helped establish America’s dominence of aviation technology, including the soon-to-retire Space Shuttle.

Unfortunately, the tunnel is no longer in use — instead, the NASA Ames facility operates the NASA Ames Exploration Center inside it, a fascinating exhibition filled with artifacts telling the story of man’s journey into space and the part that Ames has played in it. Visitors can see a real moon rock, meteorite and several other geological examples, as well as viewing educational movies in the large cinema.

Don’t miss the chance to control air traffic for yourself, touch the fascinating globe that charts the surface of Mars, see the Mercury Redstone 1A (MR-1A) capsule and get a tour of the facility (check for available dates before visiting.

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The 100-inch Hooker Telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory, California (photo Solapsist)

Visitors can view the sky through the observatory’s array of old and new telescopes, which still includes the 100-inch telescope, built in 1917 and in active service today, although sadly no longer the holder of the title of the world’s largest telescope.

The Mount Wilson Observatory’s 60-inch telescope however, is the largest in the world made available to the public and has been one of the most productive is astronomical history since its installation in 1908. Although a night with the telescope will cost amateur astronomy fans in the region of $900, it’s worth it simply to follow in the footsteps of the astronomical luminaries that have been there before – Harlow Shapley used it during WWII to overturn the long accepted view that the sun was at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, and Edwin Hubble, Walter Baade and Allan Sandage have used it in their research since.

There is a small astronomical museum on the site, along with a visitor’s gallery and a cafe.

History takes off at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in Oregon

In addition to exhibits and archives detailing the milestones of modern aviation, the museum houses Howard Hughes’s famous wooden “Spruce Goose,” which was the largest plane of its time when it was completed in 1947.

The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum also holds a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, the TBM 3E Avenger (of The Avengers fame), and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.

Museum staff provide guided tours daily at 11am and 1:30pm.

Thousands of geeks travel to the museum every year to marvel at its collection of historical and culturally-significant toys and models.

Guests can view a collection of the latest Japanese toys or see some of the leading European or American toys throughout history and there’s a fascinating section dedication to the inventions of Thomas Edison.

Hardcore Bandai fans will be pleased with the selection of characters on show from Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, Gundam, and Godzilla.

There is also a shop in the complex.

The ZKM in Germany (© ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe Foto: Fabry)

Combining production and research with an exhibition space and several museums, it’s dedicated to advancing the new media age we now live in by testing new theories, provoking discussion and providing inspirations.

Visitors can join regular tours of the campus (in German only) and visit museums by themselves, such as the world’s first and only museum dedicated to interactive art, the Media Museum.

Other highlights include the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Media Museum, the Institute for Visual Media, the Institute for Music and Acoustics and the Institute for Media, Education, and Economics.

The site also holds an exhaustive collection on various different types of media in its library.

Historic aircraft at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii (photo Pacific Aviation Museum on Facebook)

Don’t miss the chance to see an authentic Japanese Zero aircraft, nor the American planes that took part in the Battle of Midway such as the SBD Dauntless dive bomber. There are also some historic MIG aircraft from the Korean War which are new to the museum

Visitors can also hop into the pilot’s seat at the museum’s flight simulator, where they can take off and land on an aircraft carrier, and take part in a high stakes battle in the sky.

The museum holds regular “Hangar Talk” events with guest lectures from aviation experts and pilots, and also offers a store and a restaurant.

Listing courtesy TripAdvisor

A Twenty Ton Flywheel in Joshua Hendy's Iron Works, 1916

Today, the enterprise that Hendy built from the mid-1800s has ceased to exist, but there remains a small museum dedicated to its memory on the site of the iron works, now owned by Northrup Grumman Marine Systems.

From its founding in 1856, the Joshua Hendy Iron Works grew into an innovation factory, pushing it past its competitors to become a manufacturing leader. Hendy was responsible for products such as the Hydraulic Mine Monitor, the Hurdy Gurdy and the Hendy Ore Concentrator, some of which are still standard world-wide equipment today.

Hendy’s products contributed to the digging of the Panama Canal and mines all over the world, but when war broke out in 1917, the Iron Works turned it attention to the giant engines needed to power ships. The products were used in both World Wars, with the factory producing a phenomenal 750 engines in 3 and a half years during World War II, a record number (especially considering that each one weighed 137 tons and stood nearly 25 feet high!).

After the war, Joshua Hendy Iron Works was purchased by Westinghouse, and went on to produce several other groundbreaking products from printing presses to arms, wind tunnels to optical telescopes.

Unfortunately, scheduled tours of the museum are rare but you can arrange one by booking in advance. The tour takes in Hendy’s prewar products and includes photos and other memorobilia, showing the men and woman who worked at the iron works and contributed to its success.

There is also a section dedicated to Westinghouse’s work and a more recent exhibition detailing some of the work done by Northrup Grumman, the defence firm which now operates the museum.

The Solae Test Tower in Inazawa, Japan

Built by Mitsubishi, this 173 meter high futuristic tower is used for testing high-speed lifts, which can shoot up and down the center at ever increasing speeds.

The $50m tower is capable of testing drives, gears, cables and other lift systems in relative safety and is part of a larger complex from Mitsubishi’s elevator and escalator complex in Inazawa.

To help protect the environment, Mitsubishi covered Solae’s outer walls are covered with tiled coated with a photocatalyst, which uses sunlight to initiate a chemical reaction that breaks down airborne pollution into harmless particles and resist and decompose dirt and bacteria. These are then washed off by rain, meaning that the tower stays perfectly clean without any detergent.

Mitsubishi explains how to create the world’s fastest elevator in this video:

Find out more at http://www.mitsubishi-elevator.com/en/index.html

Visitors can join a walking tour of Underground Seattle (photo by Postdlf)

Beginning in an old public house, visitors twist and wind their way through a subterranean network of basements, passages and walkways under the streets of Seattle, around three blocks of walking centered around the town’s historic Pioneer Square.

Guides recount tales and legends from the past to guests (along with some facts, we’re sure), and our spies tell us that the whole experience is both educational and entertaining, make even more so by the fact that the underground public house where the tour starts is still open for drinks occasionally!

There is a gift shop at the end of the tour.

Heureka Science Center in Vantaa, Finland (photo by Ville Koistinen)

Boasting permanent, interactive and fun exhibitions such as “Murder at Heureka” and “Intelligent Traffic”, the Finnish Science Center grew to what it is today after being founded by a small, enthusiastic project group under the auspices of the University of Helsinki.

Over 20 years later, it’s welcomed over 17 million visitors through its doors and continues to be a great day out, in no part thanks to the regular exhibition changes that deal with varied themes across the wide spectrum of natural and human sciences.

The design of Heureka is also worth a look – it was one of the most famous pieces of Finnish architecture for many years and has blended together concrete, wood and an enormous sloping glass facade to create an iconic structure.

There is also a planetarium and a restaurant.

Watching aircraft depart from Gravelly Point Park in Arlington, Virginia (photo by Carl Lindberg)

In addition to the great views of the airport, the park is a nice spot to have a picnic on a warm summer day and attracts lots of locals, as well as plane spotted drawn by the area’s reputation as being one of the best places for plane spotting in the US.

Although regular spotters have voiced concerns that the park may one day be closed because of the threat of terrorism, it remains open for now, although Police patrol the site more frequently than in the past.

Listing courtesy TripAdvisor

Switch Steak in Las Vegas, Nevada (photo courtesy Wynn Encore on Facebook)

Over your starter you could be viewing an Italian villa, before the scenery around you changes to a baroque look or a totally “open” landscape so that you can see out of the restaurant and through into the Atrium and lobby of the Encore Hotel (where Switch is situated).

Switch undergoes a physical transformation each night as seats, chandeliers and walls move to create a dramatic and theatrical dining experience — check out this YouTube video and decide for yourself whether it looks awful or fun:

Behind the food (variously reported as mediocre and out of this world), is Marc Poidevin,who oversees the steakhouse and seafood served and places an emphasis on seasonal ingredients.

Technorama in Winterthur is Switzerland's only science centre (photo courtesy Technorama)

Amazingly, it’s Switzerland’s only science center (although there are plenty of other science-related attractions in the country), which means that its invitation to touch, play and experiment is even more appealing to residents and visitors alike.

Visitors can experience the power science through exhibits such as the rodeo gyroscope, the tesla coil and the Van-de-Graff Generator, or get hands on at creating their own experiments in the electronics lab.

Also well worth a look is the Mathemagics exhibition, a section boasting some of the most creative and interest maths demonstrations around.

The center is open six days a week and runs two main science shows daily, the electricity show and the gas show. Also on offer are several side shows conducted by staff dealing with topics such as greenhouse gases and superconductivity. Under 5′s can be entertained in the Science House play area.

Walk in the footsteps of Stieg Larsson's heroes in the Millennium Tour, Stockholm (photo courtesy Norstedts Förlag)

The tours are conducted in English twice a week by the Stockholm City Museum, which provides a tour guide in the shape of a fellow Larsson fan to show visitors the parts of the city Mikael and Lisbeth lived, worked and frequented.

According to the Museum, “the walk starts at Bellmangatan 1, where Mikael Blomkvist lives, then passes the Millennium editorial office, Lisbeth Salander’s luxury apartment and many other locations mentioned in the books and films.”

The two-hour tour then ends at the Stockholm City Museum’s excellent Millennium Exhibition.

The Folsom Powerhouse in California

Conceived by a man who had journeyed to Folsom in search of gold, Horatio Gates Livermore, the enormous brick structure stands proudly at the banks of the American River — or rather, a diverted part of it.

Although hydroelectric power was still very much an experiment in the late 19th century, General Electric constructed f four 750-kilowatt electrical generators (also called “dynamos”), each more than eight feet high, weighing more than 57,000 pounds. At the time, contemporary accounts suggested that they were the largest ever built, and they certainly did the job as the plant was actively producing electricity until 1952.

Visitors today can take a look around this pioneer of green electricity for themselves, including a look at a what electrically-powered rooms at the time looked like and how the powerhouse worked.

The Turm der Lufte at Universum Bremen

The center’s interactive exhibits are spread of four floors and approximately 4000 square meters of space, with around 250 exhibits sorted into three distinct areas – man, the earth and the universe.

Immediately striking before you even get there is the soaring Turm Der Lufte, a huge tower standing 27 meters tall that provides excellent views of the surrounding area. The tower is part of Entdecker Park, another outdoor exhibit (ideal for children!) which includes 25 exhibits, such as the Mondspringer, a walk-in water bell, a camera obscura, and water-drawing exhibits.

All visits start at the Schaubox, an interestingly-designed welcoming area which also hosts temporary exhibitions for the museum.

Don’t miss Universum’s regular science shows, nor the Dinner in the Dark parties which give an insight into what it’s like for blind people every day.

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The Very Large Array in New Mexico, United States (photo CC by Hajor)

Part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the VLA consists of 27 antennas mounted on railroad tracks, allowing scientists to adjust them to the optimal spacing for each experiment. Drive along US Route 60 past the VLA and you have to pass over a level crossing which is for the dishes, not for passenger trains!

The telescope is used for investigation into radio signals, including radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, supernova remnants, gamma ray bursts, radio-emitting stars, the sun and planets, astrophysical masers, black holes, and the hydrogen gas that constitutes a large portion of the Milky Way galaxy as well as external galaxies.

The NRAO boasts a great outreach program, which includes the VLA Visitors Center, open daily. Here you can learn more about the VLA, take a self-guided tour and sometimes join a guided tour — although unfortunately they only happen twice a year.

There’s also a gift shop and a small museum.

An aerial view of the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto in Canada

Despite being 40 years old, the center’s building is certificated for energy efficiency and was recently named building of the year, although we think that more attention should be paid to what’s happened here in the past — John Lennon and Yoko Ono were among the first visitors here in the 1960′s, and attendance has grown ever since.

Today, around a million visitors every year visit to see the wide range of exhibitions on display, which includes special exhibitions exploring everything from whales to solar observation.

A strong emphasis is placed on interactivity, with visitors able to participate in experiments and complete cool tasks such as playing music on a fountain. For the complete interactive experience, the Ontario Science Center’s Science Arcade is a firm favorite.

Also worth checking out is the IMAX cinema and planetarium.

Its mission? To influence children’s and young people’s attitudes towards science, technology and mathematics.

The Universeum mixes challenging experiment exhibitions with exciting, living environments. Guests can see everything from Swedish birds and fish to exotic caiman, sharks and monkeys, as well as exploring the solar system, doing experiments and see what it’s like being a meteorologist.

Undersea tunnel at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom (photo by George Gastin)

It’s one that’s well-deserved, with the centre packing in some incredible technology to fascinating exhibits that tell the story of the planet in a way that’s suitable for adults and children alike.

From creating your own earthquake to standing at the bridge of a spaceship looking out at the galaxy (it’s the closest we’ve ever felt to being at the helm of the Enterprise), Our Dynamic Earth manages to capture the essence of the planet and make visitors feel closer to it than most other attractions of its sort.

There’s also a digital planetarium which screens “We are Astronomers”, an exploratory film charting the possibilities and changes of stargazing, and the “underwater” play area (though not really) is well worth a look for younger visitors.

The Gundam Cafe in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan (photo by Chime)

Why? Well apart from the futuristic design and coffee, the cafe serves up Gundam cocktails if you’re looking for something stronger, along with finger food based on the Gundam model kit.

It also offers unique gifts and anime themed snacks that you can’t buy elsewhere, and a crowd that’s just about the geekiest you’ll find anywhere in the world.

A sample of the radios on show at Southend Central Museum in Essex, United Kingdom

It holds a planetarium, one of the few in the region outside of London, and offers regular space talks and stargazing programs in the evening.

Inside the buidings, Southend Museums offers a range of permanent artifacts (including an excellent selection of historic radios) ranging from household objects to biology and ecological exhibitions. Not to be missed is the Discovery Zone, an interactive exhibition allowing visitors to handle real exhibits.

There are also regularly-changing temporary exhibitions, including films which are shown on the premises as part of exhibitions.

Geeky LEGO fun at the SEE Science Center in Manchester, NH, United States (photo via SEE Science Center on Facebook)

A replica of Manchester’s Amoskeag Millyard as it would have looked at around 1900, the project has been built at a scale of 55:1, meaning that if you scaled it up the LEGO people would be roughly the right size.

In total, it’s built of around 3 million bricks and includes 8,000 minifigures, just over half of the workforce that originally worked at the Amoskeag Millyard.

Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the center to advise guests to just see the LEGO — there is also a variety of interactive exhibits covering topics such as: forces, light, sound electricity, simple machines and much more.

Don’t miss the Moonwalk exhibit, which gives visitors a real taste of what space walking is like!

A train passing through the Seikan Tunnel in Japan (photo Risto Kaijaluoto)

The 53.85km tunnel opened for service in 1988, some six years before the Channel Tunnel was complete. The opening was the end of nearly a century of hoping and planning, with officials spurred on by frequent accidents involving the ferries which used to cover the route between Hokkaido and Honshu islands.

To make the tunnel safer, authorities added two stations below the sea (the first rail stations ever built under a sea), linked to the land by diagonal shafts which act as escape routes. One of these, Tappi-Kaitei, houses a museum telling the story of the construction of the tunnel, with some fascinating displays on how it works.

To pass through the tunnel nowadays, by far the most enjoyable way to do it is on a sleeper train, which run from Tokyo a couple of times a week. The journey takes around 16 hours and will take you to Sapporo, a beautiful city on Hokkaido.

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/index.html

The Reuben H Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, San Diego, California (photo by michael-seljos)

Although it’s still home to San Diego’s only IMAX screen, there are plenty of other things that make it a great day out.

It’s home to an awesome freeform construction site, for instance, where visitors can build their own bridges and skyscrapers, and it also hosts a great exhibition on the senses. In total, there are over ten permanent exhibitions and a busy schedule of visiting exhibits which can also be seen elsewhere.

Don’t miss the Nierman Challenger Learning Center, founded in memory of the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger and dedicated to spreading knowledge of physics, maths and technology, or “The Sky Tonight” show, a tour of the stars above San Diego.

Before we forget, it’s also worth mentioning that the Reuben H Fleet Science Center is also part of the Balboa Park, an urban cultural park with so many attractions that you could spend a few days there!

The Machine Project's mark of approval -- find them in Los Angeles, California (photo: MP on Facebook)

In this awesome community space, a small group of artists (again… is that the right word??) are trying to do something different by playing around with whatever comes into their heads, whether that’s art, technology, natural history, science, music, literature, or food (their list, not ours).

If it sounds a bit confusing, it’s supposed to — much like London’s Kinetica or Wellcome Collection, this is a project that can be many things to many people and its probably best not to think too hard about it. As they say:

“This is how we’re trying to understand the world, and we think if we keep doing this long enough it’s all going to make sense one day”

… And we think that’s a great sentiment. Although it does lead to stuff like this:

So pop along to their Echo Park storefront to see what’s going on on any given day — it could be a Machine Project class on how to use a MIG welder or play a musical instrument, it could be that incredible pneumatic cash machine they’ve built to coerce visitors into handing over a donation, which is something you should really do anyway.

It really is well worth a visit but check out the website first as often there are also events that aren’t within the gallery space.

Hotel Sidi Driss (photo Andy Carvin)

Well, OK, that’s not quite true, it’s pretty cool anyway. Rooms are nestled into manmade cliff faces in true Matmatan style — centuries ago, the people lived in “troglodyte” dwellings in the hillside.

It’s thought that the underground structures, some simple rooms and other comprised of entire houses, with rooms connected by passageways, were dug during Roman times, but they remained largely undiscovered until the 1960s.

Today, the settlement is virtually reliant on tourism for its income, welcoming both Star Wars fans and history fans to see the amazing way that the people lived. A stay in the Hotel Sidi Driss is both comfortable and incredibly interesting, and by all accounts the rooms are actually very comfortable — one visitor describes the rooms as ” surprisingly cheerful… with whitewashed walls and bright Berber weavings.”

Pieces from the original set, which transformed the hotel to the Lars Homestead, home to Luke Skywalker, his Aunt Beru Lars and Uncle Owen Lars, has now been incorporated into the hotel.

As well as being used in the Star Wars movies, Matmata is also set to star in the upcoming film “La Soif Noire”, an adaptation of the book from Swiss writer Hans Ruesch starring Antonio Banderas and Freida Pinto.

Rooms start at $10 USD nightly.

Address: Hotel Sidi Driss,6070 Matmata Ancienne, Tunisia

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s no website – the telephone number is (05) 230005

The Avatar high-tech hotel in Santa Clara, California (photo courtesy Joie de Vivre)

It’s not that flash, but it’s functional and not too expensive, with rooms starting from $79 which includes use of the free wifi and a high-tech business lounge.

Of course, the best thing The Avatar has going for it is an awesome location, a stone’s throw away from Sunnyvale, Mountain View and San Jose. If you’re interested in gawping at some of the other sights we’ve listed (such as the Google Garage, Stanford Research Park, or the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory), it’s perfect.

In case that wasn’t enough, the hotel is newly refurbished and offers 37 inch flat-screen TVs, refrigerators and iPod docking stations as standard.

http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/siliconvalley/avatar/overview

A Minuteman Missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US

Although the Base is capable of launching the Space Shuttle, it never has done, instead sharing the duty of launching Delta rockets with Cape Canaveral in Florida. However, the base’s location makes it a good place to launch satellites into polar orbit, unlike equivalent installations in Florida.

Inside Space Launch Complex 10, Vandenberg operates the Space and Missile Heritage Center, an exhibition telling the story of the development and use of rockets through the Cold War.

Galleries include the “Chronology of the Cold War” and the “Evolution of Technology” and use a combination of launch complex models, launch consoles, rocket engines, re-entry vehicles, audiovisual and computer displays as well as hands-on interaction displays.

Tours are regular but as access is restricted they must be organised through the base’s public affairs office.

For further details, see http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/

If you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s fairly simple — guests turn up in the dark and take turns staring at the sky using some of SJAA’s telescopes, with experts on hand to help explain what you’re seeing.

The SJAA also offers regular public lectures from respected scientists, as well as occasional classes on stargazing for enthusiasts who want to learn how to do it at home.

See their website for more details, or pop along to their main meeting point at Houge Park.

http://www.sjaa.net

PIMA Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, US (photo by Michael C Berch)

It features more than 125,000 artifacts of modern aviation, and counts gems like the B-29 Superfortress, SR-71 Blackbird, and World War II German V-1 “buzz bomb” among its exhibits.

Visitors can also take in the sights of the museum’s outdoor displays, which show off extraordinary aircraft and their ground support vehicles, as well as an airplane “boneyard.”

Don’t miss the Lockheed Constellation or Hangar 5, where you can see museum staff and volunteers working on restoration projects.

(listing courtesy TripAdvisor)

The Linear Accelerator at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, US (photo Brad Plummer)

Using this accelerator, scientists at SLAC smash electrons into each other to take measurements for what is now a wide variety of experiments — although the center was originally opened to conduct particle physics, it now houses scientists conducting work in the fields of astrophysics, photon science, accelerator and particle physics.

Early this year, SLAC unveiled the world’s most powerful x-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source.

The equipment is able to view matter on a scale of individual atoms, and on time scales fast enough to see atomic motion and changes in the chemical bonds between them, effectively making stop-motion movies of the basic processes of matter and life for the first time.

Above ground, the building that runs the length of the linear accelerator is the longest in the world, and visitors can take tours which are held several times a month, although they book up early.

Every other month, SLAC also holds a public lecture to explain its work to non-scientists in the local community.

SEG Electronic Market in Shenzhen, China

Spread across eight floors, the market is particularly suitable for anybody who knows their way around the innards of a computer, as many of the items are labelled and so you’re sort of reliant on your knowledge to work out exactly what it is that you’re looking at.

That said, there are shops (normally on the higher floors) that also specialize in completed products such as digital cameras, music players and computers, often at greatly reduced prices — and of course, it’s accepted practice to haggle your way down to a mutually acceptable price.

Beware before buying an big-ticket items here — substitutes (fakes…) are rife and chances of getting your money back are next to nothing.

Exhibitions touch various subjects such as nanotechnology, maths, or flight and are generally temporary, on display for a couple of months before moving on to a different French science centre.

Of particular note is the Industry and Research Gallery, which focuses on the local technology and science progress made in the region of Aquitaine and the Cap Archeo, an interactive gallery dedicated to archeology certain to appeal to young explorers.

The museum is also home to a cafe and panoramic terrace, as well as an auditorium which hosts regular events.

The ticket and information "Guard Station" at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (photo Atomic Testing Museum)

Beginning in 1951, the year of the first test at the Nevada Test Site where the museum is housed, the museum tells the story of atomic testing and its consequences to the present day.

Exhibits include multiple geiger counters, a display where visitors can test the counters for themselves by measuring the radiation the passes through objects such as paper and aluminium, and the Ground Zero Theatre, a small but perfectly formed auditorium that allows visitors to “experience” an atomic test for themselves.

The 8,000 square foot exhibit also details the Test Site’s history and includes information on atmospheric tests, the fallout issues that led to their abandonment, the rise of underground testing, environmental impacts, and the ultimate end of testing worldwide.

A new exhibit is a 6 foot-tall, one ton steel I-beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Centre in New York.

The Museum boasts a busy lecture schedule featuring renowned physicists and also has a shop.

CCSTI is a science and technology centre in Grenoble, France (photo CCSTI La Casemate on Facebook)

The centre is home to an experimental space that features changing exhibitions on topics such as water or light, genes or computers.

CCSTI also offers workshops tailored for different ages and a cinema program that shows films of scientific interest, along with regular visitors who give guest lectures.

PROMES in Odeillo, Southern France (photo by Philipendula)

The world’s largest solar furnace, PROMES has been in operation since 1970 and is used as an experimentation ground for everything from material sciences to solar electricity generation.

The refractor’s power is enhanced by 63 flat “heliostat” reflectors, mounted on terraces on the surrounding hillside to direct more sunlight at the enormous dish.

With the aid of these heliostats, PROMES can generate power of 1000 kW per square centimeter, resulting in temperatures of 3400°C, although experimentsare normally conducted in a temperature range of 800°C to 2500°C.

For half the year, a local company runs tours, demonstrations and workshops for visitors to the picturesque region of Odeillo — it’s also remarkably good value.

Telescopes at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California (courtesy of Chabot Space & Science Center)

From weekend dinners featuring astronomical talks to Space Explorer Summer Camps, party packages to stargazing sleepovers, gardening classes to gala events, the center’s program is enough to keep a space fan busy all year round.

On top of that, Chabot (an affiliate of the Smithsonian), houses exhibitions looking at how people survive in space, the cosmology of the Maya and history of the Chabot telescopes and a “Moon Odyssey”, which takes a look at the fact and fiction surrounding the moon.

There’s also a planetarium and a “Megadome Theatre”, along with a cafe and gift shop.

The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, US

The museum features a wealth of unique exhibits, including an engaging air traffic control tower at Boeing Field and “Style in the Aisle,” which shows off flight attendant uniforms from the 1930′s to the 1980′s.

The museum’s aircraft collection is also expansive, and even includes an Air Force One aircraft that carried presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.

What’s better is that it could be about to get even bigger — construction is beginning between the Library/Archives building and the Airpark for a new Space Gallery, which could hold one of the three soon-to-be-retired US Space Shuttles.

Article courtesy TripAdvisor

The Scienceworks in Melbourne, Australia

Guided tours of Spotswood, one of Australia’s most important heritage sites, are available daily, alongside a dazzling array of other exhibitions inside the museum’s main building.

Here, visitors can explore applied science in fields such as sports, urban life and the home, as well as enjoying temporary exhibitions with a focus on hands-on learning.

The site also houses the Melbourne Planetarium, which screens several different shows every day.

Don’t miss: Lightning bolts from the museum’s Tesla coil

The Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, California, US (Photo by Nicole Medina)

Exhibits include child-friendly themes such as “The Science of Roller Coasters” and the “Forces That Shape the Bay” outdoor science area, where children can discover how San Francisco Bay developed over the past 10,000 years — while looking out over the Bay itself!

There is also a new state-of-the-art planetarium to enjoy, live demonstrations and a busy schedule of events such as “Geek Out!”, the institution’s regular talks featuring renowned scientists, and stargazing sessions

The Lawrence Hall of Science also runs howtosmile.org, an online collection of thousands of hands-on interactive science and math activities dedicated to making learning exciting and engaging for everyone — well worth a visit!

Stunning views from the Berkeley Lab in San Francisco, California

The 76 buildings that stand on the University of California’s massive interdisciplinary laboratory site cover almost all manner of scientific investigation, from clean-air tech to biosciences, particle acceleration to computing sciences.

Some 4,000 people work on the site, with another 3,000 visiting every year, but the lab operates a comprehensive outreach program for the local community and tours are open to the public — and free.

Tour stops could include the Advanced Light Source, The National Center for Electron Microscopy, the 88-Inch Cyclotron, The Advanced Lighting Laboratory or The Human Genome Laboratory, but as each one lasts around 2.15, don’t expect to spend too long hanging around!

There is also a hotel on the site for visiting guests.

More information on the tours is available at http://www.lbl.gov/Community/tours.html

The huge winches at the San Francisco Cable Car Museum (photo by Jack Edge)

Visitors can take a look at the history of the city’s iconic cable car system, the last remaining working example of such a system in the world.

The cable car first started running in 1873, which means the museum holds a lot of history, including historic cable cars and mechanical displays such as such as grips, track, cable, brake mechanisms and tools.

Best of all, the museum itself is situated on top of a cable car powerhouse, which means visitors can actually see the massive engines and winding wheels that pull the cables.

Not-to-be missed sights include the only surviving car from San Francisco’s first cable car company and the underground cavern where the cable car lines are routed out into the street.

Explosive fun at the Royal Gunpowder Mills, London, United Kingdom

Described as “probably the most important site in Europe for the explosives industry”, it houses a brilliant range of exhibits and other features that bring the history of gunpowder to life.

It’s thought that gunpowder was produced at the site from the 16th Century, but it took on a more prominent role following its purchase by the Crown in 1787.

From this point on, the Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey became one of the leading research centres into gunpowder and other explosives — nitrocellulose (which would eventually be used for film) was developed here in 1865, cordite in 1889 and for two years, the Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey was the country’s sole producer of the explosive RDX, which was used in the bouncing bomb during WWII.

Today, the massive facility has been turned into a visitor centre and museum, telling the fascinating history of explosives.

An interactive exhibition explores the chemistry behind gunpowder, while the armoury shows over 200 weapons and an exhibition on rockets examines the link between explosives and rocket propellants.

There is also a cinema, steam railway and nature walk and woodlands, designated a site of special scientific interest.

Bentham's Auto-Icon at UCL in London (photo by Michael Reeve)

Bentham, most remembered for his theories on utilitarianism, donated his body to medical research in his will as early as 1769, writing:

“This my will and special request I make, not out of affectation of singularity, but to the intent and with the desire that mankind may reap some small benefit in and by my decease, having hitherto had small opportunities to contribute thereto while living.”

When he died in 1832, the will had been updated to give the body to his friend and disciple Dr. Southwood Smith, who promptly delivered his lecture over the corpse on 9 June (three days after Bentham’s death) 1832.

Smith proceeded, as Bentham had requested, to preserve the body and create a wax head (with Bentham’s real hair) for the body, displaying it in his consulting rooms until he gave them up in 1849-1850, when the body was removed to UCL.

He was kept in the anatomical museum until 1926, when he was moved into the care of the library. During the war, the auto-icon was again moved for safekeeping, but returned to the college’s Professors’ Common Room and then the Cloisters, where he now stands.

Visitors can see the body in the college’s South Cloisters, complete with original clothes and Bentham’s favourite cane, although the original head (which was for some time displayed with the body but was the target of repeated pranks by King’s College London students) has now been removed and stored.

The cooling tower for the West Ford Flat power plant, at The Geysers, California, United States

Four deep wells provide an outlet for steam heated by the Earth, bringing it to the surface to the plant at the Geysers, cleaning it, and passing it through turbines to generate electricity at a rate of two million pounds of steam per hour.

After passing through the generator, the steam is condensed and transformed back into water, where some of it is pushed back down into the earth to be recycled into steam.

At the Visitors’ Centre, travelers can learn more about the Geysers and how it works.

The Blue Angel Atrium at the National Museum of Aviation in the US

The museum boasts more than 4,000 aviation artifacts and 150 aircraft from the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

Visitors can also get in on the action by taking a ride in the museum’s flight simulators or by watching Blue Angels practice on select Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

There is also an exhibition of pilots’ effects such as personal mementos from historical battles, as well as an IMAX cinema and a bus tour across the grounds to see historic aircraft displayed on the flight line.

With meticulous detail, the Army has reconstructed a fully functioning model of the area which explains how tidal effects affect the water system and allows visitors to learn more about the way that water interacts with its environment.

Roughly the size of two football pitches, the model was used as a scientific research tool between 1958 and 2000 to evaluate circulation of the water and estimate the impact that river activities such as dredging would have on the Bay.

It its time, the model has been used to conduct experiments on pollution, salt-water intrusion, barrier and fill studies, and although it is no longer used for research, it’s still open as a brilliant visitor center.

Guided tours are available, or there’s an audio tour so that visitors can go around at their own pace.

The funky exterior of BMW World in Munich, Germany

Situated adjacent to the towering Munich HQ of BMW, one of the world’s most popular luxury car makers, BMW World functions as a showroom, a discovery centre and a museum.

Visitors can browse the current range of BMW cars (sitting in them too!), and if you’re feeling particularly flush, there’s an indoor test track you can drive round if the staff think there’s a decent chance of you buying one.

The range of interactive exhibits look shiny and expensive, with visitors able to push, pull and poke to learn more about how engines work, what technology goes into BMW cars and how efficient different fuels are.

Geeky fun with the exhibits at BMW World in Munich, Germany

There is also a factory tour, although you must book it separately and the times are more irregular, but we’re told it’s great fun!

Across the footbridge is the BMW Museum, which tells the history of the brand’s cars from the early 20th century to today. It’s ticketed separately too (the showroom and interactive exhibits are free), but it’s great fun and well worth a couple of hours of your time. The museum is also host to cultural events throughout the year.

The complex holds a collection of bikes, if bikes are more your thing, two restaurants, a shop, and a cinema.

All in all, we’d say, it’s pretty much car heaven.

Fact: There’s an Apple store on the top floor of the BMW World Shop… We weren’t quite sure why.

Foxconn manufacturers electronic components — most often motherboards — for consumer products made by Western giants such as Dell, Hewlett Packard and Apple.

The plant is situated in Shenzhen, a “special” zone in China with increased economic flexibility to spur business, which actually makes the city a great place to visit, especially for  cheap consumer electronics. A day trip across the border from nearby Hong Kong is fairly easy to do — there are trains which regular cross the border throughout the day and it’s also possible to get there by road.

Security around the plant is tight, as you would expect from a place which deals with products that may not even have been announced yet — Foxconn manufactures both the iPhone and iPad — so the best you’ll be able to do is gawk at the factory building from outside, including the dormitories where the workers sleep.

Clients of the plant say that they are keeping a close eye on working conditions after a spate of suicides that has seen 12 workers commit suicide since the start of the year. Subsequent investigations seem to have turned up nothing untoward, however, and the company has since taken some steps to improve working conditions.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a small Chinese factory – it’s enormous. It’s thought over a quarter of a million people work on the site in 15 factories on the 3 km square campus, which has its own fire brigade, grocery store, bank, restaurants, bookstore, hospital and TV channel. The company makes more money than Apple.

Address: Guangdong Province, Bao’an District, Shenzhen City Industrial Zone X Huayou Song No. 2 East Central Road, China

An Air India jet is rolled out of the Boeing Everett plant

Visitors can take a tour of the production facility, which is the world’s largest building by volume (totalling 472,000,000 cubic feet or 13,385,378 cubic meters), to get a bird’s eye view of how aircraft are made.

The tour covers the production of several Boeing models, including the eagerly anticipated 787 Dreamliner.

The facility also features an aviation museum, which includes aircraft engines and conceptual aircraft designs.

The Science Museum of Minnesota (photo courtesy SMM)

The Science Museum of Minnesota is located in a 370,000 square foot building built into bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.

Five permanent galleries feature interactive exhibits inviting visitors to explore and experience topics of paleontology, physical science and technology, the human body, Mississippi cultures and wildlife, and the museum’s collections.

The Science Museum regularly hosts world-class special exhibitions and screens large-format science education films on its unique Imax Convertible Dome Omnitheater. Live theater programming and science demonstrations for all ages are held daily, lectures and events are routinely scheduled, and three separate eateries are available onsite.

The wing-shaped monument at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina, United States

Travelers can re-trace the routes where the Wright Brothers tested out their first aircraft and explore the on-site museum and its collection of models, tools, and machines used by the pioneering, high-flying duo.

The centre holds, among others, a full-scale reproduction of the 1902 glider, a full-scale reproduction of the 1903 flying machine, an engine block from the original 1903 Flyer, and a reproduction of the Wright’s first wind tunnel.

(Listing courtesy TripAdvisor)

Concorde, as viewed from the deck of the USS Intrepid

The deck and hangar bay of the ship feature a collection of 30 aircraft, including some that have just recently left active service.

Additionally, one of the Concorde supersonic jets on loan from British Airways is on the Intrepid pier and can be explored inside and out by visitors — this aircraft holds the world speed record for a passenger jet and once made a sub-3-hour crossing between London and New York.

The museum also houses other interactive exhibits, including an A-6 cockpit simulator and a virtual flight zone.

It’s also right next to the New York Cruise Terminal, which is kind of fun if you like looking at big ships!

Don’t miss: Exploreum, a guide to life on an aircraft carrier

(listing: TripAdvisor)

The store opened its doors in 1978, the first of a chain that now stretches across the United Kingdom — today it still stocks the latest hifi and home entertainment equipment, with friendly staff that offer demonstrations.

The store is in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest sales per square foot.

A green turtle (image courtesy Sea Life)

Situated on London’s South Bank, the Aquarium offers everything from hammerhead sharks to sea turtles, housed in a spacious facility that recently underwent a £5 million refurbishment.

Visitors can walk through the ocean tunnel to get the strange experience of being among the creatures, as well as touching a stingray in the “look and feel” tank.

The Aquarium also plays host to several robotic fish (although they are scheduled to be moved at some point — it’s best to call ahead if they’re your main reason for visiting!), which are being tested for their interaction with other fish in a tank, so see if you can spot them!

The live creatures enjoy optimum water quality, expert husbandry and surrounds which carefully mimic their preferred natural habitats, while visitors feel themselves immersed in the marine environment…rather than mere spectators.

The outlet stocks all of the latest games and figures, from Warhammer and Lord of the Rings to Forge World and Warhammer 40,000.

Like most Games Workshop stores, visitors can drop in to play games, paint figures or meet other fans.

The Bell Homestead, Alexander Graham Bell's home in Brantford, Ontario, Canada (Photo courtesy of Harry Zilber)

Alexander, along with his parents, moved to Canada from Scotland aged 23, beginning a new life which miraculously cured him of several ailments.

The Canadian air — along with regular commutes to Boston, where he was a university professor — must have also helped him create the telephone, in a converted carriage house at the rear of his family’s homestead.

In 1876, Bell made the first telephone call from Brantford to Mount Pleasant, 5 kilometers away, repeating the experiment extended to his homestead the next night. Ten years later, over 100,000 people in the US owned telephones, and Bell Telecom was worth millions.

Today, the Bell Homestead is open to the public and has been for over a century, painstakingly restored and staffed by actors in costume ready to show guests the life that Alexander and his wife lived.

Set on ten acres of land, visitors can explore the house or the garden, which offers stunning views overlooking the Grand River (there’s a picnic area if you want to take your own lunch) and Canada’s first business telephone office, Henderson House.

The centre holds an impressive collection of documents on BA and its predecessors such as British Overseas Airline Corporation (BOAC), British European Airways and Imperial Airways, which all played a key role in the evolution of flying as we know it today.

It was on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris, for instance, that the first film was screened on a plane, and in 1952 BOAC became the first airline in the world to fly a jet aircraft.

The Heritage Centre also holds over 130 staff uniforms from British Airways’ history, along with a huge collection of aircraft models and pictures.

Visitors can book time with an instructor in one of iPilot’s simulators to learn how to fly while their other half tries on clothes.

The system has over 500 destinations for wannabe pilots to choose from, and the time choices give visitors the opportunity to do a landing, a takeoff, a panoramic flight or a “fear of flying” course, which apparently is very effective!

It’s expensive (a 15 min ride costs £49), but it’s fun.

Note: iPilot operates several other centres outside of London, including one at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent.

http://i-pilot.info

This tiny airport served as London’s main airport from the 1920s until just after the Second World War and in 1921 became the first airport in the world to introduce air traffic control to safely marshal planes.

During the war, the airport played a vital role as an RAF fighter base thanks to its close proximity to London itself — although this meant that it was one of the first targets for incoming bombers when the air raids started.

It was finally closed in 1959 but it still has a visitor centre in which the public can see a couple of aircraft and look inside the control tower.

The Croydon Airport Society maintains the site and also holds regular aviation-themed lectures on the third Tuesday of every month (see the website for further visiting details).

Fact: It was from here that two Special Operations Executive (the forerunner of MI6) agents took off in 1936, heading for Spanish Morocco via the Canary Islands, where they picked up General Francisco Franco. With command of the African Army, and the help of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Franco moved troops across to mainland Spain and the Spanish Civil War began.

http://www.croydonairport.org.uk/

The Snowdon Aviary at London Zoo (photo by heena_mistry)

Originally opened in 1828, it’s been delighting visitors for nearly a century and has also managed even more milestones along the way — London Zoo opened the first Reptile house (1849), first public aquarium (1853), first insect house (1881) and the first children’s zoo (1938).

It also held the only ever photographed quagga (a zebra that appears to be half horse), held Winnie the bear (which inspired A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books) and gave the English language the word “Jumbo” from one of its elephants.

Today, it holds a breathtaking collection of creatures at its 36 acre Regent’s Park site, featuring everything from lions to sea horses, gorillas to butterflies and virtually everything in between.

Visitors can enjoy an ethically-sourced snack in one of the complex’s many cafes.

Specialising in brightly coloured and fluorescent clothing, the brand’s shop in Camden is easily identifiable thanks to the large statues outside and pumping music that emanates from the doors.

Once inside, it sort of feels like being inside a TopShop on a UV-lit Starship Enterprise — every conceivable style and colour of futuristic outfit is available, along with a dizzying array of accessories such as lights and glowsticks.

As Camden’s most famous geek attraction, the store can get pretty packed and it’s fairly expensive, but it’s well worth it.

Ben Crouch, if you didn’t know, was a legendary gravedigger who supplied corpses to surgeons and scientists in the 18th century, most notably to Bart’s Hospital.

Rather appropriately, the pub that bears his name is also rather dark and mysterious, with plenty of shady corners and weird objects dotted around — not to mention some pretty gruesome stuff normally playing on the TV screens behind the bar.

The best bit is probably the cocktails, which are served in test tubes (or at least, they were) — and which scientist hasn’t sometimes wondered what would happen if they downed the contents of their tube?!

The cuisine is Asian and pretty OK to be honest, but the best bit is the tables — fully interactive touch-enabled surfaces where diners can select their food, the mood and even play games.

It’s apparently based on a Flash/ActionScript system, which makes for  a pretty unique dining experience.

And let’s face it, paying the bill is a lot less painful when it’s presented electronically ON your table.

Fiery fun at Phaeno in Wolfsburg, Germany

A visit to Phaeno involves discovering the world: touching, trying things out, finding astonishment, playing, exploring, discovering, and above all: unravelling the frequently mysterious natural-scientific phenomena of everyday life on one’s own initiative.

The site boasts an activity area covering over 9,000 square metres, giving visitors a host of different opportunities to investigate the fascinating world of science and technology.

Real phenomena can be marvelled at and explained at 300 Experimental Stations — some of which are amazing, for example; marvelling at Europe’s largest fire tornado at over five metres high; setting a ball in motion alone through brainwaves and relaxatio; allowing your senses to be deceived in the House of Witches; standing lopsided in the Wacky Salon without falling over; making the magnetic levitation train run, experiencing the weightlessness of objects; or lying as comfortably as a fakir on a bed of nails.

Phæno’s architecture is also bold and impressive, designed by London-based architect Zaha Hadid, a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The building in Wolfsburg can be described as the largest walk-through sculpture in Germany.

BBC Broadcasting House, in London, United Kingdom

It was in this building that John Logie Baird tried out his television apparatus, and from here King George V gave the first Royal broadcast to the British Empire in 1932 (a tradition which continues today, although now the BBC goes to the Queen rather than the other way around!).

Broadcasting House was also the place where General De Gaulle made his first broadcast to occupied France on 18 June 1940.

The speech, which came from a little-known general at the time, was the first challenge to Marshal Petain’s deal with the Nazis and rallied the French Resistance — it is now seen as a pivotal point in French history and the foundation of the post-war republic.

Broadcasting House was painted gray during the war to try to avert attacks from German bombers, but it was still hit three times — including in the middle of a news bulletin on 15 October 1940. Seven people were killed and the newsreader, Bruce Belfrage, was covered in plaster and soot, but continued to read the news regardless for security reasons — people at home just heard a dull thud.

It was the first building in London to have artificially ventilated toilets and also featured 22 studios, one mile of corridors, 800 doors, 1250 stairs and 50 miles of electrical wiring.

Today, Broadcasting House is still the home of studios for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7.

The BBC runs tours of Broadcasting House, allowing visitors to see behind the scenes of the radio studios and try making their own radio drama.

Fact: The sculptor who designed the statues in front of Broadcasting House, Eric Gill, also gave the world the Gill Sans typeface

Jonathan Ive, the man behind the iPod, studied here, for which we think the school deserves a Blue Plaque.

Ive remains Apple’s senior vice president of Industrial Design and in his time at the firm has changed the world, creating the global iPod revolution, before designing the iPhone and then the iPad.

His first product was the iMac G3 (the brightly coloured Mac), which turned a computer from a gray box to something people would want to display — a principle that became a cornerstone of Apple’s design philosophy.

He studied here before moving onto Walton High School in Staffordshire and Northumbria University.

Ive received his CBE from the Queen (who has her own iPod) in 2006, was named the most influential Briton in America in 2008 and received Fortune Magazine’s “Smartest designer” award in 2010.

Fact: Ive isn’t the school’s only famous alumni — David Beckham studied here too.

Berners-Lee studied for his O and A levels here in Wandsworth, a school which he later described as “programmed to send people to Oxford”.

In an interview with the Computerworld Honors Program, Berners-Lee paid tribute to his maths and chemistry teachers at Emanuel, saying that “they both had unstoppable excitement.”

A prodigious mathematician (both of his parents were mathematicians), Berners-Lee did indeed go onto Oxford, where he built his first computer.

The school now has a computer centre bearing his name.

It was in the garden of Kelmscott House (then called “The Retreat”) that Sir Francis Ronalds constructed the first telegraph in 1816, sending messages along eight miles of wire arranged throughout the garden.

The telegraph consisted of a single wire encased in glass tubing, through which Ronalds passed static electricity to move a clockwork dial that would show the letter or number being transmitted.

Ronalds’ design was crude, but it worked, so it’s understandable that he was disappointed when the Admiralty said no after he offered them the idea (free of patent).

Ronalds left the country, spending some time travelling in the wilderness and abandoned the telegraph project — only to see Charles Wheatstone and William Cooke patent and commercialise the concept in 1937.

Visitors can enter the house to see the William Morris Museum on Thursday and Saturdays between 2.00 PM and 5.00 PM.

The University of London Observatory in London, United Kingdom (photo by Grim23)

The site is only open to students and houses five permanently-mounted telescopes, two computer classrooms and a specialist astronomy library, which are available to those pursuing astronomy Bachelor’s degrees or an evening qualification at the University of London

That said, it also offers private tours for those interested in astronomy on the first and third Fridays of the month, October–March inclusive, as well as on occasional other days.

Private tours can also be arranged by appointment.

The plant opened in 1870 and operated for a century, closing between 1969 and 1970 — at its peak, the 2.2 km squared site used 113 kilometres of internal train track, operated two piers, and provided gas to most of North London by processing a million tons of coal a year, transported from the north of England.

Once gas was discovered in the North Sea, it became unrealistic to artificially produce it and the site closed. After the extensive redevelopment of the area, almost no trace of the massive site is visible, apart from one, rather large, hill.

Affectionately known as the Beckton Alps, the highest point in Newham is in fact formed of the toxic spoil from the gas works, now landscaped. It’s impossible and fairly dangerous to go into the site (although a dry ski slope used to operate on it!), but perfectly visible from the road.

Easily visible from the Limehouse DLR station, this tower used coal boilers to heat steam, pushing pistons that regulated pressure in the network of hydraulic pipes running out from it.

Why? Because the cranes used in the nearby Limehouse Basin were hydraulic and needed a lot of pressure to lift the tons of coal that were unloaded in the area to power the nearby power stations.

The building, which was constructed in 1869, is occasionally opened by Tower Hamlets as part of its annual Open House days.

Believe it or not, hydraulic power systems were still being used in London to power cranes and lifts as late as 1977. Once they were finally replaced by electricity, the 150-mile network of piping underneath the city found another important use as sheathing for telecoms cables.

The top of The Monument, in the City of London (photo Bigbird3141)

It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke to remind people of the Great Fire of London in 1666 and stands exactly 61.57 meters from the starting point of the fire, which was in Pudding Lane (the bakery of Thomas Farrinor).

It’s the tallest isolated stone column in the world and the top can be reached through winding stone steps for some impressive views of the city.

However, The Monument also serves as a scientific instrument — it has a central shaft designed to function as a zenith telescope (with observers housed in a laboratory below, still accessible from the tower’s ticket office).

As the steps are all exactly six inches in height, the Monument could also measure barometric pressure, using the same principle as a mercury thermometer.

For those that aren’t willing or able to climb the 311 steps, the University of Central Lancashire has installed a sophisticated digital camera system that relays a live panoramic image from the top — see it here.

As the name suggests, the Salters’ Company was originally founded to protect the interests of those in the salt trade and as such, it houses a rather impressive collection of the stuff, including some of the most ornate salt cellars in the world, which are hundreds of years old.

As one of the oldest organisations in London, it also holds records that date back to almost the turn of the millennium, including property deeds, membership records, accounts and records of its Chemistry arm from 1918.

Salter’s Hall can be hired for private events.

The Crystal Palace Transmitter in London, United Kingdom (photo Rocky Biggs)

Built in 1956, it was for many years the tallest structure in London, until the completion of Canary Wharf in 1991.

As well as being 219-meters tall, it’s also the main transmitter for London television stations (with the exception of Channel Five) and is therefore probably among the most important structures in the capital.

The transmitter has been in service for over half a century and has seen some watershed moments in technology — the first colour transmissions were made from here in November 1956, UHF transmissions began in 1964, digital television in the 1990s and an HDTV service in 2006.

Crystal Palace’s backup transmitter is located in Croydon, some two miles away.

The Thames Barrier in London, United Kingdom

Immediately recognisable stretching between Newham and Greenwich, the barrier’s shining silver gates are the fix points for the massive barriers, which rotate up from the river bed to stop high tides from reaching Central London when necessary. When in the downwards state, boats can pass over the gates unimpeded, although when the barrier is raised, river traffic is halted.

The barriers are only raised when a confluence of events, including storm surges and high tides in the North Sea and high river flows over the Teddington Weir, take place. Smaller gates at other points along the river are also closed and all traffic stopped before the main barrier gates are closed.

For stats fans, the barrier was raised four times in the 1980s, 35 times in the 1990s and 75 times this decade — we don’t know what that says about global warming.

The Thames Barrier is the second largest movable flood barrier in the world.

Tip: The best way to see the barrier is on a riverboat — failing that, try the Thames Barrier Park (below).

Crossness' enormous pumping station (Photo Ian Mansfield)

Designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette, the station was a solution to a rather unpleasant problem in the city — the growth of toilets had led to overflowing of the city’s cesspits, which were leaking into rainwater drainage systems and subsequently into the Thames, the main source of drinking water in 19th century London.

His solution was ingenious, and required the use of two very large pumps, one located on the South of the Thames (Crossness), and one on the North (Abbey Mills).

Under Bazalgette’s plan, the sewage from London’s houses would flow into intercepting sewers instead of the river, leading it by gravity or pumping towards the east of the city and Crossness/Abbey Mills.

Once there, the effluence was stored in enormous (27 million gallons) containers until high tide, when it would flow out on the ebb towards the sea.

Bazalgette’s solution, while inelegant, was incredibly efficient — London only saw one more cholera outbreak, a year after the pumps at Crossness were started.

At the moment, the wheels are being restored to their former condition, after years of decay and neglect.

The House Mill, part of the Three Mills complex in London, United Kingdom (photo Gordon Joly)

The House Mill dates from 1776 (although the site itself is far older) and operated through to 1940 as one of several mills in the complex. On average, it could output about 2 tons of maize and 5 tons of barley per tide, rising to 10 and 14 tons respectively on spring tides, which was primarily used for alcohol distilling.

The Mill is open for tours (see website), although it’s no longer in operation.

Three Mills is also famous for the television studio that is now present in the complex, which is the largest in Britain and has been used extensively for television and music video production.

http://www.housemill.org.uk

BBC Television Centre, London (photo by Panhard)

The Corporation runs regular tours into the building, and it’s fascinating for anybody interested in technology or media. Guests can see memorabilia from famous television shows such as EastEnders or Doctor Who, as well as going behind the scenes to see how television really works.

Its studios, one of which is the third largest in the country, have been home to some classic shows throughout the years, including Fawlty Towers, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Blue Peter, Absolutely Fabulous, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Doctor Who.

There’s also a pretty good chance you’ll spot some sort of celebrity, no matter how minor, along the way…

The British Library from the concourse

Under the principle of “legal deposit”, the British Library receives a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland, meaning that its collection grows on a daily basis.

Other items include stamps, patents, maps, prints, drawings, CD-ROMS, websites, social media items, newspapers, magazines and photos, most of which are available for anybody to consult (although you have to prove a legitimate research need).

The site hosts regular exhibitions of its items, such as the recently-closed “Magnificent Maps” exhibit, as well as a selection of historical works which are on permanent display and are available to see at no charge. These include works by Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling and Virginia Woolf.

The Knightsbridge store sells everything from night-vision goggles to covert cameras and counter-surveillance equipment.

If you’re anticipating a sticky situation, it also retails stab vests and “personal safety” equipment.

Litvinenko fell ill suddenly on 1 November 2006, hours after meeting two former KGB agents at the hotel. His subsequent death from radioactive poisoning made headlines around the world and prompted the British government to point the finger at Russian state involvement, although nothing ever came of the accusations.

When doctors identified the substance that killed Litvinenko, Polonium-210, investigators launched a massive hunt for traces of the substance across London. It was found on the trails of three men (excluding Litvinenko) who were never brought to justice, in various restaurants and aircraft.

Traces of the radioactivity were found in a cup in the hotel’s Pine Bar, where the fatal dose is thought to have been administered. It was also found in a room in the hotel.

It was the first time Polonium-210 had been used as a poisoning method and sadly, it proved very effective. Doctors treating Litvinenko originally suspected Thallium, as Polonium didn’t show up on the scanners hospitals normally use to detect radiation poisoning (it emits alpha rays rather than gamma rays).

We should tell you that the short half-life of Polonium-210 means that the hotel is now absolutely, 100% safe!

The Forbidden Planet Megastore in London, United Kingdom

Although the chain is fairly well spread across the UK and US, its London flagship is huge and hosts book signings and special events throughout the year.

As well as hundreds of fellow geeks and cult fans, there’s a reasonable chance you might spot the odd celebrity.

Check out this video preview to see inside:

The idea had already been put into practice in California, but it was the ICA’s “Towards the Aesthetics of the Future” that coined the phrase.

The concept was set up in the ICA’s theatre by Ivan Pope for one weekend only (12-13 March 1994) using Apple computers. It was temporary but it was enough — the event inspired other cafes to set up shop over the next few years (including Cyberia, see separate listing).

Ivan Pope, by the way, isn’t known only for Cybercafes — he founded two of the world’s first internet magazines (the World Wide Web Newsletter and .net), founded NetNames and helped devise Nominet, the firm that manages .uk names.

http://www.ica.org.uk/

Given that she was born into a Victorian society where women were significantly restricted in terms of status, Ada Byron’s achievement is all the more remarkable.

A prodigious mathematician, she took a keen interest in the work of Charles Babbage, translating some notes on his “analytical engine” from another Italian mathematician.

With these notes, she added several pages of her own, including detailed instructions on what the machine was to do given different parameters — in effect, the world’s first computer program.

The premises is marked by a Blue Plaque.

The front of London's Trocadero centre, just off Leicester Square/Piccadilly

The site houses over 500 games, all priced between 50p and £1 and ranging from air hockey to quiz machines, one armed bandits to car simulators.

It’s also home to London’s only 4D simulator, a bowling alley and two bars.

Whatever is in this house, it certainly provided Fleming with an ample dose of luck and inspiration (although no doubt his wartime experiences helped) — Casino Royale’s main character James Bond went on to become the most famous spy of all time.

Fleming wrote a further eleven novels and lived here until his death in 1964.

Situated on Whitfield St, the cafe attracted journalists, bankers, lawyers and thousands of geeks, many of whom became regular visitors.

The Cyberia brand expanded around the world, with cafes in Paris and Tokyo, which in turn inspired the hundreds of other similar properties that exist today.

Sadly, the premises is now vacant

Games at the American Classic Arcade Museum

With a focus on coin-operated arcade games, the museum includes items from diverse manufacturers such as Mike Munves, Chicago Coin, Chester Pollard, Genco, Gretchen, Photar, Centuri, Taito, Nichibutsu, Midway, Irem, Gottlieb, Atari and Exidy.

It also houses the world’s first pinball game, saved from New York Mayor LaGuardia’s purge of pinball games as “gambling devices” (although the materials from the meltdown were donated to the WWII effort).

Visitors play in the PC Gallery at TNMOC, Bletchley Park (photo by John Robertson)

The Museum complements the Bletchley Park Trust’s story of codebreaking up to the Colossus and allows visitors to follow the development of computing from the ultra-secret pioneering efforts of the 1940s through the mainframes of the 1960s and 1970s and the rise of personal computing in the 1980s.

New working exhibits are regularly unveiled and the public can already view a rebuilt and fully operational Colossus, the restoration of the Harwell / WITCH computer, an ICL 2966, one of the workhorse mainframes computers of the 1980s, plus many of the earliest desktops of the 1980s and 1990s, including the the BBC Micro and several Sinclair computers from Clive Sinclair and Amstrad computers from Alan Sugar. The latest display is the Technology of the Internet gallery.

The site is easily accessible by train in a day from London (regular services depart London Euston).

TIP: Guided tours are offered at 2pm on Tuesdays and some other days (more information online).

The Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom (photo by Tuuraan78)

The huge building houses almost everything a visitor could want to know about the Earth, ranging across so many times and disciplines that a day really isn’t enough to visit.

Highlights include butterfly houses, insect hunts, underwater exhibits, an enormous reconstruction of a dinosaur skeleton in the lobby (a Diplodocus, if you must know) and a room where you can experience the awesome power of an earthquake for yourself.

In total, the museum’s collections span 70 million items, making it one of the largest institutions of its type on the planet.

As such, it’s also a world-renowned research centre which holds regular lectures, some of which are open to the public.

The Natural History Museum also plays host to regularly changing exhibitions, houses a library available by appointment, offers workshops and demonstrations and runs after hours drinks events.

There are several cafes and bars for guests to get refreshments.

Fact: The basis of the museum’s collection was a donation from Hans Sloane… Who gave his name to Sloane Square and several other locations in London

It’s a games lover’s paradise, primarily because it’s packed full of interactive entertainment options — think one arm bandits all the way through to a bowling alley, pool tables and Guitar Hero arenas.

The site offers a bar and restaurant and is a popular place for corporate events.

The 3.5 acre site was chosen because with the Thames at its southern boundary, the site was protected from any future high rise development which might impede the clear outlook required by the antennas to transmit and receive signals to and from satellites.

It was designed to handle the increasing amounts of satellite traffic coming from the City of London and the need for satellite television broadcasters to uplink their programs.

It’s now owned by Arqiva, who still use the site for transmissions.

Fact: Hard-Fi filmed their Suburban Knights video here…

Wheatstone was responsible for several inventions during his life between 1802 and 1875, including the concertina and the stereoscope.

However, it was the Wheatstone Bridge that was to have the most impact — it was crucial for the development of the telegraph, which enabled long-distance communication and was the foundation of the telephone system… and pretty much everything else, really.

Fun and experimentation at the Technichus Science Centre in Harnosand, Sweden

The center’s thematic exhibition is changed 3 -4 times per year. With a focus on science, technics and entrepreneurship, Technichus encourages guests to have fun while learning through interactive exhibits such as those that allow guests to morph themselves or record mobile clips. There is an adjoining gift shop and art gallery.

The front of the British Museum in London, United Kingdom (photo by Ham)

Founded by Hans Sloane in 1753, the site now attracts around 6 million visitors every year, academics and tourists alike.

Its nine departments range from historical artifacts from all over the world to the conservation and science department, which is charged with the fascinating task of preserving the objects held, many of which are thousands of years old.

Highlights include the Elgin Marbles (even if they’re not really supposed to be there), the room of clocks and watches on the fifth floor, the Cyrus Cylinder in Room 55 (though currently on loan to Iran) and the Samsung Digital Discovery Centre, which offers free activities and workshops for families and schools using the latest Samsung digital equipment.

There are several cafes and a packed event schedule — check the website for further details.

The lagoon at the London Wetland Centre (photo by Will Green)

Spread across 105 acres, the site offers a home to an incredible range of wildlife — and a great day out for its human guests too!

Highlights include birds such as kingfishers and bitterns, bats (and the huge variety of moths to feed them) and water vole.

The visitor centre includes a restaurant, gift shop and cinema, while the site also offers a heated observatory and an interactive Discovery Centre for children.

The treetop walk at Kew Gardens in London, United Kingdom

As such, it’s one of the most important botanical research institutions in the world, as well as a popular tourist destination — two million visitors a year come to marvel at the 121 hectare site in south west London.

The extent of the work that goes on here is somewhat mind-boggling — as well as some 30,000 types of plants, the Royal Botanic Gardens holds over 7 million preserved specimens from around the world, a 200,000-item-strong botanic art collection, one of the largest botanical libraries in the world and one of the largest compost heaps in Europe.

Therefore, there’s easily a day’s worth of stuff to do, including seeing the gardens from the incredible tree top trail, admiring the acres of landscaped gardens, visiting the The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art and getting inside the Palm House, the most iconic building in Kew Gardens.

Don’t miss the chance to experience ten different climatic zones inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory or look around the Minka House and Bamboo Garden, one of the largest bamboo collections in the country.

As one might expect from such a large site, there are several places to eat and drink, including in the Grade-I listed Orangery Restaurant, constructed in 1761.

Inside the Chislehurst Caves, in London, United Kingdom (image by secretlondon)

No-one is entirely sure how they came about — we know they’re hand-made and very old, but that’s about it. Theories suggest Saxon, Druid and Roman involvement (hence the section names), but there’s no proof of any of those.

In total, there are some 20 miles of caverns and passageways, which experts say took around 8000 years to build.

Thanks to their central location, the caves have been used variously as ammunition depots, air raid shelters, mines (for chalk and flint), mushroom cultivation fields, concert halls and film sets.

Visitors can get guided tours of the caves, but entry is with a guide only.

Properties number 23 and 24 of this seemingly ordinary road hide a surprising secret — they don’t actually exist.

The resplendent facades are in fact only that, as both houses had to be demolished for the then-new Metropolitan Line, London’s first underground line, to run underneath.

The gap where the houses stood was used for the trains to blow off steam before continuing their journey underground.

To avoid ruining the road, authorities decided to create two fake houses — you can spot them by looking for the blacked out windows and lack of letterbox.

Each facade is 1.5 meters thick and if you pop round to the back of the houses, you can see exactly why it was necessary — the tracks of the Metropolitan Line still run through the gap!

The entrance to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Kansas, US (photo PPelleti)

The Hall of Space Museum is one of only three museums in the world to display flown spacecraft from all three early-manned American space programs – Mercury (Liberty Bell 7), Gemini (Gemini 10) and Apollo (Apollo 13).

It’s also home to a planetarium, an IMAX theatre and “Dr Goddard’s Lab”, a live demonstration area to entertain and educate kids with rocket science!

An aerial view of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Ohio, US

This isn’t merely a garage filled with old beaters; the aircraft and related exhibits are presented in context with the events of their time.

However much time you plan to spend, double it — there’s far more to see here than you expect.

Don’t hesitate to talk to the Air Force retirees who hang out here — their stories are priceless! This museum easily competes
with D.C.’s Air and Space Museum (quite a feat for being in the middle of Ohio) and the added bonus is that admission is free.

The Sony Building in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan (photo Simone Urbinati)

The site featurea 8 floors of the latest and coolest from Sony, all available to be tried out with the help of the friendly staff.

For those with the cash to splash, if you like it, you can also buy it.

Tip: Don’t miss the plasma screen theatre on the top floor.

Alongside the bible are several other pieces related to the life of Faraday, who was born in Southwark, but the Cuming Museum also functions as a natural history museum, holding pieces collected by Richard and Henry Cuming during the 19th century.

The gallery is divided into three parts, which tell the story of the Cuming family, the story of Southwark and house temporary exhibitions respectively.

The London Film Museum is situated in County Hall, next to the London Eye, on London's Southbank in the United Kingdom (photo David Iliff)

Housed on London’s South Bank (on the opposite side of the river from the Houses of Parliament), it makes for a great day out and offers a set of permanent and temporary exhibitions guaranteed to appeal to any film geek.

As well as being home to a gallery of legendary props from British and international movies (a meteorite from Superman being one of them), the site holds regularly-changing exhibitions dedicated to special subjects, with recent examples including a celebration of the work of 20th Century Fox and a look at Charlie Chaplin’s life in London.

The museum also holds regular special events.

Don’t miss: getting your photo taken on the Star Wars Tantive IV set

It was part of a network of “hardened” exchanges built during the Cold War, lying deep underground so that critical communication infrastructure would still function in the event of a nuclear blast.

And although that blast never came, the Kingsway Exchange proved critical in other ways — it served as the bridging point, for instance, for calls between the US and the USSR using the “red telephone”.

It was also the termination point of the first transatlantic telephone cable and the headquarters of the Radio Interference Investigation Group, whose job it was to stop external electrical devices such as fluorescent tubes or industrial equipment from interfering with radio or television transmission.

Communications officials from both MI6 and SIGINT (now known as GCHQ) were also based here, with easy access to the telephone cables that connected London to the rest of the world.

The site, which was put up for sale in 2008, had its own well for drinking water and could store enough food to keep inhabitants for months — it also had what was supposedly the deepest bar in London.

Unfortunately, public tours aren’t available, but you can still see the entrance to the exchange at 32 High Holborn.

Hamleys Toy Store in London, United Kingdom (photo Chris Nyborg)

Hamleys is one of the world’s largest toy shops, covering some 5,000 square meters on seven floors — it’s also one of London’s most popular tourist attractions, with five million visitors pouring through the doors every year.

For geeks, the best bet is probably the basement, where the store hoards all of its electronic and interactive toys, as well as a GAME store for computer games. There is an excellent selection of science-based toys too!

The fourth floor, the hobbies section, is also well worth a look as it holds a dazzling array of models, remote control vehicles, train sets and make-it-yourself kits guaranteed to make any model-lover smile.

Be sure to watch out for the magic demonstrations on the ground floor, and if you’re peckish there’s a cafe on the top level.

Fact: We know it should have an apostrophe, and so do they… Hamleys is one of several stores which intentionally forgoes the apostrophe despite being named after William Hamley — Boots, Harrods and Dixons are some other examples

The public entrance to the Cabinet War Rooms in London, United Kingdom (photo by IxK85)

Constructed in a rush during 1938-9, when it was becoming increasingly obvious that Britain was going to fight a war which could see heavy aerial bombardment of London, the Cabinet War Rooms served as the meeting place for Churchill’s cabinet throughout the war — although the purpose of the building was actually far more extensive.

Comprising of over 12,000 square metres of space, the complex (only a small portion of which is now open to the public) could house 528 staff members, enough to keep government running effectively, and was covered by an enormous slab of concrete one to three metres thick.

Highlights for visitors include the newly-restored quarters for Churchill and his family, the map room (with original maps from the war still on the walls), the communications centre and a 15 metre-long interactive table on which visitors can access information from every year of Churchill’s life, even drilling down to specific weeks and days.

Fact: the War Rooms had a special telephone link to the Whitehouse in Washington, US, which was routed via a scrambler in the basement of the Selfridges department store on Oxford St.

The entrance to the National Cryptologic Museum in Maryland, United States (photo by Coolcaesar)

The museum houses thousands of artifacts that tell the story of codebreaking and its place in American history, as well as an extensive cryptologic library which houses commercial codebooks and serves as an academic center for anyone interested in ciphers or codebreaking.

As the first and only US museum dedicated to the Intelligence Community, the National Cryptologic Museum plays a unique role in history and the current relations between the intelligence services and the general public.

Visitors can also see the adjoining National Vigilence Park, which holds two aircraft used for secret reconnaissance missions, or visit the museum’s gift shop, which sells unique items branded with the NSA logo.

Operated by the British Dental Association, the professional body of UK dentists, the museum holds over 30,000 exhibits which tell the story of dental care through the ages.

The museum’s collection includes dental instruments and equipment, furniture, photographs, archives, fine and decorative art.

It’s the largest collection of dental material in the country.

The stairwells on the outside of the Lloyd's Building in London (photograph Andrew Dunn)

The distinctive “inside-out” building was designed for the Lloyd’s insurance firm by architect Richard Rogers and towers 88 meters high above the City.

Its most distinctive feature is the fact that the stairwells, piping, lifts and power conduits are all on the outside, a technique that allowed Rogers to maximise the interior space.

The large Underwriting Room on the ground floor holds the Lutine Bell, a 179-pound bell which was recovered from the sunken HMS Lutine in 1858. It has hung in every Lloyd’s building ever since and was originally tolled to make sure that the insurers in the building were aware of the status of ships — it would be rung once for a lost ship and twice for a safely-returned ship.

It is now tolled to commemorate disasters such as 9/11 or the London bombings, and also tolls on the event of a death in the Royal Family.

Lloyd’s isn’t normally open to the public (although you can get a pretty good view of the building from outside), but does participate in an annual Open House scheme — check the website for further details.

http://www.lloyds.com/

The entrance to the Diefenbunker in Ontario, Canada (photo P199)

Guests can explore most of the 100,000 square feet of space housed underground, including the Prime Minister’s Suite,the CBC Radio studio, the Bank of Canada vault and the Emergency Government Situation Center and War Rooms can all be visited.

The site also hosts a cool Cold War Cinema, showing themed films accompanied by a tour of the Diefenbunker, and welcomes students and school trips.

The site stands some 30km west of Ottawa and was designed to house government personnel in the event of a nuclear attack – it was the hub of a station of national and regional bunkers, and is the only one in Canada now open to the public.

Fact: The name “Diefenbunker” comes from the Prime Minister at the time of construction, John Diefenbaker.

A cathedral of sewage -- the elaborate Station A at Abbey Mills Pumping Station in London, United Kingdom (photograph Gordon Joly)

The grand main building, Station A, was constructed between 1865 and 1868 in an elaborate Byzantine style, earning the structure the nickname “The Cathedral of Sewage”.

Both Abbey Mills and Crossness were the brainchild of Sir Joseph Bazalgette, designed to tackle the problems caused by London’s overflowing sewer systems.

Bazagette’s plan was to intercept the waste generated by thousands of Victorian households before it reached the Thames, using two huge sewer systems on either side of the river, named the Northern Outfall Sewer and Southern Outfall Sewer.

What Crossness did for the Southern Outfall Sewer Abbey Mills did for the Northern — namely, raise the sewage out of the system into a huge reservoir until it could be pumped out into the Thames eastbound (into the sea) when the tide was right.

Bazalgette’s solution all but halted the outbreaks of infectious diseases that had plagued London to that point, and the two stations still stand as monuments to his engineering brilliance.

Thames Water now owns the Abbey Mills site, which has seen continual expansion since the Victorian era. The newest pumping station, Station F, is one of three modern pumps that deal with London’s waste water (most of which still flows to the station through Bazalgette’s pipes).

Unfortunately, as it’s now filled with, ahem, sewage, there is no public access to Abbey Mills. However, Thames Water occasionally opens the station and parts of the Northern Outfall Sewer to groups who apply to visit.

The nondescript-looking bungalow that houses the entrance to RGHQ 5.1 in Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, United Kingdom

RGHQ5.1, as it was officially known, was designed as an underground city to be used in the event of a nuclear attack and is now open to the public as a tourist attraction.

The three-level bunker could sustain up to 600 civil and military personnel for around three months in the event of a nuclear attack and was designed to enable the government (or what was left of it) to continue work.

It housed various military systems, an advanced (at the time) computer network and a BBC broadcasting facility which would have been used to broadcast emergency messages should the national broadcaster’s main facilities have been knocked out.

Today, it’s a museum dedicated to the Cold War, with visitors able to explore the rooms with the help of handheld audio guides.

Fact: the bunker’s air system kept the atmospheric pressure artificially high — to ensure no radioactive dust from the outside could enter.

Thames House, the HQ of Britain's internal intelligence service MI5 (photo C Ford)

It’s adjacent to Lambeth Bridge on the corner of Millbank and Horseferry Road and can be easily seen from both the river and the road side (look out for the distinctive archway).

The building has made several on-screen appearances (although none as high profile as its sister building, the Secret Intelligence Service HQ on the other side of the river by Lambeth Bridge), playing itself in episodes of popular British dramas Spooks and Torchwood.

It became the Security Service’s HQ in 1994 – and “because of security considerations”, there are no public tours.

Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC, US (photo courtesy Bruce R. Feeley and Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Its collection comprises several interative exhibitions that allow guests to build, play and perform experiments, as well as to see over 75 species of Carolina wildlife.

If you’ve ever wanted to sit inside a real Apollo Space Capsule, explore a full-scale Lunar Lander, touch a 13-foot tornado, or learn about the science of global communications, the Museum of Life and Science is one of the best places to do it.

The museum hosts regular events (some of them sound very cool — e.g. the “science of beer”…) and offers a 6-acre outdoor exhibit which the National Science Foundation proclaimed a “national model”.

SciTech Science Center in Aurora, Illinois, US (photo courtesy Aurorasrestaurants.com)

At the center, guests can explore special exhibitions such as the current one looking at Dinosaurs and their Babies or play in the outdoor science park (summer months only).

Other exhibits include Insects, Awesome Weather, Light and Color, What’s the Matter with Chemistry? and Electricity and Magnets.

Personnel are also on hand to give demonstrations to visitors and school parties.

The SIS Building (photo by Tagishsimon)

So obvious, in fact, that it’s regularly used as a location for films (Pierce Brosnan famously shot out of the side of the building in a speedboat in one 007 scene from The World is Not Enough) and can be photographed as part of many river cruises.

It’s never quite been established exactly what Q-Branch-esque modifications this building boasts — but we bet they’re pretty cool. It’s supposedly known within the “service” as Legoland for its blockish design.

And no, before you ask, you can’t get inside…

Tip: one of the best views of the building is from Vauxhall Bridge.

The front of the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago, United States (photo IIMS on Facebook)

Its interactive exhibits take a  look at the way the body works and how we interact with the it, examine individual areas of surgery such as those featured in its latest exhibition, “Surgicogenomics: Genes and Stem Cells in Surgery”.

In additions to the changing exhibition spaces, the lakefront mansion also houses four floors of collections, which tell the tales of centuries of surgery, from primitive beginnings to cutting edge technology used today.

There is also a fine art collection related to surgery, an extensive library and a manuscript collection from famous surgeons throughout the years.

Alexandra Palace viewed from the south (photo by Russ London)

Part of Alexandra Palace (or Ally Pally as it is affectionately known by locals) was originally leased to the BBC in 1935 and television transmissions started the year after, prompting something of a war — both Marconi-EMI’s 405-line system and John Logie Baird’s 240-line system were installed and transmitted on alternate weeks until the 405-line system was chosen in 1937.

The beginning of those transmissions marked the first regular 405-line services the world had ever known — there’s a Blue Plaque on the building the commemorate the occasion.

The broadcasts continued from the huge transmitter (still clearly visible on the top of the Palace), with a short intermission during the Second World War, when the aerial was used to jam the signals of incoming German fighters during air raids, with considerable life-saving success.

Until 1956, Alexandra Palace remained the BBC’s primary transmission facility.

Today, the mast is still used to broadcast to parts of London poorly covered by the Crystal Palace transmitter, as well as several DAB and FM radio stations (and those two studios belonging to Marconi and Baird are still there).

It’s also used as a concert and cultural venue and is dubbed “the People’s Palace”.

The Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington, United States

The centers hosts a range of permanent and temporary exhibitions, touching subjects that range from biology to technology in an entertaining way — science is packaged in exhibitions such as “Circus! Science under the big top” and “Mindbender Mansion”.

The site also contains an IMAX theatre, a laser dome and a planetarium, as well as a live science stage where demonstrations for the public and visiting educational groups are conducted.

Jupiter at the Maine Solar System Model (photo by Michael York, courtesy University of Maine)

Drive along Route 1 and you’ll see what we mean — it’s a scaled model of our solar system, with one mile representing the distance between the Earth and the sun.

That equals a 40-mile model of the solar system as you drive between the University of Maine at Presque Isle campus
and the Houlton Information Center at the end of I-95.

In total, there are ten major components (the sun and nine planets), with additional moons for Earth, Saturn, Jupiter (all four of them) and Pluto.

Cool fact: it’s the largest model of the solar system in the world

Photo by Michael York, courtesy University of Maine Solar System Information Page