Venture on a voyage of technological discovery with the London Science Museum’s new iPad app

Earlier this year, we brought you news on London’s Science Museum partnership with the mighty Google, constituting an impressive array of interactive Chrome experiments designed to bring the inner workings of the Web into the real world.

But that was then, and this is now. Today, the Science Museum is lifting the lid on its first app, as it seeks to take its physical exhibits to the technologically-enabled masses.

Journeys of Invention

Journeys of Invention is an iPad-only app featuring 81 objects from the Science Museum’s collection, with 14 themed interactive journeys guiding users through the exhibits.

If you’ve ever been to the London Science Museum you’ll already be aware of the impressive range of artifacts on display, including Scott’s Antarctic Medical Chest, an Apple I computer, the Apollo 10 Command Module, a Cray supercomputer, Enigma and a 3D-printed gun.

Many of these items have been reeled into the app and you can zoom in and out, clicking on individual items or opt for one of the guided tours, which include ‘Atoms & Rays’, ‘New Science’, ‘Everyday’, ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Mass Production’.

Unfortunately, only one of the journeys is completely free, though a second one (‘New Science’) can be unlocked if you connect your Facebook account or sign-up by email. The remaining 12 require an in-app purchase of $9.99 (£6.99).

‘Connected’ is the gratis one, guiding you through early car-phones and radios, as well as the Enigma.

Each section features animated images, photos and background information on the artifact…

…while some feature audio-based content to help illustrate the item in question.

The Science Museum teamed up with Touch Press to develop this app, and it genuinely does bring some great insight into some of the world’s most groundbreaking technologies. You can (virtually) sit inside the Apollo 10 Command Module, or get up close and personal with an insect using Robert Hooke’s 17th-century microscope.

The free app is available to download globally from today – if it’s not live yet where you are, it should be shortly. And you can upgrade in-app to gain access to the full range of exhibits.

➤ Journeys of Invention | App Store