Without a Doubt?
How Science Works
02.10.2026 - 22.08.2027
Teylers Museum
Adults, Families
How does science actually work? Try to find your own answers to this question in the exhibition ‘Without a Doubt?’, on display from 2 October. Surprising historical and contemporary examples bring five basic principles of science to life. Step into the wonderful world of science!
Black Swan, in: John Gould, The Birds of Australia, part 7 (1848). Drawing by Elizabeth Gould (1804-1841). Collection Teylers Museum
For a long time, Coelacanths were only known as fossils. Scientists believed them to be extinct – until a living specimen was caught in South Africa in 1938. This forced scientists to adjust their theory. Collection Teylers Museum
Once upon a time, people believed that black swans did not exist. Just like purple cows and flying pigs, black swans were considered synonymous with the impossible: swans could only be white. Period. But then, in the 17th century, actual black swans were spotted in Australia. Scientists now suddenly had to adjust a theory that they had never doubted and believed to be the absolute truth for centuries.
It just goes to show: science can never offer absolute truths. However, it is not just an opinion either. Science is and remains the best method we have of acquiring reliable knowledge. In this interactive, contemporarily designed exhibition, you will discover exactly how it works. Five basic principles that form the foundation for all scientific research are highlighted: Finding Proof, Repeating, Adjusting, Testing, and Moving Forward.
Surprising examples
Books, models, videos, and instruments used for research into telepathy or the alignment of the planets: the principles are explained with the help of surprising loans from institutions in the Netherlands and abroad as well as colourful examples from the collection of Teylers Museum. You can also study these principles for yourself: find out if you are stronger than air pressure or participate in an experiment to see if you are actually able to read people’s minds. Discover that science is constantly evolving and that asking questions, raising doubts, and creative thinking are central to this.
Wilhelm Röntgen sent one of the first sets of X-rays he produced to Professor Hendrik Lorentz – who later worked at Teylers Museum – to have them checked. Verification by colleagues is an important scientific principle. X-ray by W.C. Röntgen, the hand of Röntgen’s wife, 1895.
Collection Teylers Museum
‘Het diertje’ in: Nicolaes Hartsoeker, Essay de dioptrique (Paris: Jean Anisson, 1694). Collectie Rijksmuseum Boerhaave Nicolaas Hartsoeker bestudeert in 1694 spermacellen. Hij gaat uit van de theorie dat in elke zaadcel een mini-mensje zit, dat de vrouw vervolgens ‘uitbroedt’.
