Collection
Whether it is the advent of electricity or telephony, technology is everywhere. Again and again, it changes the way we live. NEMO's collection brings this fascinating story to life.
Collection highlights
NEMO's collection consists of four sub-collections: Technology in and around the home, energy generation and storage, installation technology and lighting.
Bellows stick hoover
The American Aspirator Company launched a hand-operated bellows-stem hoover around 1910. The clear-lacquered wooden body had two handles and a black canvas bellows.
Transformer
This air transformer was used to test components of high-voltage lines, for example in technical schools and laboratories. This example comes from the high-voltage laboratory of N.V. Hazemeyer in Hengelo, where it was used together with a second transformer. The device dates from 1935 and is about 3.5 metres high.
Hanging arc lamp
This arc lamp by the brand Chateau Frères & Cie comes from the lighthouse “Brandaris” on Terschelling. The bright light is created when two carbon rods touch, a strong electric current passes through them and then they are pulled apart slightly. The current then continues to jump across, forming a bright arc of light.
Gas calibration device
This gas calibration device, the “Cubic Foot Bottle”, was used to accurately test gas meters. The device is part of an English method of checking a standard gas clock. By lifting up a water-filled container, air from the bottle was forced into the gas clock through a tube. This made it possible to measure exactly how much gas the clock registered. The bottle itself could hold over 62 pounds of 16.7°C water, which was accurately weighed.
The world’s first shared electric car
Witkar
The Witkar – the world’s first shared electric car – was made in the Netherlands in the 1960s and 70s. It was designed by Luud Schimmelpennink. NEMO has two Witkars in its collection: a restored model in the storage area and another at Technium on the second floor. The video above is in Dutch.
Technological developments
NEMO has around 20,000 objects in its collection. From electric tie warmers and portable audio players to Van de Graaff generators and the first lab-grown sausage, the collection showcases the intrinsic relationship between humans and technology – and its huge impact on our daily lives.
Vind het uit!
See how young people think about tomorrow's world on Vind het uit!. Five science museums opened their collections to young editors. They dived into the objects and got inspired. On the website you will find their ideas, stories and visions of the future.
Interesting themes emerged from the collections of NEMO Science Museum, Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Teylers Museum, Universiteitsmuseum Groningen and Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht. On the big challenges of our time: climate change, energy transition, digitalisation and biotechnology.
What can science and technology mean in this? One thing is certain: there is still a lot to find out.
The collection and the depot
The depot is used for managing, conserving and cataloguing the collection.
