The Middle Ages saw frequent debates over whether curiosity was good or bad. A virtue or a vice? Could you be too curious? Should you curb your curiosity?
One hallmark of modernity is that these debates persist and yet are utterly changed.
Curiosity is an ever-present feature of our lives, incited and mediated by endless access to digital information. But, beyond the clickbait, curiosity has also proved itself: it has powered the research that has utterly reshaped our understanding of ourselves and of the natural world around us.
The Curiosity Cabinet at 171 Strand is dedicated to the curious – people and objects. Our aim is to tell the story of some of the extraordinary research being done at King’s by staff and students using the physical and digital objects that have inspired or emerged from it.
To hear more about a specific object and the work linked to it, please click on the Project tab below.
The Curiosity Cabinet is brought to you by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities supported by King’s Culture. Design and installation by Unknown Works.
Contact us
Visit us at 171 The Strand, London, WC2R 1EP
A free-to-visit, outdoor display.