British Optical Association Museum

The College of Optometrists is the custodian of the British Optical Association Museum, the premier optical collection in the country and believed to be the oldest of its type in the world (founded 1901). The collection comprises historic spectacles and lenses, pince-nez, opera glasses, contact lenses, opticians' equipment, orthoptic devices, models of eye disease and the representation of all these subjects in art: paintings, prints and sculpture. The BOA Library has an outstanding collection of books on optics and the workings of the human eye from the sixteenth century to the present. For more information visit www.college-optometrists.org/museum

The BOA Museum also features in our Learning section and our Family History section

Contact Us

The College of Optometrists
42 Craven Street
London
WC2N 5NG
Tel. 020 7766 4353


Assistance and facilities offered to visiting researchers by appointment with the Curator.

Visitor Information

Opening Hours
The Museum is open to the public by appointment only, 09:30-17:00 Monday-Friday.
Closed on weekends, Bank Holidays and on some other occasions due to College events. See our appointments to visit page for a list of the dates that are not available.

Free admission, donations welcome.
Building Tours for groups or individuals also offered at a modest charge of £5 per person.

Accessibility: One step up to front door; Museum floors accessible by lift. Library on ground floor.

Charing Cross. We are also easily reached from Waterloo Station via the Hungerford Foot Bridge.
Charing Cross (Northern Line, Bakerloo Line), Embankment (Northern Line, Bakerloo Line, District Line, Circle Line).
Numerous buses serve Trafalgar Square, Northumberland Avenue, Embankment and The Strand.

Exhibitions

Latest News from the BOA Museum

Temporary Exhibition: Celebrity Spex Scandal (from September 2011 until further notice)

Eyewear of the once famous and the still infamous.


Temporary Exhibition: Who is Blind? (until further notice)

What does the word 'blind' actually mean and is it in fact our attitude towards the visually impaired that deserves the label? This exhibition can only be viewed as part of our Building Tours

Explore our collections in our searchable online catalogue: www.musEYEum.org

You can now subscribe to the museum curator's HistorEYE blog



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