College of Optometrists

19 September 2012 Return to news listings

On Sunday 23 September the College of Optometrists will be opening its doors to the general public as part of ‘Open House’ London 2012.

The historic Georgian building is home to the British Optical Association Museum, which has some of Britain’s oldest collections of spectacles and vision aids. Among the hundreds of items on display will be a late-Victorian stereoscope – one of the first machines devised to show 3-D images. In an age of advanced 3-D technology, the public will be invited to use a binocular eye piece to gaze back in time and look at 3-D photos of buildings as they appeared in the 19th century. One of the most historic images is that of a Roman era monument; the Victorian stereoscope offers a view of the rarely-been-seen-before architectural landscape as it appeared at the time.

There will also be an opportunity for visitors to look at the advances in vision care through the ages. To mark the 150th anniversary of the Snellen letter chart, which first came into use in eye examinations in 1864, the College will be displaying the latest generation of test charts, Test Chart 2000, created by Professor David Thomson. The College of Optometrists’ museum curator, Neil Handley, said: “This year’s ‘Open House’ provides an excellent chance to explore our extraordinary building and some of the Capital’s most eye-catching artefacts. It’s not often people get to visit a museum where the exhibits look back at them!”

The College of Optometrists, which is one minute from Trafalgar Square, will be open from 1pm until 5pm on Sunday 23 September and entry is free. For more information, please visit: www.college-optometrists.org