The College’s British Optical Association Museum hosts hundreds of visitors at Open House 2026

This year marks the 125^th anniversary of the Museum, which is home to the world’s oldest collection of spectacles, vision aids, sight-testing equipment and eye-popping exhibits relating to the history of vision and eye health.  

This year’s event featured a pop-up exhibition curated by Gary Kousoulou, which brought together eye charts from different languages, cultures, and moments in optometry’s history. The Museum also launched two new two new displays at the event: Teddy Roosevelt’s pince-nez and the 1920s foundation stone of the old London Refraction Hospital. 

Expert volunteers from the Ophthalmic Antiques International Collectors’ Club, College staff and members of the College Council were on hand to guide visitors around the historic collections and answer questions.