Beckman and McCullough with apparatus. From the Caltech yearbook, ca 1933.

Arnold Orville Beckman came to Caltech in 1923, at a time when both he and the Institute were young, little known, and had unlimited potential. Within a few years, he earned his Ph.D., joined the Caltech faculty, invented the pH meter , and left to launch an industrial empire. In the same period, Caltech laid the foundation for the great institution it was to become.

In many ways, the Beckman Institute celebrates nearly a century of Dr. Beckman's remarkable life, and Caltech's equally illustrious history, by creating a new laboratory dedicated to pushing back the frontiers of chemistry and biology. The exhibits in the Beckman Room introduce us to this history, and help us look forward to the future.

Read on for a overview of the contents of the Beckman Room.

Arnold and Mabel Beckman's life

The museum includes in its central case an artifactual collage of the life of Arnold Beckman. Representative objects such as childhood photos, Beckman's camping gear, his medals and citations, and Mabel Beckman's wedding bouquet form a three-dimensional record of their life and times.

The History of Chemistry

A time line on the east wall chronicles the march of chemistry and related scientific discoveries from the seventeenth century to the 1980s in pictorial images, text, and three-dimensional artifacts.

1920s Chemistry Lab

Included in the museum is a laboratory recreation that presents a chemistry lab of the 1920s and 1930s, the time when Arnold Beckman was at Caltech.

Beckman Institute Research

The Beckman Institute blackboard is an informal pictorial and graphic representation of the highly innovative work now being done by research groups in the Beckman Institute.

The Man Behind the Machines

Arnold O. Beckman: The Man Behind the Machines, is an 11 minute film that explores the relationship between Beckman's early life and his career in science.

Beckman pH meter

The Beckman Instruments display, beginning with the pH meter of 1934, highlights the development of the company that became Beckman Instruments and started a revolution in scientific instrumentation.

The Beckman Foundation

A final case describes the work of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, that supports institutional research in scientific and medical areas. Caltech has been a major beneficiary of the Beckmans' generosity.

The Caltech Science Museum's Beckman Room Exhibit is located at 131 Beckman Institute on the Caltech campus. The museum is open by appointment only. To view the exhibits contact the Archives at archives@caltech.edu