Collecting the old and the new at the Pavia Museum of Electrical Technology

In 2011 the University of Pavia celebrated 650 years from its foundation as a Studium Generale. During the long history of this ancient university scientific museums have been created to collect original and curious things as teaching aids. Most of these museums still exist, but their mission has changed. They no longer collect the new; they only preserve the old. The Pavia Museum of Electrical Technology is different. Its origin is in the last two decades of the 20th century when old and new apparatus began to be collected for teaching purpose, thus continuing the original mission of a University museum. An extensive collection was soon gathered and a modern building was erected to accommodate it. The new Museum was opened in March 2007. The paper describes the origin and the mission of this modern museum and its special features.