T

hink twice before you whip out a tissue and give that worktop a wipe; that’s not mould – it’s penicillin.

This is the lab where Alexander Fleming first discovered the antibiotic that we all take for granted – and now you can nose around and see exactly how he did it.

Tucked away inside St Mary’s Hospital, the museum is only open from Monday to Thursday mornings, and included in the very reasonable £2 entry fee is a guided tour from a knowledgeable volunteer – or perhaps even the museum’s curator. 

The lab’s been set up just as the eminent Scottish scientist liked it, with lots of petri dishes stacked up on the side, a textbook lying open at just the right page and a microscope set up, ready for inspection (wonder what’s on that slide?).

In fact it’s so realistic here, that you almost expect the man himself to come back any minute…