Having heard about this place loads for as long as I can remember, I’ve been excited to Visit it for a ridiculously long time and luckily, it was a good afternoon out!
Myself and a friend, Tasmin (you can find her coffee-shop review based blog here) went to visit it at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon on the 7th of September (2014). It was moderately busy but nothing like the horrendous queues and crowds I've seen in other photos of the museum! The staff were very helpful with our rushed questions (it closed at 17:50), even when we couldn’t find the actual entrance to this huge building although I didn’t spot any of them around to actually answer questions about the exhibits. The museum admission was completely free of charge thanks to the 2001 government scheme to allow everyone access to their own culture and heritage (see more about that here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15979878)
| Hungover and make-up free, we entered the 'Red Zone' |
With a path on either side of it leading to other zones, the first room we went into had an escalator leading into a huge, fiery, cracked dome to symbolise the beginnings of the earth – the red zone. Leading to this were portholes in the wall with various treasures in them, they were probably very interesting all by themselves but the inner child in me was far too excited to see the top of the escalator!
You would have to do a zone a day to feasibly read all of the information and see all of the exhibits without boring yourself silly so for the most part, we just floated on through with the main crowd, which was like an ongoing queue conga around the place, looking at things as we passed by and only pausing for things of real interest. The first exhibit that captured my attention was the cast from the Vesuvius volcano in Pompeii in 79 A.D. featuring a man and a dog, you’ll probably know the one I mean, it is pretty famous and it gave me that awe-inspiring feeling of seeing something in the flesh that is so well-known and unique. It did bring to life that I was in one of THE best museums in the world but unfortunately, little else did as there was nothing spectacular about the place other than the building and the exhibits themselves.
| Plaster cast of a dog straining to free itself of its lead at the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, 79 A.D. |
There is no way anyone could criticise the actual exhibits no matter how hard they tried but the way in which they are presented could do with some tweaking to appeal to more audiences i.e. those that aren’t children or willing to spend twenty minutes reading chunks of text in order to figure out what’s in front of them and why it’s important; short and sweet summaries could go a long way.
Now I don’t want to give too much away but one thing to look out for is that the interactivity of the exhibits is quite limited if you’re no longer a six year old, particularly in the red zone (and if you are a six year old, please get off the internet for it is dark and full of terrors). It was fun enough but unless you have a real passion for your natural history then the excitement wears a little thin even though you know you should feel more awed by it all – perhaps I was just hungover.
Designed by renowned Liverpool architect Alfred Waterhouse, it really is a piece of artwork all by itself and would be worthy of a visit without the museum. Together they are the fitting complement to one another and they give the entire experience a hint of magic that with a few adjustments, could really make this place unforgettable.
As we reached a crossroads between the zones, we made a not-so-quick pitstop at the museum Gift Shop which was a hive of activity and very colourful at first glance!
Everyone loves overly expensive museum gift shops full of oddities and hard-to-find items. This museum certainly tried to meet that challenge but fell just a little short of the mark! It had a great collection of items to buy and a lot of very quirky souvenirs. The only downside is, barely anything other than the unimpressive t-shirts and bags were Natural History Museum-specific which is what most tourists are really after for the whole, been-there-seen-that factor.
They had the usual gemstones and kids toys but nothing wonderful enough that it felt worth buying, I had been determined to buy a souvenir for myself and for family/friends but upon leaving, and after a lot of deliberation, I still left completely empty-handed as nothing managed to convince me it was worth the price tag, which even for a museum, were pretty high.
Even the range of keyrings was meagre and they are the signature souvenir staple of most places. The range of books for sale was brilliant with some really interesting copies to tempt parting with a few coins but they simply weren't the type of souvenir I was after unless I could get the museum’s logo embossed into the cover or something daft like that.
Don’t get me wrong, the gift shop is absolutely huge, it just seems to be filled with items that are quirky but still very find-able on the internet for a much cheaper price. I would’ve much preferred to see a smaller gift shop with place-specific souvenirs!
Out of the two national museums I’ve seen, this one was definitely lacking. The Australia Museum in Sydney was leagues ahead with a lot more care and thought going into how the exhibits were presented and the information was written in a style accessible to all and in such a way that your interest couldn’t fail to be grabbed. This museum in comparison was a bit of a let-down, particularly following its mammoth reputation.
| An example of the building's detail |
I do recommend going just to say you’ve been and to bear witness to some incredible natural treasures but don’t make it the staple part of your trip. In fact, if there’s a large queue, it might be worth skipping it out until another time altogether because it just isn’t designed in a way that would cope with crowds easily and that’s unfortunate given its popularity.
To visit the Natural History Museum's website, click here
It's very informative and well worth half an hour of your time having a browse around.
To visit the Australian Museum's website, click here
Now I'm not suggesting that you go to Sydney just for this museum but if you do happen to be there, please go and pay it a visit, I highly recommend it!
