Museums make your jaw drop the first time.
Museums make you have a sensory overload always.
Museums keep going like the Neverending Story.
Museums begin to all look the same.
I figured this out after a month and a half of an intensive university course trip experience which sent me and a group of fifteen other undergrads all over Greece and Turkey a couple years ago.
I am being reminded of this once again, as I trek my way through the glorious freebies that are London museums.
So:
Which ones do you *have* to see?
Which ones could you skip?
What's the point of going to any?
These were three questions I was asking myself about a week ago after I barrelled through both the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum in the space of four hours. Yes, they are next door to eachother, but that possibly was a bit quick. Then again, if you aren't one for crowds or queues, you may as well skip the Natural History Museum. Same goes for the hordes of art students crowding the corners of the V&A, veraciously freezing the frozen stone of long dead humans or magically mythical individuals, onto paper.
What you need to do:
Go to a museum with friends.
Go to a museum for an exhibit or event.
Case in point:
The Science Museum is nearly entirely a hands-on and experiential venue which, as such, is a top spot to take kids. Not the sort of place you want to go alone, especially if you would rather avoid crowds and howls.
That is, until some new friends of mine invited me to this fantastic and monthly Wednesday evening event called the Science Museum Lates.
It's an adult only event (they serve alcohol among other snacks and goodies) which takes place after the Science Museum closes to the public at 6pm.
It's still free.
The only catch you you'll want to show up at least half an hour, if not more, before the museum reopens for the event as they tend to be very popular (particularly during the colder months).
At these events, which take on a particular theme (when I went it was all about engineering), you'll find lecture-based talks, booth after booth of university, public or privately funded groups doing everything from creating robotic prostectics which you can try out, to more advanced forms of Wii which allow you to control a robot or a race a digital penguin on a ski-hill.
At this particular event there was drop-in Lego building, a simulated crash site and collapsed Tube tunnels. It was as much as sensory overload as any museum ever is, except that you were not just looking. You were playing.
Yes, they won't always have a whole room full of boxes of Lego for adults to go nuts with, but you can be sure they will have something to keep you laughing.
If you want a free and fun night out, what better way then to appeal to your inner child and go explore science like you never have before?
Upcoming themes are as follows:
This is a museum experience to not be missed.
Happy experimenting!
Moony
Museums make you have a sensory overload always.
Museums keep going like the Neverending Story.
Museums begin to all look the same.
 |
| The Enlightenment Room at the British Museum is an endless hall of collectors bits. |
I figured this out after a month and a half of an intensive university course trip experience which sent me and a group of fifteen other undergrads all over Greece and Turkey a couple years ago.
I am being reminded of this once again, as I trek my way through the glorious freebies that are London museums.
So:
Which ones do you *have* to see?
Which ones could you skip?
What's the point of going to any?
These were three questions I was asking myself about a week ago after I barrelled through both the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum in the space of four hours. Yes, they are next door to eachother, but that possibly was a bit quick. Then again, if you aren't one for crowds or queues, you may as well skip the Natural History Museum. Same goes for the hordes of art students crowding the corners of the V&A, veraciously freezing the frozen stone of long dead humans or magically mythical individuals, onto paper.
What you need to do:
Go to a museum with friends.
Go to a museum for an exhibit or event.
Case in point:
The Science Museum is nearly entirely a hands-on and experiential venue which, as such, is a top spot to take kids. Not the sort of place you want to go alone, especially if you would rather avoid crowds and howls.
That is, until some new friends of mine invited me to this fantastic and monthly Wednesday evening event called the Science Museum Lates.
It's an adult only event (they serve alcohol among other snacks and goodies) which takes place after the Science Museum closes to the public at 6pm.
It's still free.
The only catch you you'll want to show up at least half an hour, if not more, before the museum reopens for the event as they tend to be very popular (particularly during the colder months).
At these events, which take on a particular theme (when I went it was all about engineering), you'll find lecture-based talks, booth after booth of university, public or privately funded groups doing everything from creating robotic prostectics which you can try out, to more advanced forms of Wii which allow you to control a robot or a race a digital penguin on a ski-hill.
At this particular event there was drop-in Lego building, a simulated crash site and collapsed Tube tunnels. It was as much as sensory overload as any museum ever is, except that you were not just looking. You were playing.
Yes, they won't always have a whole room full of boxes of Lego for adults to go nuts with, but you can be sure they will have something to keep you laughing.
If you want a free and fun night out, what better way then to appeal to your inner child and go explore science like you never have before?
Upcoming themes are as follows:
- 25 February 2015: Sexuality
- 25 March 2015: Enhancements
- 29 April 2015: Wearable Technology
- 27 May 2015: Year of Light
 |
| No more will you see just another Grecian urn. It's time to be creative! |
This is a museum experience to not be missed.
Happy experimenting!
Moony
I wish I could have gone! That sounds like so much fun! Will you be going to all of the events? If so, please share them! I'd love to read more!
ReplyDeleteIt is one of many things on my list to make sure I attend, especially since they only happen once a month. Glad you enjoyed reading about it!
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