Yes, it's still there - and it's cleaner than it was, and you can see the terracotta creatures much better but inside...
I told Finn it would be hell on earth - full of kids, crowds, no natural light and very very claustrophobic. Once upon a time the NHM had large spacious galleries that proceeded across the building from the centre, each with a different theme. There were dinosaurs, but they were not there as an attraction to be queued for, and the blue whale was in a quiet place - probably the place it still is approximately, but now the interior has been buggered about. There are fragments of old corridors and displays - but elsewhere partitions and false ceilings and vinyl floor coverings abound. I sigh for the huge mahogony doors that a child found it hard to push open, and the long, wooden floors, which creaked slightly. We used to play behind the heavy curtains that shielded the dioramas from the light - and stand on the brass gratings where the hot air circulated.
The place is now unbearably hot - but the brass gratings have been covered up in many places... the gentle creak of the floor is gone - and so of course is the peace and quiet. I imagine there was a quiet area yesterday - but we didn't find it. It is poorly signposted - and the whole zone thing is annoying (although probably useful). The map shows that whole galleries on the first floor have simply disappeared from use. I wish now that we had gone to look and see if the geology room with all the crystal specimens was still there - I set a scene in The Ash Grove there - which may be the last record of it. I have been to the NHM several times since the rearrangements of the 80s - in the vain hope of recapturing some sense of how it was - a place where you could go and marvel and learn - in peace.
Of course museums have to be popular and accessible but must they do so at the expense of their architectural beauty, of their educational function? There is only time to gawp at things - no time to stand and contemplate and discuss - because one is endlessly battered by other people, and kids and pointing and buggies and yes, of course, museums are a great place to take children - and I was very privileged to be able to go there as a small child and enjoy it in relative peace. What I wish is that NMH would set up a "Dinosaur Theme Park" somewhere - where everyone could have the "Oooh-ah!" experience and thrill seekers could be thrilled - they could put the volcanoes and the earthquakes there too... and then may be we could quietly enjoy the opthalmosaur and the giant sloth in relative peace. And perhaps they could restore the dioramas...
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| An uncharacteristically deserted view of the ichthysaurs |
I told Finn it would be hell on earth - full of kids, crowds, no natural light and very very claustrophobic. Once upon a time the NHM had large spacious galleries that proceeded across the building from the centre, each with a different theme. There were dinosaurs, but they were not there as an attraction to be queued for, and the blue whale was in a quiet place - probably the place it still is approximately, but now the interior has been buggered about. There are fragments of old corridors and displays - but elsewhere partitions and false ceilings and vinyl floor coverings abound. I sigh for the huge mahogony doors that a child found it hard to push open, and the long, wooden floors, which creaked slightly. We used to play behind the heavy curtains that shielded the dioramas from the light - and stand on the brass gratings where the hot air circulated.
The place is now unbearably hot - but the brass gratings have been covered up in many places... the gentle creak of the floor is gone - and so of course is the peace and quiet. I imagine there was a quiet area yesterday - but we didn't find it. It is poorly signposted - and the whole zone thing is annoying (although probably useful). The map shows that whole galleries on the first floor have simply disappeared from use. I wish now that we had gone to look and see if the geology room with all the crystal specimens was still there - I set a scene in The Ash Grove there - which may be the last record of it. I have been to the NHM several times since the rearrangements of the 80s - in the vain hope of recapturing some sense of how it was - a place where you could go and marvel and learn - in peace.
Of course museums have to be popular and accessible but must they do so at the expense of their architectural beauty, of their educational function? There is only time to gawp at things - no time to stand and contemplate and discuss - because one is endlessly battered by other people, and kids and pointing and buggies and yes, of course, museums are a great place to take children - and I was very privileged to be able to go there as a small child and enjoy it in relative peace. What I wish is that NMH would set up a "Dinosaur Theme Park" somewhere - where everyone could have the "Oooh-ah!" experience and thrill seekers could be thrilled - they could put the volcanoes and the earthquakes there too... and then may be we could quietly enjoy the opthalmosaur and the giant sloth in relative peace. And perhaps they could restore the dioramas...
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