Museum things

[Paul mabbott]

Short notice - anyone south of the River might be interested in:
Horniman Museum exhibition details
to coincide with world oceans day.

[Paul mabbott]

Well, while we're on the subject of natural history museums, why not have a listing? After all, on rainy winters days you won't necessarily be able to find many live animals or flowers.

Of course, there is the NHM - Natural History Museum (strictly speaking, the British Museum (Natural History)!) but, as with the other mail, if your south of the River and want something more manageable, the Horniman Museum ha some very interesting exhibits:
Horniman Museum visiting us

Elsewhere, universities are worth looking at - they have museums primarily for educating their students or for research but the public are usually welcome.
Certainly at the fairly new Cambridge Zoology Museum:
Libraries & Museums:University Museum of Zoology
They also have a Botany collection and a Geology Museum:
Libraries & Museums:The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

I think that my favourites are in Glasgow, not just the Hunterian in general
http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk:443/m...em.php?item=60
but the smaller Zoology Museum ::Welcome to the Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery::
in th university - not all the animals are stuffed!

Any others worth visiting?

[bugbotherer]

Apart from the ones already mentioned
I found this one worth a visit
Oxford University Museum of Natural History (O.U.M.N.H. Homepage)
Last time I went they had some living invertebrate exhibits on the first floor and a bee colony
(Next door is another museum -Pitt Rivers - archeaology and anthropology)

[eeyore]

theres a nice museum in brighton that has a big collection of stuffed birds - me and my mate gary found it one day while wandering about - unfortunately we'd been drinking all day and i can't remember what it was called or where it is exactly - i think it was in the preston park area

[Kymba]

Originally Posted by eeyore

theres a nice museum in brighton that has a big collection of stuffed birds - me and my mate gary found it one day while wandering about - unfortunately we'd been drinking all day and i can't remember what it was called or where it is exactly - i think it was in the preston park area

Well that really helps
Anyone know if theres one in kent?

[thunder]

Originally Posted by eeyore

theres a nice museum in brighton that has a big collection of stuffed birds - me and my mate gary found it one day while wandering about - unfortunately we'd been drinking all day and i can't remember what it was called or where it is exactly - i think it was in the preston park area

The Booth Museum?

henrya

[eeyore]

nice one henry thats the one - i might go back (sober) and have a propper look next time i'm down that way - if anyone else is interested more info is here http://www.booth.virtualmuseum.info/

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Kymba

Well that really helps
Anyone know if theres one in kent?

thers a museum of rural life in canterbury Minster Museum, Craft & Animal Centre, Attractions Canterbury UK

[Kymba]

Originally Posted by eeyore

thers a museum of rural life in canterbury Minster Museum, Craft & Animal Centre, Attractions Canterbury UK

Just to let you know that Museum is closed now

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL THE MUSEUM IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED

I rang them to double check and its true. Dont know if its perminent but it is closed for all of this year.

[Paul mabbott]

You can sign up for regular mails from the BM(NH).

Sign up for e-news - Natural History Museum

[Paul mabbott]

It's sad but most museums are under threat. Derby Museum doesn't have much of a 'natural history' front but has now lost its last biological/natural history curators (Bill Grange - Home ) it seems to be the way thing are going .... sad

Originally Posted by Kymba

Just to let you know that Museum is closed now

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL THE MUSEUM IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED

I rang them to double check and its true. Dont know if its perminent but it is closed for all of this year.

[Za]

Originally Posted by eeyore

theres a nice museum in brighton that has a big collection of stuffed birds - me and my mate gary found it one day while wandering about - unfortunately we'd been drinking all day and i can't remember what it was called or where it is exactly - i think it was in the preston park area

It was the local butcher/poulterers window
Za

[Paul mabbott]

Some other museums have natural history parts including Sheffield - the Weston Park Museum has recently re-opened after major refurbishment (it was falling down ...) Gulbenkian Prize 2007 Longlist - Weston Park Museum Sheffield - 24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage

It seems that there is a competition for museum of the year, or some such, Gulbenkian Prize 2007 - 24 Hour Museum Reader Votes Pour In - 24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage - some good choices here ....

[Paul mabbott]

More fun at the BM(NH): next year:

Home Page - Ice Station Antarctica - Natural History Museum

[Paul mabbott]

At last, a chance for people to explore the beetle things at BMNH:

What's on - Natural History Museum

but better be quick .....

[dmclean2]

Hi folks,
Paul mentioned the Hornimans Museum, and brought back memories of a good few years ago,
I was working in my job as a Rigger and was sent up to London, I think it was to Forrest Hill, anyway, my brief was to measure up, manufacture and install a pulley and winch system to raise and lower heating / lights to be positioned over the fish tanks that were being installed in the new aquarium section of the museum, a fish breeding programme was already under way, so, over a period of six or seven days I worked in Hornimans.
I measured up went back to the workshop and made the bits and peices for the job, all in stainless steel , 6mm dia wire rope, winches, little spreader bars that would lift the heaters, little shackles to attach the ropes to the bars , pulleys that were to be fixed to the ceiling over the great big glass tanks that had been shipped in from Germany, .
So! having got all my tools,stepladders and ropes, ect; I headed up to Hornimans Museum, I met Dr Jim Brock , who at that time was in charge overall , and started on the job, I fixed up two of the small tanks that day, then went home ,
Came back up the following day and made a start in one of the big tanks,
I could stand in it ,put my arms out and twirl round and not touch the sides,
the height from inside the tank, about, 2 metres I think, anyway I got the stepladders in measured distances ,put a plumbob down from the ceiling then went up the ladder and marked the ceiling with a pencil using a template for the plate on the pulley,
I marked the four holes went down and got my hammer and a pin punch , went back up and popped indentations in the ceiling ready to drill, I laid my hammer on the little platform at the top of the steps ( can you see where this is going yet?) I went down to get the drill, bent down, bumped the ladder and my hammer dropped, smashed into the bottom of the tank and knocked a chunk of glass out nearly as big as a saucer, OH my gosh! : (or words to that effect) my stomache contracted , I felt sick , the depth of the hole must have been about 25mm ,I stood there for about five minutes then went to fin Dr Jim, he started to flap , that made me worse, then the guy who was to be looking after the aquatic side came through from the fish house and he asked me wahat had happened , I explained , he looked at it and said that he would get some silicon adhesive and stick it back in,
He said to me " do you know how much sand is ging in this tank? I said no, " five tons " he said " nobody will ever see that patch,

I could have kissed the ugly sod, Man! what a releif , Dr Jim had cooled down by this time as well ,
by the way! Hornimans museum is a realy nice place but if you see any water???? RUN
Duncan

[Hobjob]

Ipswich museum also has lots of stuffed (Vixtorian I think) birds.

[Paul mabbott]

Happy days - I suppose you're lucky they didn't stuff you and make an exhibit of you!

Originally Posted by dmclean2

Hi folks,
Paul mentioned the Hornimans Museum, and brought back memories of a good few years ago,
I was working in my job as a Rigger and was sent up to London, I think it was to Forrest Hill, anyway, my brief was to measure up, manufacture and install a pulley and winch system to raise and lower heating / lights to be positioned over the fish tanks that were being installed in the new aquarium section of the museum, a fish breeding programme was already under way, so, over a period of six or seven days I worked in Hornimans.
I measured up went back to the workshop and made the bits and peices for the job, all in stainless steel , 6mm dia wire rope, winches, little spreader bars that would lift the heaters, little shackles to attach the ropes to the bars , pulleys that were to be fixed to the ceiling over the great big glass tanks that had been shipped in from Germany, .
So! having got all my tools,stepladders and ropes, ect; I headed up to Hornimans Museum, I met Dr Jim Brock , who at that time was in charge overall , and started on the job, I fixed up two of the small tanks that day, then went home ,
Came back up the following day and made a start in one of the big tanks,
I could stand in it ,put my arms out and twirl round and not touch the sides,
the height from inside the tank, about, 2 metres I think, anyway I got the stepladders in measured distances ,put a plumbob down from the ceiling then went up the ladder and marked the ceiling with a pencil using a template for the plate on the pulley,
I marked the four holes went down and got my hammer and a pin punch , went back up and popped indentations in the ceiling ready to drill, I laid my hammer on the little platform at the top of the steps ( can you see where this is going yet?) I went down to get the drill, bent down, bumped the ladder and my hammer dropped, smashed into the bottom of the tank and knocked a chunk of glass out nearly as big as a saucer, OH my gosh! : (or words to that effect) my stomache contracted , I felt sick , the depth of the hole must have been about 25mm ,I stood there for about five minutes then went to fin Dr Jim, he started to flap , that made me worse, then the guy who was to be looking after the aquatic side came through from the fish house and he asked me wahat had happened , I explained , he looked at it and said that he would get some silicon adhesive and stick it back in,
He said to me " do you know how much sand is ging in this tank? I said no, " five tons " he said " nobody will ever see that patch,

I could have kissed the ugly sod, Man! what a releif , Dr Jim had cooled down by this time as well ,
by the way! Hornimans museum is a realy nice place but if you see any water???? RUN
Duncan

[Paul mabbott]

For those of an artistic bent - celebrating Darwin:

Darwin's Canopy - Natural History Museum

[Paul mabbott]

For those going to the Museum on June 21st - there's a different sort of wildlife on offer:
Exhibition Road Music Day: London's home of Fete de la Musique