A visit to the Natural History Museum in London ought to have been a great day out, but strangely, for me, it just wasn't.
There were some exceptions to the general dullness of the visit: one was a butterfly exhibition which happened to be on when we visited. These wonders of the insect world are so beautiful .
The colours,
and the symmetry of their patterns - magical.
Their joyful fluttering around and gentle alighting on folks' arms would lift the mood of anyone.
See this fella?
Here he is from another angle. Would you look at the detail in his antennae ... This is ah-maz-ing!
I like this guy. He seems to my like the kind of fella a kids' movie could be based on. He is full of personality.
I realized whilst there, that although there were some things of interest at the Natural History Museum, I seem to enjoy reading or learning about people more than things.... or at least things that are connected with people. (More on this when we visit Hampton Court Palace in another post.) This lady here, Mary Anning, collected many fossils during the first half of the 19th century from the English coastline near her home.
Another highlight from the trip was the building itself.
It was so beautiful,
and was opened in 1881. The building was built specifically to house the Natural History Museum collection.
Awesome.
There are some wonderful stuffed birds in the museum too.
Seriously cute ones.
Cute? Or dopey? Or ugly? Couldn't quite figure with this one,
... but there were some extremely handsome specimens to be found too.
I'm not sure what it is with this fella:
Is it white marble statues?
Or men who sit cross-legged?
Of men who've lived, and died, and whose legacy I count as less than helpful?
Or a combination of these?
Having said all that, would I recommend a visit to the Natural History Museum?
Yes, I probably would. After all, it's free to get in! And the building itself is marvellous, and the Dodos and other stuffed birds look so beautiful / funny / odd / dopey.
I think I missed the Wow! factor, because nature, to me, is full of wonder and awesomeness and beauty and magnificence.
I guess that's what happens when you leave the Wonderful and Awesome and altogether Lovely and Magnificent Creator at the door of the building.
Ah...the butterflies are beautiful...the stuffed birds interesting....but your last comment, so soberingly thoughtful. The world view of the establishment affects the exhibit.....something that should be so full of wonder can come across so shallow and empty. Oh, what they miss.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever come for a visit here, I will take you to a 'museum' on Mt. St. Helens that exhibits the eruption of that volcano (in 1981) from a Biblical perspective - supporting evidence of the Biblical flood and many other interesting facts. Such a breath of fresh air!
I wanna go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAt least the butterflies were alive! Stuffed animal (dead) exhibits, meh! I guess that's why I prefer zoos. That truly is a beautiful building, however, and thankfully your visit to the museum didn't cost anything out of pocket.
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