Well as everyone might know, I absolutely love going to museums... with the possible exception of those dedicated to war or military history. So you must humour me now while I do the mandatory gushing.
A good museum or gallery can have me for the entire day, and even some of the more minor ones can keep me entertained for at least a couple of hours. I like the feeling of contemplative silence in (most) museums ie: those without children. And yes, as odd as it sounds, I adore dusty old things, and even more so what museums can do to them; I think its really fascinating how an unremarkable bit of pottery can be transformed into an object of sacerdoctal reverence when placed in a glass case. It's suddenly furnished with say, a thousand years' worth of history and significance...and in the course of finding that out, you too, develop a new way of looking and thinking about it.
So in my first couple of weeks here, the National Museum of Scotland and the National Galleries were no-brainers on my list of places to visit - and I do highly recommend them, not simply because they're both free, but because the collections are quite excellent. I especially liked the Madonna and Child pieces by Raphael in the Galleries' permanent collection, and I'm sure you will too! I'm no art conoisseur but hey - who can resist a bright palatte?
This past week however saw trips to museums dedicated to rather odd and somewhat unconventional subjects which I want to spend some time describing. First up on Sunday was the Museum of Childhood.
One of the first museums dedicated to the subject of childhood. I'm quite embarassed to say that I've been meaning to go to similar museums in Singapore including the MINT Museum of Toys for the longest time but I just never got down to doing it. Perhaps it was the S$15 admission fee at MINT which always put me off. But in any case, Edinburgh marks the first time I've stepped into a museum which houses the paraphernalia of childhood, and nothing else. It's been highly recommended by several guidebooks I've come across, so when Fel suggested we take a trip down to the Royal Mile to check it out - why not?
Some things I liked:
The first gallery you walk into when you enter the museum provides a historical overview of childhood (in Britain) which is really quite informative. There are sections devoted to things like feeding, play and education, and how attitudes to these sorts of things which we now consider integral to a child's welfare have changed quite remarkably since the 18th-century. However I was disappointed with how all this rather fascinating information was presented through cluttered and long descriptive labels which were (horrors) not even at eye level...some of them hovered somewhere around the hip. Good content, poor display. A pity really.
But moving on to other good things. I think it's a sign that I'm getting old when I experience moments of nostalgia in this sort of museum.
I saw the exact same set of Beatrix Potter books which I used to own as a child! Peter Rabbit, The Tailor of Glouscester...ah familiar names, familiar characters. Now I wonder whatever happened to my own set of Beatrix Potter books?
I might add that it is rather strange to see objects from your own life being encased in a museum exhibit.
And finally this does deserve a bit of a special mention. It's a 'board' game (even though its printed on paper) which is dubiously termed the 'Reward of Merit.' As you might have guessed from the title , it's an absolutely didactic Victorian game which both amused and appalled me with the little boxes players have to travel through en route to the final box termed (you guessed it) 'The Reward of Merit'! Box 24 is entitled 'The Truant,' and woe betide you if you happen to land there, because apparently "you justly merit woe, pay one, and to the Dungeon go." And of course to hammer the lesson in, players may not be released from the "Dungeon" till another player ends up there. You would of course be safer landing up in a box like number 4 entitled "The Gardener." However you'd have to put up with rather revolting little rhymes which go something like "plant what is good, root out what is bad / Then you'll become a charming lad!"
I think in all, a very quaint little place - and I don't mean that in a belittling sense. It's definitely not the kind of museum with sophisticated displays, fancy lighting or plush carpets. It's somewhat messy, with an oddball collection ranging from luncheon meat cans to the report card of an 8-year-old Victorian schoolboy. But it is after all a museum about childhood, and it is quite consciously targeted at children (and their frazzled parents), with little activity corners complete with dress-up stations and puppets. So in that sense, it is certainly not intimidating. If you're the type that scoffs museums as elitist and inacessible, try this one on a free Sunday afternoon!
Visited quite a different type of museum the very next day. I didn't bring my camera along, but I suppose that's just as well - it's not a museum you should step into just before tucking into a meal! I'm talking about the Surgeons' Hall Museum, which is conveniently housed within the esteemed Royal College of Surgeons on Nicolson Street! It's 3 pounds admission, and for that, you get to tour 3 very fascinating galleries, the highlight being William Playfair's Pathology museum which is home to a whole range of anatomical specimens dating back to the 18th C - all perfectly preserved and on public display. They've got everything including preserved human hearts, brains, bones (some with bullet holes still intact), eyeballs, muscles and even a jar of tapeworms and other parasites which might reside within your body. Highly recommended if you're a biology/medical student, my younger brother, or just someone with a morbid fascination with human anatomy.
The other two sections of the museum include one dedicated to the history of dentistry and the history of surgical developments and the college in Edinburgh itself. There's currently a special exhibition on sports, exercise and wellness which is frankly quite underwhelming compared to the rest of the museum. However, there's a nifty device there which allows you to try your hand at key-hole surgery - quite a test in dexterity and coordination!
Like the childhood museum, you can easily cover this in about an hour and a half...it's not that big at all. But definitely worth the 3 pounds if only to satisfy my rather perverse curiousity for the afternoon.
Other museums and galleries which I still want to visit:
1. Talbot Rice gallery
2. The People's Story
3. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
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