My Local Museum

[mrs_overall]

Yesterday I had a spare half hour so for the first time in years I went for a mooch around the local museum. It was priceless. Nothing is in any sort of order so there was a cabinet of carved jet next to a display of Spanish doll toilet roll holders (yes, seriously!). There are 2 rooms devoted entirely to Captain Cook that contain no artefacts relating directly to him. For example, there was a spear and shield that came from an island "Captain Cook MAY have sailed near."
My two favourite things were a stuffed squirrel mounted on a vertical branch so that the squirrel looked like it was pole dancing, and a black dummy dressed as a female slave...which had white hands. A party of visitors gave me a wide berth as I was hanging onto a display case because I was laughing so much. Brilliant.

[ummmm]

I have a museum up the road from me that used to be Shakespeare's granddaughters house.

It's also a bit random.

[tonyav]

Our local history museum is like that ( random ) but still interesting though.

[mrs_overall]

I also liked the mummified severed hand which they seem to think goes well with 1920's handbags

[humbersloop]

probably curated by mr gove's history curriculum advisors mrs o

[Iluvspikey]

Hubby and me went into a museum like that. None of the displays had any corelation to the next, eg a dolls house was next to a display of Roman coins. Another one they had was a display of penis gourds. To display them somebody had set what looked like a wine rack on top of some packing cases, the gourds being diplayed on the ends of broom handles, all sticking up in the air, merrily for all to see, except the one at the end that had twizzled around and was pointing downwards. The packing case underneath said 'Hoffmeister Beer' My hubby said with a smile - that one on the end clearly has brewer's droop'! He practically had to carry me out I was laughing so much

[jno]

you need something more focused

http://www.pencilmuseum.co.uk/

[vulcan42]

The thing that worries me is every time I visit a museum I see things I used to own.

[Canary42]

I love visiting museums in my travels, and find that quite a few "themed" museums or museum displays really scrape the barrel looking for relevant material. Jane Austen's house at Chawton is a bit like that (e.g. a painting contributed by a local "artist") as is Dicken's House at Portsmouth (a couch which may be like the one he died on in Kent!).

But sometimes a gem can be found - for example a re-creation of Thomas Hardy's study in Dorchester museum which I believe is reasonably authentic.

P.S. All above visits were some time ago, so changes may have occurred.

[dollie65]

my local museum hasnt changed much over the years it looks the same as it was when i used to go there on educational school trips in the early 1960s...

[ummmm]

We also have the Charles Rennie Mackintosh museum. Before charging people an entrance fee they should make it clear that it is nowhere near completed!

And Northampton shoe museum...it's full of shoes :-)

[EvianBaby]

Having a wonder round a rainey Mevagissey in Cornwall last year me and my sister decided to get some shelter in the tiny museum there.

It was so bad it was hilarious. I'm sure they'd even made a display out of JPS fag packet cards.

[belrec]

ummmm loved northampton shoe museum, especailly the bit where you get to try them on :-)

Our local musuem is awesome, my boy loves it because it has a huge O gauge railway track. He could spend hours just watching the trains go round, and has done!

I think local museums are very under-rated and everyone should go at least once a month!

[ummmm]

Belrec - the shoe museum is very good. People would be surprised how fascinated kids can become with shoes. Big shoes, small shoes, Japanese shoes etc etc ..........

[belrec]

I agree ummm, my girl loved it.

triggerhippy i agree with you too :-)

[shoota]

I've been to the pencil museum.........
I asked some leading questions.

[mrs_overall]

shoota - and the point is?

[Psybbo]

Thad went down like a lead balloon, shoota

[craft1948]

I love our museums in York and can spend hours in the Castle Museum and the Natural History museum.
For some reason I've never been to the National Railway museum..........

[mrs_overall]

Crafty, Mr O & youngest Junior O spend hours in the museum at Elvington. I would rather poke my own eyes out than go there or to the railway museum