Royal Museum
The Royal Museum is a science, technology and art museum opened in 1888 on Chambers Street in Edinburgh . The museum is part of the National Museums of Scotland . The building was designed by Francis Fowke .
In 1998 the museum was attached to the directly adjacent and newly built Museum of Scotland . The two museums together form the National Museum of Scotland , which, together with the National War Museum , the National Museum of Costume , the National Museum of Rural Life and the National Museum of Flight, is one of the national museums in Scotland. Admission to the permanent exhibition of the Royal Museum is free; for temporary special exhibitions, admission must be paid.
History and architecture
Construction of the museum building began in 1861 and continued in phases. The architect was Francis Fowke , who had already worked on the planning of the Royal Albert Hall . Some parts of the museum had already opened when some construction phases were not yet completed. The original construction was completed in 1888. The exterior facade, designed by Fowkes in the neo-renaissance style, contrasts with the light-flooded entrance hall, based on the hall of the Crystal Palace in London.
Initially the museum exhibited many pieces that came from the Edinburgh University museum . The museum was connected to the University's Old College by a bridge. This gave the university students access to the museum and more often rearranged the exhibition. Some exhibits also disappeared. In the 1870s, refreshments prepared by the museum for a reception were stolen as part of a student party. The museum management then had the bridge walled up.
By July 2011, the museum had undergone major renovations (the estimated cost of the project was £ 46 million) and the exhibition space was expanded to include previously inaccessible areas.
Permanent exhibition
The exhibition includes objects from the fields of geology , archeology , natural history , science, technology and art. The permanent exhibition includes the prepared body of the first cloned mammal, Dolly , as well as objects from ancient Egypt , a whale skeleton and modern art, such as an extravagant suit by the singer Elton John . The wing of the building in which the whale skeleton is exhibited is one of the areas closed for renovation work, which reopened in July 2011.
Special exhibitions
There are regular special exhibitions in the museum. In 2008/2009 the museum deals with the designer Jean Muir . Past special exhibitions have featured works by Pablo Picasso ( Fired with Passion ), Scottish silver work ( Silver: Made in Scotland ) or life in the Canadian subarctic ( Extremes: Life in Subarctic Canada ).
Learning Center
The museum has a study area with group rooms and offers a museum within the exhibition to try out. In the section for technology there are various experiments and a driving simulator, the animal world and the geology area have objects you can touch and many stations in which explanatory films are shown. In the Learning Center you can take part in workshops and activities for different age groups.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Learning Center ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on nms.ac.uk
Coordinates: 55 ° 56 ′ 50 ″ N , 3 ° 11 ′ 23 ″ W.