Tourism

In a museum these days, it’s expected there are interactive elements such as sights and sounds, as well as the usual educational input. The excitement some children show is found in the ability to use or manipulate the objects on display.

In a museum of natural history, we know the context is going to be different, but here it doesn’t matter. The awe is still in seeing a dinosaur skeleton, and curiosity in admiring examples of taxidermy, but there’s much more on display.

The concept of evolutionary theory is shown for all to see in a walk-about way, helping visitors to see the novelties and factual points of the study of it in its full light. As I pace in a large atrium, and up flights of stairs, I can see it in colour.

A statue of Charles Darwin is fitting, taking a casual glance over proceedings as his work is still perused today. However, the many objects available to see tell a story more of who we are, not necessarily how we are here, in my view.

The Pitt Rivers Museum is a large room off the main focus of the museum, and is a delightful selection of curios from overseas. Obviously, they were collected and transported back a long time ago, but they still have a relevance here.

The charm is the primitive culture, tribes, and spiritual communities represented here in such a broad display. There’s no let up in showing the varieties of what artistry and belief means to other people. There’s something of us all in it.