Museums
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The British Museum was first
established in 1753 and boasts one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of
antiques, prints and drawings to be housed under one roof – over seven
million and increasing, and has seventy thousand exhibits ranged over
two and a half miles of galleries. The museum is so large that it’s impossible to see everything in one
visit, so it’s preferable to concentrate on one or two areas of
interest or sign up for one of the museum’s excellent guided tours.
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The Natural History Museum employed some
of the latest construction techniques at the time, including the
decorative terracotta castings of birds and animals visible around the
entrances. Explore the world of dinosaurs and fossils and trace the history of evolution! A restaurant, a café and a sandwich bar, as well as a snack bar and
picnic area, make sure you are never short of an opportunity to
re-fuel. There are three different shops, The Museum Shop, The Dino
Store and The Earth Shop.
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The Science Museum has seven floors stuffed full of centuries of
scientific and technological innovation, from steam engines to cars, space flight, medicine and computers. Galleries have been updated with interactive displays, such as The Launch Pad, the Garden and Things
galleries. Each floor has a different theme – Flight, for example, on the
third floor, has fighter planes and early flying contraptions suspended
from the ceiling. There are three cafes to choose from and a gift shop.
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The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) South Kensington is the world's greatest museum of art and
design, with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity.
Discover 3000 years' worth of amazing artefacts from many of the
world's richest cultures including ceramics, furniture, fashion, glass,
jewellery, metalwork, photographs, sculpture, textiles and paintings. The museum also stages additional temporary exhibitions of art, design, fashion and photography.
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As well as hosting some major air shows every year, Duxford, near
Cambridge, is home to Europe’s largest collection of military aircraft.
The British collection covers military and civilian aircraft dating
from WWI to Concorde, and includes crowd pullers like the Supermarine
Spitfire and Lancaster Bomber. The American collection features the largest collection of American
combat aircraft outside the United States, including the P-51 Mustang
and the huge B-52 Stratofortress.
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The Bowes Museum collection spans three floors of this magnificent building
and contains items too numerous to list. Whether it is paintings by
Canaletto or Goya, porcelain produced at Sèvres, or marquetry
attributed to André-Charles Boulle it can all be found at The Bowes
Museum, which has received Designated status from the government in
recognition of the outstanding collection.
Purpose built in the 19th century by John and Joséphine Bowes, the Museum has a wonderful story to tell.
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The award winning Imperial War
Museum North is about people and their stories, about how lives are shaped by war and conflict. The dimly lit hangar like interior and angular design create a feeling of disorientation, engendering a sense of emotional unease with which the large interactive exhibits are then engaged. Designed by international architect Daniel Libeskind, the building
is a symbol of our world torn apart by conflict.
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The National Maritime Museum decribes the story of seagoing passengers, the ships they
travelled in and the hazardous or luxurious journeys they made; the huge influence of British naval power and
seafaring trade on the establishment and growth of the British Empire; and individuals and the parts they played in the overall
story of exploration, conflict and adventure. You can see the uniform worn by Nelson at
the Battle of Trafalgar, and kids can
get interactive in “Hands On,” firing canons, loading cargo, and
operating radio transmitters.
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The Tenement House is an authentic 19th century Glasgow apartment
which has has survived almost unchanged for over a century. For over 50 years it was the
home of Miss Agnes Toward, who came to live here
in 1911. You can still see the kitchen with its Victorian
cast iron kitchen range and coalbunker, the traditional recess bed and
an original fitted bathroom from 1892, which was considered luxurious by the standards of the day.
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Despite sounding as if it should be included in the book of boring attractions, Cumberland Pencil Museum is actually rather interesting. Tracing the development of the use of graphite in the history of mark making, the museum begins with the story of how local graphite miners sold the material to farmers for marking their sheep. Later, Lakeland graphite was exported as far as Renaissance Italy to be used as a drawing material.
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