Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Great Museums Of London

By Olive Jillian Carter

There are many reasons to visit Britain. There are many great artifacts to see all over the country. Museums are of course, the main resource for historical and cultural wealth, a lot of which can found in the country's capital of London.

A rich selection of historical artifacts and art collections from all over the world reside in the British Museum. There are thousands of exhibitions in this museum that showcase more than two million years of human history, ranging from the most primitive of human technologies, to the Ironworks of the Medieval era. The whole museum is enriched with a vast amount factual information and with its thousands of artifacts as well the experience will prove educational as well as inspiring for any that visit it.

The Bank of England Museums historical displays include artifacts drawn from the Bank's own collections of books, documents, silver, prints, paintings, banknotes, coins and photographs. There is a display of gold, including Roman and modern gold bars, alongside pikes and muskets once used to defend the Bank. Computer technology and audio visual displays explain the Bank's present day role.

The Design Museum is one of the world's leading museums of modern and contemporary design with a goal to excite everyone about design. Since its foundation in 1989, the museum has won international recognition for exhibitions on modern design, history and contemporary design, for Designer of the Year.

The Imperial War Museum: In 1917, the Cabinet decided that a National War Museum should be built to house and display relics of the Great War which at the time was still underway. The title of Imperial War Museum came from the interest of the Dominion Governments. It was officially established in 1920 and was appointed a governing board of trustees.

The famous Madam Tussauds wax museum was a tribute to the lady herself. She became settled in Baker Street Bazaar after spending much of her life as a travelling artist, where she made and sold her life-sized wax models. The now famous chamber of horrors that can be found inside the museum, was first dubbed so by Punch magazine as it consisted of a selection of gruesome French revolution models. Shed had huge success by the time she died in 1850.

First opened on Easter Monday 1881, the Natural History Museum was opened when Sir Richard Owen convinced the government that they needed another museum to house all of the natural history artifacts that were in the British Museum. The first of which to be added to the British museum were those in Sir Hans Sloanes collection of natural curiosities which he donated after he died. Then, as more were added to his collection, the need for another museum was becoming great and so up stepped Sir Richard Owen, followed by government approval.

Of course in order to get the most from each of these places, it will most likely take more than one day, and therefore some top accommodation is a must. There are many great hotels all dotted throughout London, most of which are situated within walking distance of fantastic cultural or historical landmarks.

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