Scavenger hunt

From the desk of
 Sean Rodman, 
Strategic Partnerships
Manager at the
Royal BC Museum

School hasn't started yet and, as I am writing this, it's raining here in Victoria.  So, what to do with the kids?  Come down to the Royal BC Museum and go on a scavenger hunt! I've taken 5 mystery photos, and attached a few clues to help you out.

Can you figure out where I took these pictures in our galleries?

1)

From his perch high up on the old stone wall,
This raven keeps guard,
Over those entering our hall.

2)

Boots made to order, 
While you listen to the sounds,
All around you in Canada's oldest Chinatown.

3)

Barrels by the shore, all ready to go.
Have a drink in the tavern,
While the sea breezes blow

4)

His home is not in the sky, not on the land.
This whale flies through the air,
- so give him a hand!

5)

It looks like a dino, but don't get it wrong.
This old horse ate grass,
All day long!

6)

Last but not least - a present for you!

Bonus points if you can... 
Identify the poo!

5 Museum Visits That Changed My Life

 

From the desk of Tim Willis, 

Director of Exhibitions and Visitor Experience

I learned recently that the wonderful exhibition developer, Judy Rand had written about museum experiences that changed her life. One of them was the moment she smelled apple pies baking in the kitchen of our Old Town gallery at the Royal BC Museum. This got me wondering if I could say the same. Had I experienced a museum visit so profoundly affecting?

Well, indeed, I've had a few. Here are five of them I'd like to share them with you:

1. Weather Permitting exhibition at the Minnesota History Center

For me, this is a text book demonstration of how to tell a story simply and powerfully. With a simple setting – a basement ‘rec’ room and a few props - a bare light bulb, an old radio and television and a basement window - one is transported in just 8 minutes into a the heart of a terrifying [ and particularly topical] event – the effect of a devastating tornado.

2. The Lifeline at the Churchill Museum, London

The Lifeline is a 15-metre-long interactive table on which visitors 'open files' documenting each week of Churchill's life during the war. I chanced upon the day that the Battle of Britain started and a squadron of Spitfires in silhouette flew down the entire length of the table. It is a superb and surprising application of technology.

3. Michelangelo's David, Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence

I've never had my breath taken away by an object - well, perhaps once when I received a rugby ball in the face - but I've never been so moved by an inanimate object. He’s is bigger and much more beautiful than I'd ever imagined. The approach to David at the Accademia is an exercise in extraordinary anticipation. (Michelangelo's David Photo: David Gaya License: {{GFDL}}

4. The Akely Hall of African Mammals, American Museum of Natural History, New York

Is it any wonder that the museum has not changed this space in eight decades? It's old school for sure, but still a wonder!

5. Wilson Fur Suit, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum, UK

My first museum... well the museum I loved as a boy in my home town in England. On my way home from school I would drop in a stare at a simple display of artifacts in a case, including a fur parka that was owned by Edward Wilson. Wilson was Robert Scott’s closest friend, and died with him in 1912 on their terrible trek back from the South Pole. He grew up in my hometown and his story inspired me through my life and left me an insatiable interest in stories of exploration.

Do let me know: what museum moments have stuck with you and why?

Tim Willis

Seeing the Big Picture with the Big Map

From the desk of Sean Rodman, Strategic Partnerships Manager at the Royal BC Museum

If you've visited us recently, you must have seen the Big Map in our lobby. Stretching almost 8 metres from floor to ceiling, it's an amazing snapshot of British Columbia.

Where did it come from? Back in 2005, the Big Map was unveiled as the world’s first three-dimensional map of British Columbia based solely on satellite imagery. It is exceptional in detail and dramatic in size. The map provides a never-before-seen perspective on our home. Coupled with a dramatic overlay of movies and digital animation, the map demonstrates an exciting new way to tell the stories of British Columbia and its people.

The Big Map under construction in 2005

Since its opening several films have been produced to play on the big map including First Peoples, Climate Change, and Water. In addition to the movies, the digital animations that play on the map are often a huge draw for visitors. These animations illustrate the size of our province and relative population through direct comparison to other countries. I was surprised to see Ireland or Taiwan tuck neatly into the outline of Vancouver Island: somehow I always think of us as tiny in comparison to these international heavyweights!

Even if you can't visit in person, we can now give you a sample of the Big Map online. Recently we transported the digital animations to the internet. Click here to enjoy them!

Inside the Cocoon

From the desk of Tim Willis, Director of Exhibitions and Visitor Experience

For the past year, we’ve been exploring how to present behind-the-scenes curatorial work to visitors – but there is one museum in the world that has committed to doing this in a big way – the Natural History Museum in London.

And so, on a recent expedition to visit relatives in the land of my birth, I finally visited a museum project that I’ve been promoting [I’m sure I’ve become quite a bore] – the new Darwin Centre at London’s Natural History Museum.

I had been impressed by the first phase of the Darwin Centre – a kind of public atrium in their fluid collection storage and research building. But the next phase takes this concept to a new level.

I love what the Natural History Museum does. I think they exemplify how to ‘live your brand.’ Essentially, everything they do reinforces the message that they are a museum engaged in science and scientific issues that are important to the world today. A recent BBC reality television documentary series about the museum is aptly named ‘the Museum of Life’ [see links below].

The ‘Cocoon’ in its glass box.

And the Darwin Centre itself is the brand ‘writ large.’ Imagine a giant cocoon inside a glass box. ‘The Cocoon’ contains the museum’s botany and entomology collections – 30 million specimens! It has a thin outer layer. Visitors enter the structure at the top and travel gradually downward inside this outer layer – looking into the collections which are sealed in the core [the collections storage ‘specs’ are impressive: 3.5 kilometers of shelving and cabinets all contained at a constant 18C and 45%RH].

Inside the ‘Cocoon’.

The path downward is an interpretation journey – not of specific collections – but about the curatorial process. What are collections? How are they organized and stored? How are they used, what do scientists study and how do they go about it – and why should we care?

It’s not for everyone… it is quiet and thoughtful – a marked contrast to the mayhem in the dinosaur gallery close by. But I found the experience profoundly moving. For years, I’ve felt that the efforts we [museums in general] have made to explain what collections and curators do to be rather sad affairs. The window into the lab with empty worktables and microscopes say to me ‘this work is boring and everyone is out.’

At the Darwin Centre, the Natural History Museum is quite clearly very serious about revealing what they do and inviting visitors to share their scientific curiosity. The ‘Cocoon’ journey is beautifully paced. As you spiral down, bright pools of light tell you that another element of the story is about to be told. My favourite was the invitation to plan a trip into the field. A curator guides you as you interact with images projected onto a table – like your choice of clothes for the trip. You choose your destination [why did I choose Scotland rather than the Bahamas?], make travel arrangements, and pack your clothes and equipment. At the end of all your planning, the curator appears and admonishes you gently about what you missed.









I’m about to select my clothes for an expedition to Scotland.

The interpretive media are impressive. The Darwin Centre uses a lot of video. Four prominent staff scientists are featured and become your familiar hosts as you make the journey. There are views outside the ‘Cocoon’ into working research labs. They are impressive in the clinical technological way… but not particularly interesting. It’s the people and their work that captures one’s attention.















Views into static collection areas are animated by video projections.

One can argue about what works and what does not in the Darwin Centre, but what really impresses me most is the Natural History Museum’s determination to expose what they do behind the scenes and show its relevance to the world around them.

Tim Willis



Links:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/galleries/orange-zone/darwin-centre/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rp1w0