Monday Evening at the Science Cathedral
You think Mondays are dull and boring? Well, they tend to be. Most of the times. The 
word exciting is not one that comes to mind when thinking about Monday – not even during the evening. This is one of the reasons why I was happy enough to attend an evening do at the `science cathedral´, the Natural History Museum in London.
I was quite flattered. A PR agency had invited me to attend through this blog on behalf of the sponsors, a well-known firm in the finance sector. Who would´ve thought? It was quite exciting, as I wasn´t sure what to really expect from the evening.
There was no better way to start. My friend and I were greeted with a champagne cocktail in the nicely decorated area at the entrance where Dippy lived. Dippy is the 107 year-old diplodocus skeleton replica donated by billionnaire Andrew Carnegie. Some volunteers managers at the museum would take the probably around 100 guests divided up into smaller groups to meet the scientists who worked at the museum.
The Natural History Museum is one of those places you just have to see in London. It is not just what contains, but also the building itself. This is something I referred to in my last blog entry when I talked about an art exhibition in a rather different venue. The museum has its origins after the Great Exhibition in 1851. Prince Albert ensured that the large financial surplus was used to open educational establishments which in time gave us the Science Museum, the V&A Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Now, why cathedral? The whole building was conceived as a reflection of the knowledge that the it was going to contain. It is a stunning building that you should never miss!
The theme of the night was metamorphosis. That is, the evolution from one state into another. We got to hear from the curators of the five sections in the museum what it is that the museum does, why and a bit of insight into their day-to-day working lives. We saw huge cattlefish, interesting skulls and a bat octopus to name but a few.
Even the yucky insects section was interesting – why didn´t I have such enthusiastic teachers at school? They were good communicators, which is not something you get that easily when talking to a specialist. Prof Brian Cox springs to mind here for obvious reasons.
At the end of the night, there was a lovely dance performance. I have attached some pics below which are supplied by James Carnegie Photography.
It was a nice start of the week, and I am grateful that people took an interest in what I write. Don´t miss the museum!
The Natural History Museum is one of my musts every time I go to London… Either if i’m on my own or with friends, I try to take them there, not only to see the dinosaurs, but to enjoy the magnificence of the building and to get a feel of what it must have been when it was built… Thanks for sharing your impressions and I’m glad you had so much fun! 😉
Thank you. I´d previously been, but I don´t think I appreciated the magnificent building in the right way. I also went in the evening, which makes it more interesting. I enjoy this city a lot more by night, I think.
Love that museum. It sounds like you had a great evening. Champagne and Dinosaurs would go down well with me. 🙂
Yes, they both went down quite well with us too. It was a lovely way to start the week. Thanks for your comment.
The building itself was the thing I liked most about the museum my first time there this past summer (although the exhibits are extraordinary), however looking at the bug collection was not nearly as interesting as it must have been for you with someone there to present it. You are so lucky to have gone at night. Our visit on a Sunday was pure bedlam, crowds and more crowds, and hot. And I got lost trying to find a loo. I entered through Mammals and ended up coming out in the cafeteria. No idea how I got there, but it felt like a maze. Your top two photos are wonderful, but for some reason, the others didn’t show up (just a little question mark in a blue box).
Thanks for your comments. Sorry to hear that about yor visit. Strange about the images, as they are showing up now. Please let me know if you can´t see them.
Hope you come back soon!
No – the last three pics are not showing, and if I attempt to open them in a new tab (sometimes works!) I get a dropbox 404 error.
Love the Natural History Museum. I think WriteCites was silly to attempt to go on a Sunday, or on a school-day come to that – try a Tuesday afternoon. It’s oddly quiet then.
Thanks for your comment. I will try and get it done soon. I don´t know what´s going on there.
Fixed now. Great pictures they are too.