British Museum

Lego Museums visited the British Museum in 23th May 2014. The famous British Museum is known to have a large collection of world historic artefacts from Egypt to Britain itself. This is the oldest National Museum in the World. Where ever the objects come from, there is a huge diversity of the all periods the country of origin. All these objects that are held here are mixed with the most well-known to the unknown e.g. the Rosetta stone, Elgin Marbles to Prehistoric mask of Star Carr and the Iron Age Waterloo Helmet.

Will going into the British Museum

If you are going to the British Museum, would suggest that you really need a stand of silk thread or bread crumbs to found your way out of the labyrinth of gallery full to the brim of world history. 

As you walk into the museum you are hit with the celebrated Great Court. Visitors across the globe look up to have a set of the huge arched glass roof. While in this centre piece of the museum you may enter the main galleries, including the Room of Enlightenment and the long Egyptian exhibit that holds the legendary Rosetta stone.

Will walking through the Great Court.

Will reading some books in the Room of Enlightenment.

If you plan to go to the museum for one day, see and enjoy everything you might be disappointed. As there is over 70 rooms that are flowing with history waiting to be looked at over a number of days. There is a room for everyone's historic tastes. You can see what most appeal to you or go adventurous and see the things you wouldn't necessarily see or with you would be interested in. As a whole the museums is fantastic for young and elderly historic fanatics. The museum is bursting with history so you days of fun at the museum.

The Egyptian Gallery.     

Regularly the museum hosts many different temporary exhibitions like the Viking: Life and Legends; and Eight Mummies, Eight Lives, Eight Stories. Which were on and starting when we visited. Lego Museums will be visiting most of these exhibitions when new ones come about so keep an eye out for new posts of each matter. These temporary exhibitions are normally exclusive to the British Museum, so come and see the ones you wish while you can.

Vikings: Life and Legend

Lego Museums visited the British Museum and its temporary exhibit Vikings: Life and Legend on 23th May 2014. This exhibit is dedicated to the lives of the Viking and looking past the myth of horned helmet savages. This exhibit shows that they were more than raiders from the east to still from the west. They are portrayed in the galleries show that they were patrons of art and religion. Rather than the blood thirsty heathens we hear of today.

Will is a fan of the Vikings. 

Throughout the galleries there are shown weapons that tell you they are more than just used for war but also used for status, showing loyalty and even used after death as ritual offerings. They were men of fashion with clothespins which also show off their love of art. As well as this they show that they were very religious with pendants to Thor, Odin, etc. With this they believe they also believed in the use of magic. Having teeth and plaster paw prints pendants to gain the power and abilities of the animal they come from. Almost like Shamanic beliefs.

Moving though to case to case you have a flood of information that is given to you by linking the objects that you see in there with the information that is given, rather than taking about the individual artefacts in turn they almost use them all as one.

 Oh Will might change his mind about them.

Going into the main hall of the exhibit you will found the overwhelming Roskilde 6, an 11th century Viking ship. This is the centrepiece of the show and quite right to. Even though there is not much of the real timbers left you still get that intimidation of the size with the modern metal frame that they are placed in, which are there to show the visitor the original size and shape of this monster of a ship.  

Although this is a great exhibit, it has had some bad reviews, such as "the cattle crush of this exhibition" by the Museums Association Journal. Yes this exhibit was crowded but in my opinion it was just because it was so popular. So you can't really blame the exhibit at all really with that one. I did have a lot of people complaining around me to their friends and family the business of the galleries but most of the people I saw around were enjoying the lush of information they had before them and getting real stuck in with all the interesting stuff the galleries had to offer.  

Royal Garrison Church

The Lego Museums visited the Royal Garrison Church on the 7th May 2014. The small but lovely church is located within the city of Portsmouth. This such a small and not well known about church had its part to play in English history, by evolving from a hostel and hospital to becoming hit by a WW2 bomb. However, in between this it became a lovely place for a Royal Wedding.

Will visits the Royal Garrison Church.

The Church was founded in 1212 by the Bishop of Winchester, Peter des Roches. Built a number of buildings to serve as a hostel for pilgrims and a hospital for the sick and elderly.

Flying through time to 1540, after Henry VIII's Reformation, the builds where used as a ammunition store. The buildings were neglected and started to decay.

Moving to Henry's daughter, Elizabeth I. In 1559 there was a grand building project for the defence of Portsmouth began. The small medieval hospital buildings were used to create the Governors house. Within this house in latter year; two significant events of historic importance happened.

The first was in 1662 there was a surprising thing for that time and even for now, there was a Royal Wedding held here. This was a marriage between Charles II and Catherine of Braganza. The second was in 1814 on which there was a grand receptions held to celebrate the death of Napoleon. This was attended by many famous people at that time; these included the Prince Regent, the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia (Germany).

Now moving to the 19th Century, the architect G. E. Street spent ten years in repairing the Church. This was completed by 1871.

However, in 1933 the church was given to the Office of Works in which it was hit be a firebomb raid in 1941. This destroyed the roof of the building and which is now visible as a reminder of the war.

There is a little chapel at the back of the church that has a lot more information about the history of this lovely, small place. Although it might be seen be a small and insignificant church that is not interesting because it is a ruin but that ruin you see today has miles upon miles of history on its back so it is worth going to have a good look around. 

Star Wars Day - May the 4th be with you

We at the Lego Museums love Star Wars and Lego, strangely enough. So we wanted to join everyone else with this fun day dedicated to Star Wars. We asked people to send in photos of their Lego Star Wars to celebrate and they did not disappoint with the response. Here are some:

"May the 4th" by Deanne via Twitter.

"The Duel" by Fiori via Twitter.

"These are not the droids you are looking for" by Top Trump Fans via Twitter.

Here are some of Lego Museums own photos:

Will is a Star Wars Fan.

Will with a load of his Star Wars friends.

Will being chased by a Gamorrean.

So these are the droids you are looking for.

Will caching up with R2D2 and C3PO.

Come on Han smile for me.

Thank you to all who sent in their photos and May The 4th Be With You.