open beginning: Enlightenment Gallery, The British Museum

The Enlightenment Gallery and free guided tour, The British Museum

Well today I continued my museum adventures with a visit to the British Museum with my Aunt. I have to confess that I went with a bit a trepidation because I have been before, and as wonderful as the exhibits are (the ones I have seen), to state the obvious, the place is massive and full of people. I am also aware the more that time goes by that there really is only a certain amount I can take in of such big places without feeling overwhelmed, over tired or in some way bored!

I can thoroughly recommend what I did today though. I visited on the advice of the tutor from the course I will be starting. Along with books on the reading list and a general suggestion to visit as many museums and galleries as possible, it was written that we should in particular visit the Enlightenment Gallery and go on the British Museum page to find out more about it. (Need to remember to do that! Already have a list of things to do mounting up.)

Okay, I will admit that before the visit I had no idea what 'The Enlightenment' actually was. I was lucky that we arrived just in time for a free tour of the gallery. (Daily at 12:30pm is you are interested.) Unplanned, but totally worth it.) We had a fantastic woman as our guide, who managed to really tell a story and create images in my mind, while introducing us to the period and the different elements of the gallery. I am not sure how much to say, because in fact I would say go for the tour! It brought things so much more to life than just looking around the gallery would have done, for sure!

I did not take lots of time afterwards to look into much detail at the collections, but will return to do so. I was completely fascinated by the era that the gallery covers- to quote the Gallery Guide I bought (At the reduced price of 70p) this period which spanned the 18th Century and a bit either side:

'It was a time when people all over Europe began to look at the world in a new way. They questioned the 'old' knowledge, taken from classical authors and the Bible, and instead based their ideas on reason and first-hand observation.'

As well as learning about something completely new and enjoying the link that this gallery has with the Natural History Museum, (and the British Library) I was really fascinated by the people realising they could learn by observing objects and the development of classification. It feels like a really interesting line to follow when thinking about museums and education and learning theory. I love anything related to how we make sense of the world as it not only links to my museum love but also my previous (and continued) love of the Montessori philosophy.

Interestingly enough I also spotted a volunteer led object handling session in place in the gallery.I won't say too much, but it was very different from the type I know! The objects looked quite interesting, in a nice old box. You could hold it and you were told what it was and a bit about it...

The gallery and tour was great honestly, as for me it was the right size and had an interesting mix of objects. Not too much and not too little to take in. You really got the feeling you were going back to those days when the objects were being discovered and shown for the first time, as well as the feeling that you were seeing historically important objects, (such as those very first ones collected by Sir Hans Sloane.) yet in a sense displayed in quite a personal way...

Photos seem to have come out in reverse order and I was in the end limited to five, so might add some at a later stage!

A replica to touch!