Natural History Museum

The moment I will remember most about the Natural History Museum occurred before viewing the exhibits.  It occurred before I learned about the history of the world, and about the skeletons of the many vast creatures that have roamed it.  It happened before I learned about the earthquakes, before the volcanoes, before the caves.  None of these awesome exhibits could even begin to have the impact on me that I had experienced just minutes before.  The moment I will remember most about my visit to this Museum was the first time I saw the building the museum is in, called the Waterhouse Building. 

          The building itself was designed by a man named Alfred Waterhouse, built between 1860 and 1880.  The entrance is a high-arched stairway built in a Romanesque style.  After entry, there is a large grand staircase which leads up to the second floor of the museum, followed by intricately painted ceilings, and elaborate sculptures.  The overall effect of the architecture of this building was absolutely breathtaking.  The old style of architecture- a mixture of Romanesque and Victorian- was so classic and simple in design while being complex at the same time. A lot of this is due to the simple yet elegant building materials, consisting of glass and bare iron. The amount of work put in to the creation of this astounding framework, especially without modern building equipment, is absolutely unfathomable.  It shows more than just determination, though. It displays teamwork, work ethic, and a respect for the arts.  It shows that the English in this time period had much more of a sense of true beauty than we do today.

          The entire building also follows the theme of the museum.  The art on the ceiling contains plant paintings, and the sculptures located both inside and outside of the building are of plants and animals.  The four sections of the museum contain articles that relate to what can be found in that section- from Darwin’s evolution to the age of dinosaurs, followed by  Earth’s ecology and the wonders of our planet.  As fascinated as I was by the exhibits and navigation of the museum, I could not get past the ornate detail that was engrained in every piece of the building around me. 

          In general, I have been quite astounded by all the architecture around me in London- which is not surprising, seeing as London is known for its architecture.  It is a fascinating subject to me, I think, because it is so unlike anything we have in the United States.  We have nothing to show for the first hundred years of mankind’s existence, whereas London has the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and countless others.  It is truly fascinating to be surrounded by all these amazing historical features.  A lot of the buildings from around London were built in the early 17^th century and follow Victorian style architecture.  The tall, connected flats that are the image of London housing “Georgian housing” stem from the Georgian Era of London, running from 1714–1830; it amazes me that the buildings were built steady enough to last through all these years. 

          All-in-all, the Waterhouse building (the Natural History Museum) contains 70 million artifacts. It is a huge, incredibly impressive museum in an even more impressive building.  To be able to witness something on the other side of the world with so much history and meaning behind it is an once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it is the sort of thing I hoped to experience on my trip abroad.