Not the strange film, but the new Darwin centre at the Natural History Museum. While most Londoners were drudging back to work on the first Monday in January, I profited from a few extra days off to go to museum central in South Ken with Ruth and Rosie.
We reserved our tickets in advance (free of charge) and decided to walk from Victoria to the museum via the King's Road and Muji, to pick up some frames for the Rob Ryan prints I gifted Ruth this Christmas. We also spotted Marcus Brigstocke en route, and had lunch at Pain Quotidien. Baby friendly, and pumpkin soup recommended.
The Darwin Centre is the new home for the Natural History Museum's extensive collection of plant and animal specimens. It's also an active research laboratory, although we saw little evidence of scientists at work on our visit. Many of the exhibits are child-friendly and examine topics like Linnaen classification and the practicalities of biological field trips, but there were some more in-depth portals that looked at questions like "what is a species?" Given its fluid nature, is the whole concept of a species little more than a hypothesis?
Other exhibits highlighted some important figures in the museum's history, such as entomologist Evelyn Cheesman, who was still collecting insects in the South Pacific in her 70s, and Hans Sloane, a 17th century physician and inventor of hot chocolate whose collection of fauna and flora formed the foundation of the Natural History Museum.
So the trip to the NHM was worthwhile as always and a real eye opener. One exhibit highlighted my precocious talent for identifying microscopic specimens, pointing to a possible future career in taxonomy. The day was rounded off with some pasta making using a Jamie Oliver recipe, ravioli stuffed with butternut squash and ricotta. Must remember to tip the balance more towards the eggs than the flour next time though, and try and cook the pasta for an extra minute or so. Otherwise yum.
We reserved our tickets in advance (free of charge) and decided to walk from Victoria to the museum via the King's Road and Muji, to pick up some frames for the Rob Ryan prints I gifted Ruth this Christmas. We also spotted Marcus Brigstocke en route, and had lunch at Pain Quotidien. Baby friendly, and pumpkin soup recommended.
The Darwin Centre is the new home for the Natural History Museum's extensive collection of plant and animal specimens. It's also an active research laboratory, although we saw little evidence of scientists at work on our visit. Many of the exhibits are child-friendly and examine topics like Linnaen classification and the practicalities of biological field trips, but there were some more in-depth portals that looked at questions like "what is a species?" Given its fluid nature, is the whole concept of a species little more than a hypothesis?
Other exhibits highlighted some important figures in the museum's history, such as entomologist Evelyn Cheesman, who was still collecting insects in the South Pacific in her 70s, and Hans Sloane, a 17th century physician and inventor of hot chocolate whose collection of fauna and flora formed the foundation of the Natural History Museum.
So the trip to the NHM was worthwhile as always and a real eye opener. One exhibit highlighted my precocious talent for identifying microscopic specimens, pointing to a possible future career in taxonomy. The day was rounded off with some pasta making using a Jamie Oliver recipe, ravioli stuffed with butternut squash and ricotta. Must remember to tip the balance more towards the eggs than the flour next time though, and try and cook the pasta for an extra minute or so. Otherwise yum.
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