24 Jun 2013

Dressing up

Of all the cities in the world, London is probably the most accommodating for the possibility of change, difference, variety. But did you know it's also tops for the chance to dress up and travel in time?


Particularly if you have a child in tow. Drop in at the Foundling Museum (www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk) in Coram Fields, Britain’s first home for abandoned children and London’s first public art gallery. The Museum tells the stories of its founder Thomas Coram, the artist William Hogarth and composter George Frideric Handel. Alongside the marvellous eighteenth century art and furniture you can have the chance to swagger about in a velvet cape, or put on a satin dress. You can go back even further in time at the British Museum (www.britishmuseum.org), where special Family Days enable participants to dress up in Viking battle gear, and enact Viking burial ceremonies or Japanese fighting techniques. You get to handle actual artefacts,too. Feeling the weight of a real piece of medieval chain mail just brings history closer. Meanwhile at the Science Museum go way back by taking one of the Museum’s wonderful Cockroach Tours. Strap on a large carapace (adorned with six waving legs), pop on a helmet (adorned with two waving antennae) and learn about how the humble Cockroach (arrived 350 million years ago) differs from Homo Sapiens (arrived a mere 200,000 years ago). The idea is to find out what it’s like to be one of the planet’s true survivors. But it could also be fun if you are simply an exhibitionist. In the 45 minute tour you are encouraged to scurry past astonished visitors, climb up staircases on all fours, and so on, while being shown highlights from the collection. The idea is to put human endeavours in perspective by showing our inventions from the viewpoint of a cockroach. Yes, its different.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comments.