Fantastic Family Fun (Warning- this is a long review) (Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery)

Member Name: ButterBear

Product:	Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery
Date:	05/03/08 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loads to see and do

Disadvantages: Poor disabled faciltities

My other half has been on holiday this week, combine that with our 4th anniversary, Mothers day and an in-service day at my sons school it was the perfect opportunity for some good old family fun, among the day trips we took was a visit to Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery. It's a great attraction for us living in Bristol and with free entry it's perfect for our ever expanding family as it doesn't break the bank. Getting to the museum is simple enough for us, as we're local, but the parking is a real problem, being situated in the middle of busy Queens Road, at the top of Park Street, in Clifton, it is near impossible to find a space nearby and we always park in the Frogmore street NCP and walk the 5 minute trip up the road, past the university buildings and into the museum. Bristol City Museum & Art gallery is set in a beautiful baroque Edwardian building, a grade 2 listed building, it seems somewhat out of place surrounded by modern shops, café's and office buildings but this only enhances its beauty and makes the building not only the home of the exhibits but an exhibit in itself. The museum is one of the few to be awarded "Designated" status by the government, which is designed to protect outstanding museums.

There are 2 entrances to the museum with the main doorway being up the top of the marble steps at the front of the building, however for wheelchair users and the infirm there is a side entrance complete with automatic doors and a lift which takes you the short journey to the museums spectacular main foyer, we tend to use this entrance, not because we're disabled or infirm but because it is a far easier way to get in the building with a toddler in a buggy and a half crazed 3 year old who's done nothing but pester you about the dinosaurs for the entire journey. First time visitors may become slightly confused to begin with as there are no real indications as to entry fee, there is a help desk in the main foyer but the staff are always happily carrying on with their work and paying the visitors no attention unless required, so it's easy to stand around for 5 minutes questioning where to pay and how much, however once you finally realise that it's a free attraction you can quickly scuttle off to the nearest exhibit room and pretend you knew you didn't have to pay all along.

The first exhibit we enter is always the British Birds and Mammals room, for no other reason then it's the closest room to us as we enter the building, it showcases examples of regional birds, fish and mammals (these for the most part are stuffed animals of the taxidermy kind!) as well as having a small selection of actual living freshwater fish and a fascinating 3d map of the region with all the major points highlighted, surrounding the glass covered sculpture is a selection of buttons which when pressed light up a small LED bulb on the map indicating the areas location this map includes such things as the Avon & Cheddar gorges as well as other major landmarks. It's an interesting look into our local wildlife but the main interest point of the room is for Christopher who loves the 3 small aquarium tanks and also the light up map. Push buttons and flashing bulbs are an almost certain attraction for toddlers but we do try to encourage him to learn a little while we're there by pointing out the different animal species, it certainly seems to work for Elsa who now knows what an owl is and what noise it makes.

Once our tour of the first, relatively small room, is complete we usually make our way down the foyer and into the touring attractions exhibit, this varies from year to year, month to month. Previously it has featured art, textile and photography exhibits but on our trip the room was dedicated to "love" and featured a collection by the National Gallery Partnership, a series of amazing artworks by the likes of Raphael, Vermeer, Goya and Turner as well as some sculpture and poetry all in the theme of Love. This is quite a restricted room, the artworks are barriered off and only groups of up to ten people can enter at one time, naturally due to the status of the work contained within, this is also the most heavily staffed room to not only make sure you behave yourself with the priceless works but also tell you about the pieces. It was wonderful seeing famous works of art by such legendary names and my favourite had to be by Raphael which was a lovely mother and child piece I had studied during my A-levels, another that I've always loved but now had become part of the "love" exhibit is a permanent fixture of the museum and is "La belle dame sans merci" by Sir Frank Dicksee, a wonderfully romantic depiction of a maiden on horseback bending to kiss her armour clad love. Just outside of the touring exhibit room is yet another part of the "love" display and is a conceptual art piece set up by Yoko Ono, a series of canvasses for the public to write messages, poems and declarations of love as well as draw their own images or apply photo's to, both Dave and I added our own work to this art piece, messages of love and even a picture of our 2 wonderful children that I pilfered from my purse, it was lovely to become a little part of history in that way and sweet to read all the other messages, I was pleasantly surprised how many family orientated messages there were (considering Bristol is fast becoming Chav-tastic)

Usually our visit would see us cross the foyer and enter the archaeology gallery, home to ancient artefacts discovered locally including glassware and pottery. This room is currently under development so we couldn't visit it this time round, in the past though it had included a stunning array of items including wonderful examples of roman glass, beautifully crafted and highly detailed. The room also featured one of the many children friendly areas which included the chance to design your own mosaics using magnetic tiles, I hope that when the room is finished it will still maintain these interactive features as it always makes the visit that much more fun for the little ones.

Next always comes my favourite exhibit and the main reason I insist on regular visits, it's the newly developed Egyptian gallery. Featuring stunning ancient Egyptian artefacts including sculptures, items of religious, royal and day to day Egyptian life, sarcophagi and even mummies. The new exhibit features touch screen displays which can tell you the very tiniest detail on a particular item including it's age, it's meaning, where it's from, who donated it to the museum........a level of detail never before possible on small display plaques. You are led through the stages of Egyptian life right through until death, every stage sympathetically laid out. One fascinating display is simply based on photographs of an ancient mummy, once a display artefact it was discovered to be rotting away and so the decision had to be taken whether to unwrap it, preserve it or let it take natures course, the display gives you the choice to choose what happens to the mummy by selecting one of three buttons, each will then show you the consequence of your choice and what was discovered along the process, the events are actual accounts of what happened to the mummy and it is amazing seeing the processes unfold in a fascinating but sensitive way. What I find quite touching in a way about the new design of the exhibit is a new found respect for the life that the mummies once had, one exhibit of a skeletal mummy was once on open display for all to stumble upon, this is now in a high tech display which is blacked out, on approaching the display a screen will inform you of the contents and remind you that this once was a living being and should be viewed with respect, you are then given the choice to view the display or not which requires you to simultaneously cover 2 lit up areas on the display, if you do choose to view the exhibit a subtle light illuminates the case and reveals the body within. Other displays in this gallery include a large screen playing footage of a view from a hot air balloon trip over an archaeological expedition from years ago.

Finally dragged away from my favourite exhibit and we ascend to the next floor, up the sprawling marble steps to the Sea Monsters exhibit, a small balcony area featuring cases of fossilised prehistoric sea creatures, these include a plesiosaur skull and a sad but sweet fossil of one sea creature which even has a little fossilised baby in it's womb. This is one of those "dinosaur" areas that Christopher loves, the display cases are immense yet these were small examples of the creatures. The theme of fossils and the prehistoric carries on up to the next floor and the small dinosaur gallery which features a full sized cast of a Plateosaur (otherwise described by Christopher as a Tyrannosaurus, he's no palaeontologist!) the skeletal remains of a Moa (an extinct giant bird native to New Zealand) the cast of a Brontosaurus leg which stretches from floor to ceiling and a few other displays, you can really get a feel for the sheer size of the beasts, it's quite incredible. This exhibit features another of the interactive areas for children which includes a computer where you can bring up images and information about dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, a child sized desk area with dinosaur related books and figures and art sheets and crayons for the kids to design their own fossils and dino's, we love stopping off at these areas and this is Christopher's favourite, he likes to try and draw the dinosaurs but isn't quite past the doodling circles stage yet, still you can see it fires his imagination and he's always reluctant to leave this area.

Our journey through the museum usually varies from here, sometimes we'll walk the balcony area surrounding the building looking at the artworks on the walls, taking in the displays and information and admiring the stunning architecture, it's quite a narrow area though and combining my paranoia over heights and my recent dizzy spells we decided on this trip to skip this section and move on to the next galleries. We also bi-passed the collection of antique pianos that runs adjacent to the World Wildlife gallery, if you love and appreciate such instruments and their craft then it is a fascinating display but I prefer not to let my little ones near the items for fear they might damage them in some way. Instead it's onto the Wildlife gallery which features more taxidermy, not perhaps the best of museums if you're a little faint hearted, many examples of wild animals including a tiger, hyena, young okapi & giraffe, chimpanzee, baboon......this gallery also features Alfred the gorilla who once held fame as a resident of Bristol Zoo, alongside examples of endangered and extinct creatures including a Quagga (a form of zebra) There are also many examples of British wildlife including birds, butterflies and even badgers. I find this gallery both disturbing due to the fact that these were once living creatures but also fascinating, reading the information on the animals and their habitats, seeing up close what they really look like and how big some of them truly are, I never realised how large a hyena was for example and it is having galleries like this that educate adults, as well as children, not only about the wildlife of our world but also how we need to care for it properly to avoid future extinctions. More interactive children's areas feature here giving you more chances to draw, read and use the computer, there's hands on displays of shells and a puzzle style map which plays animal calls when you remove the pieces, there's even a wildlife board game and dice for the kids, you also have the chance to vote for your favourite gallery theme and add your information to a book detailing what you love about the museum and why, a great way for the museum to keep in touch with what it's patrons want. Also on this floor is the geology gallery which features stunning examples of natural minerals & fossils, as well as the skeleton of an extinct and huge deer like creature the Irish elk and a fossilised ammonite which is laid out for the public to touch and feel.

The top floor houses exhibits of Eastern art, silverware, glassware and ceramics as well as art galleries featuring works by Old Masters, French School, British Collection, Modern Art and the Bristol School artists. Once again the hands on experience continues with the chance for children to do crayon rubbings of Chinese carvings on wood and discover different aspects of eastern history and culture, which even mentions Pokemon of all things! While not one of our favourite areas these galleries feature a wide range of exhibits and examples of their items, my parents have a fondness for silver items for and so they make a special visit to view the wonderful silver on display, someone with a passion for ceramics will certainly appreciate the cases of fine porcelain.

The museum is overflowing with exhibits, not just in the main galleries but dotted around the whole site, there are sculptures, carvings, paintings, poems..............you really have to keep your eyes peeled and don't forget to look up.

Other then the galleries you will also come across the gift shop, selling a wide range of mementos, including toys, books, postcards, collectables and a range of branded souvenirs. It is well laid out and easy to get around, the staff are always friendly and the prices quite reasonable depending on your tastes, we purchased a toy dinosaur for Christopher for £1 but the more extravagant visitor might want to take home a print for £15 or even a piece of Bristol blue glass. There is also the museum café at the back of the building, tucked away almost out of sight, it sells hot meals as well as snacks and drinks the quality of food there admittedly could be better, certainly for the price, a sandwich pack for the kids, snack and drinks for me and hubby cost in the region of £12, the menu changes regularly but there are always lots of options available including vegetarian, personally I'd recommend saving your money and visiting one of the many surrounding café's in Clifton and believe me the choice is endless. Still it is a pleasant enough place to sit and eat, it's generally clean and well staffed, the tables are laid out to give the diners ample space and high chairs are provided. There's also a small play area for 0-5's which provides sensory experiences, toys, games and books for young children, the parents can watch from outside the area or sit inside with their children, it is not a crèche facility however and you must mind your own child.

The building is disabled friendly to a degree, the initial entry lift shows a lot of promise but due to the nature of the building and it's age the disabled facilities within are quite few and far between, there is a lift on the ground floor near the touring exhibit room which takes you up to the next floor, you need to call a member of staff to operate this lift and it has no access to the higher levels of the museum meaning the only option is the stairs, which there are quite a lot of, some of the exhibits are quite winding in their lay out, once again not very wheelchair friendly. There is a wheelchair accessible toilet on the ground floor, along with a baby changing unit and male and female toilets, these are the only toilets available though so you'll need to be good at holding "it" if nature decides to call on the upper gallery. The facilities themselves are tidy and clean but quite basic and show their age. There is also a loop system available for the hearing impaired which is collected from the main desk. A few lockers are available on the ground floor and are suitable for many forms of buggy, you can also leave unattended buggies in the main foyer where they are watched over by staff (valuables left at your own risk) this is due to the sheer volume of steps and narrow walkways within the building.

Despite the closed exhibit and the aging facilities of the museum we enjoyed our visit, we always do, there is so much variety, so much to see and do that each and every trip is different. It's fun for the kids while being educational, you get a certain kick as a parent watching your young child playing and enjoying themselves in such an educational environment, you know they'll be picking up little nuggets of information, they'll remember things from one trip and bring them up on the next, for example Christopher was able to tell me exactly where we were going and what we would see from where we parked the car, we'd not even got into the building! The museum caters perfectly for the youngsters with all their hands on activities and the small play area for the 0-5's, they're already gaining a whole new generation of visitors that will one day return to the museum having remembered the fun they had on their childhood visits.

As for the adults, well there's just as much to see, just as much to learn as there is for the kids, you really do spot something new on each visit, even if it's just by standing a little longer by a certain painting or making the effort to read the information about a particular sculpture and if the improvements to the Egyptian gallery are anything to go by the overall experience only stands to get better, if each gallery sees the same care and the same level of technology used in the new exhibit then there will be a never ending wealth of information the museum can deliver. There is a fair amount of walking involved in a trip around this museum and a substantial amount of steps to different levels but there is so much happening around you all the time that you barely notice this. Team the fantastic array of exhibits with the spectacular building it's set in and you have a perfect combination for a cultured day out, you can spend as much or as little time in there as you desire knowing you can return at any time to start the whole journey anew. My family love visiting the museum and will continue to do so in the years to come, I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.




The Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery is open 7 days a week (not including Christmas) 10am to 5pm and entry is free to everybody. There are collection boxes by the main entrance if you care to make a donation for the upkeep of the museum.

Group visits and school trips can be arranged in advance.

You can contact them on-
Tel: 0117 922 3571
Fax: 0117 922 2047
Minicom: 0117 922 3573
Email: general.museum@bristol.gov.uk
Web: www.bristol.gov.uk/museums

Bristol's City Museum & Art Gallery,
Queen's Road,
Bristol,
BS8 1RL


For more on the upcoming exhibitions visit-

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/ content/ Leisure-Culture/ Museums-Galleries/ Exhibitions-in-2007.en


Visit http://www.aboutbritain.com/BristolCityMuseum.htm for infomation on nearby attractions and places to stay, or http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ ccm/ content/Leisure-Culture/ Museums-Galleries/ bristols-city-museum--- art-gallery.en for more on the museum, a car park finder and travel guide.







Review also on Ciao (piggypine)

Summary: A great, affordable family day out.