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British Museum


 British Museum Museum National

British Museum

 
Description: The British Museum in London is one of the world's largest and most important museums of human history and culture. Its ... more
British Museum ... collections, which number more than seven million objects from all continents, illustrate and document the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. As with all other national museums and art galleries in Britain, the Museum charges no admission fee, although charges are levied for some temporary special exhibitions. It was established in 1753 and was based largely on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington in 1887. Until 1997, when the British Library opened to the public, the British Museum was unique in that it housed both a national museum of antiquities and a national library in the same building. Its present chairman is Sir John Boyd and its director is Neil MacGregor.

Newest Review: ... brought back home to Blighty by the explorers/scientists/looters of the imperial era, from the famous and controversial Elgin Marbles to many Egyptian mummies to absolutely fantastic Assyrian/Babylonian exhibits. The British section is also very impressive with exhibits like Sutton Hoo hoard and similar. There is also lots of specialist-interest exhibits including a lot of smaller items like ... more

 ... clocks and watches, jewellery, every day objects. The architecture is truly impressive too, with a common (non-gallery) space of the great courtyard covered by glass canopy, and monumental entrance with rather interesting sculptures in its front. There...more

MagdaDH
Premium Review British Museum: Imperial Loot (241 words)
by MagdaDH - written on 16/05/09 (Very useful, 14 readings)
Rating:

The British Museum is an absolute must for all people interested in archaeology and antiques, be it British, European or Middle Eastern. It's a veritable treasurehouse of artifacts and a centre of learning (with a library accessible to scholars). The collections include all that has been brought back home to Blighty by the explorers/scientists/looters of the imperial era, from the famous and controversial Elgin Marbles to many Egyptian mummies to absolutely fantastic Assyrian/Babylonian exhibits. The British section is also very impressive with exhibits like Sutton Hoo hoard and similar. There is also lots of specialist-interest exhibits including ...

flyingsparks
Premium Review A Superb Showcase for the Worlds Culture (310 words)
by flyingsparks - written on 17/03/07 (Useful, 326 readings)
Rating:

The first thing that impresses you about the British Museum is it's sheer size. Once you get past the entrance with it's wide flight of steps and impressive hallway then you enter the recently covered over central hall area. Directly in front of you is the entrance to the British library reading room where a long list of well known writers, and personalities such as Jose Rizal, Karl Marx have been members. When you get into the museum galleries you will find it is very easy to spend several days browsing the different exhibits and still not see everything. The Museum houses pieces from every continent on earth and from a huge number of historical ...

tartlette
Premium Review British Museum: Museum for all (565 words)
by tartlette - written on 15/03/06 (Useful, 110 readings)
Rating:

The British Museum is not, as the name might suggest, a museum about Britain, but rather the national museum in Britain. It covers all areas of the world and has artifacts from all periods. HISTORY: Originally founded by Sir Hans Sloane who left his vast collection of artifacts to the crown to create a museum. The museum was founded by Act of Parliament in 1753. The building as we see it now was constructed in the 19th century, with the Great Court being added in 2000. The museum now attracts around 5 million visitors a year. ACCESS: Although the museum is very central there is no tube specifically for it (there was at one ...

 

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British Museum