A great day out for all (New Walk Museum and Art Gallery (Leicester))

Member Name: Rogerbyname

Product:	New Walk Museum and Art Gallery (Leicester)
Date:	26/06/07 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Convenient location, free.

Disadvantages: In Leicester?

This was a surprising find that I discovered on a visit to my brothers in Leicester. Well, despite growing up in Leicestershire I have never had a huge affinity with the city itself and had visited most of what there is to see as a child. But returning as an adult and entering the museum on a whim one quiet afternoon I was pleasantly surprised by the size and content of what was on offer.

First of all the museum is located in perhaps the nicest part of the city on New Walk, which runs parallel to the arterial route London Road and stretches from the edge of the city centre and main shopping area to Victoria Park (and the university). The mainline station is close by (5 minutes walk) and parking is available.

Admission is free, which rather caught me by surprise. Inside there are permanent exhibitions - 'Wild Space' which explores various wild locations around the world such as open savannahs, rainforests, the Arctic and Antarctic and an underwater habitat. These spaces are designed to give you an experience of how it feels to be there, though rest assured, the temperature was not sub-zero in the Arctic region. There were, however, real insects (though not on the loose) and spiders.

After this I checked out the dinosaur exhibition, mostly reconstructed replica fossils and some originals from the local area. Reasonably interesting I thought, though not a patch on the Natural History Museum in London.

I was less interested in the rocks exhibition, which perhaps has minority appeal, but gives the curators a chance to say Leicester Rocks! But the ancient Egyptian museum was well stocked with artefacts and gave a real impression of the burial rituals and customs.

But I particularly liked the Art gallery. Here are examples of work by Pisarro, Rodin and Constable plus a wealth of local art. There is a permanent exhibition of German Expressionist painting which fills in many of the blanks around the well-known 'Scream' by Munch. Here you can see the development of the genre and get a real sense of what this school of art was trying to achieve. I loved it.

Also impressive was the collection of art by local Indian and Muslim artists. Leicester is a proudly multi-cultural city and it was great to see a representation from some very talented artists in the city.

Overall, this is a museum perfect for a wet afternoon for both adults and children. The interactive exhibits will especially appeal to kids and the art gallery to adults.

The museum opens Monday to Saturday 10-5 and also Sunday 11-5. Like I said, admission is FREE. Disabled access is fully in place and there space for coach drop-off. The museum has baby changing facilities, a cafe, audio guides and a shop. Further details can be found at http://www.leicester.gov.uk/museums or on 0116 225 4900.

And lastly, the Attenborough brothers in their youth spent many hours in the museum. If it good enough for them, it is certainly worth a try.

Summary: A top quality museum