I am a camera

I visited the Natural History Museum the other day. There is a trend I have been noticing in the last couple of years. Museums used to be inspiring places of science with many exhibits, enabling the visitor to focus and to take an in-depth look at the subject. I remember when I visited the British Museum for the first time, there was an entire wing dedicated to Greek red-figure and black-figure pottery. We spent a whole day looking at the many vases displayed in old wooden cabinets and reading the descriptions, written by scientists. Last time I went there, things had changed. There were only two or three examples of Greek pottery on display, accompanied by some shallow educational information text about how “the old Greeks used to live”. Everything was aimed at quick consumption and easy illusion of understanding. The place was filled with loud children running around. I think it is great when children are taken to a museum, however their parents should show them that it is not a playground. It seems that they rather go to the coffee places, shops and restaurants in the museum instead. This is the sad trend I notice: Many museums have become crèches, playgrounds, malls and amusement parks filled with flashy shows and attractions. In the Natural History Museum, the biggest attraction is a life size model of Tyrannosaurus – the T-Rex – in a zoo like environment. It moves, makes scary sounds and does not necessarily have much to do with the dinosaur. It looks impressive though…