![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
British Museum #FAIL
Mar. 23rd, 2014 08:59 amI have a friend who works for the British Museum, and occasionally he gives us complimentary tickets for an exhibition there. Of course, we have other commitments, and sometimes exhibitions (at all the London museums) pass us by. Last week HWMBO didn't want to go out on Sunday afternoon, so we put it off until this week, but today is the last day of this particular exhibition.
So yesterday, after his table tennis we met at Tottenham Court Road, had lunch, and walked over to the Museum to see the exhibition. This is where the problems began.
As many are aware, museums in the United Kingdom are generally free to visit, except for special exhibitions. The British Museum, being in the centre of town, tends to get a lot of tourist attention. Tour guides bring large groups. Whole schoolfuls of children are brought to look at the Rosetta Stone or the mummies. This creates a horrible crush of people. The central atrium, which is one of the most beautiful indoor spaces in London, is chock full of groups being led by a guide with a pennant. Yummy mummies bring twin and triplet baby buggies in to show their screaming children around. People mesmerised by the ceiling just stand in the way of people who know where they are going.
So I got a bit grumpy at having to navigate around, with my foot in the air cast. The Gents' is below the Reading Room, one on either side. The toilet for those who find stairs difficult was closed. There was a rather lengthy staircase to get downstairs, and a queue inside for both ladies' and gents'. We took a wrong turn, as the signage for the show is extremely inadequate. Then we finally got up to the exhibit, and found that tickets for Saturday were all gone, and we would have to book for Sunday.
By this time I was absolutely frazzled, and we had to repair to Starbucks on Southampton Row to recover. I have gotten two lessons from this.
First, do not wait until the last weekend before seeing an exhibition. As many times as I have reminded HWMBO of this, we often do not get to the museum until the very last minute, and difficulties such as we faced yesterday crop up. We must reinforce this again and again. No excuses: go to the exhibition as soon as you can.
Second, it's time the British Museum rethought the situation on charging admission. There are too many people for the building. The Egyptian exhibits are in Victorian-era rooms, with very poor traffic patterns and nonexistent signage. They are crammed with tourists who are trying to get one last glimpse before they return to their homes. It's insufferable. Were the Museum to charge £2 or £3 admission (even though there are tax implications for this) the foot traffic would decrease and the situation inside would improve markedly. As it is, whenever we have been there it is about 10 times worse than Grand Central Station, and our friend who works there says that there is no best time to visit, as every time is peak time.
I am left with the feeling that the Museum does not care about overcrowding. Were there to be an emergency and an evacuation required, I cringe to think of what would happen in the rush for the exits.
So yesterday, after his table tennis we met at Tottenham Court Road, had lunch, and walked over to the Museum to see the exhibition. This is where the problems began.
As many are aware, museums in the United Kingdom are generally free to visit, except for special exhibitions. The British Museum, being in the centre of town, tends to get a lot of tourist attention. Tour guides bring large groups. Whole schoolfuls of children are brought to look at the Rosetta Stone or the mummies. This creates a horrible crush of people. The central atrium, which is one of the most beautiful indoor spaces in London, is chock full of groups being led by a guide with a pennant. Yummy mummies bring twin and triplet baby buggies in to show their screaming children around. People mesmerised by the ceiling just stand in the way of people who know where they are going.
So I got a bit grumpy at having to navigate around, with my foot in the air cast. The Gents' is below the Reading Room, one on either side. The toilet for those who find stairs difficult was closed. There was a rather lengthy staircase to get downstairs, and a queue inside for both ladies' and gents'. We took a wrong turn, as the signage for the show is extremely inadequate. Then we finally got up to the exhibit, and found that tickets for Saturday were all gone, and we would have to book for Sunday.
By this time I was absolutely frazzled, and we had to repair to Starbucks on Southampton Row to recover. I have gotten two lessons from this.
First, do not wait until the last weekend before seeing an exhibition. As many times as I have reminded HWMBO of this, we often do not get to the museum until the very last minute, and difficulties such as we faced yesterday crop up. We must reinforce this again and again. No excuses: go to the exhibition as soon as you can.
Second, it's time the British Museum rethought the situation on charging admission. There are too many people for the building. The Egyptian exhibits are in Victorian-era rooms, with very poor traffic patterns and nonexistent signage. They are crammed with tourists who are trying to get one last glimpse before they return to their homes. It's insufferable. Were the Museum to charge £2 or £3 admission (even though there are tax implications for this) the foot traffic would decrease and the situation inside would improve markedly. As it is, whenever we have been there it is about 10 times worse than Grand Central Station, and our friend who works there says that there is no best time to visit, as every time is peak time.
I am left with the feeling that the Museum does not care about overcrowding. Were there to be an emergency and an evacuation required, I cringe to think of what would happen in the rush for the exits.
