Science Museum

Appropriate that I should start with the Science Museum; after all this is one of the first museums I visited in London nearly 20 years ago and which probably has the greatest longevity given my pent-up scientific interest.

Such a shame then that high expectations weren't met. I went along just before Christmas and found section after section closed, even parts of the new Wellcome Wing, the rest of which has started to look decidedly grubby despite (or perhaps because of) its ultra-modern futuristic design.

Perhaps the greatest disappointment was that it's becoming very difficult to actually learn anything there and I don't believe that's because of my own knowledge. Exhibits seem to fall into one of two camps:

1. modern interrogative exhibits, provoking questions of genetics, medical ethics, evolution such as in the afore-mentioned Wellcome Wing but without any real narrative. Absolutely perfect for school parties as an aide to discussion and teacher-led visits; pretty pointless and frustrating for anyone else.
2. display cases that simply label mathematical instruments or models of ships without providing any story.

These combined with a Communications gallery that stops with the introduction of the pager and an Optics gallery that's closed altogether made for this to be my last visit for a while. I even paid for the exhibition on the development of video gaming, 'antique' computing being a bit of a sideline interest. This was no more than a token nod to the history, technology and culture of gaming though - primarily an excuse for kids to play on old consoles and give me a headache as I wandered through looking for some intellectual stimulation. Even the pachinko machine was for display purposes only... still I'm denied a play on one of those things.