Saturday, November 8, 2008

The Museums of South Kensington: A Center of Culture and Learning

Exploring the streets of South Kensington was a fun adventure. Not only are the streets lined with fashionable shops and restaurants and attractive buildings, but the most attractive ones offer free admission. I speak of the huge museums, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, Science Museum, and Natural History Museum. The Royal Albert Hall is just around the corner, and across from it is the Royal College of music where you can often hear the students practicing. The smaller streets are lined with national embassies ornamented with each country's flag. In the same vicinity, blue plaques mark the homes that once house famous Londoners, such a Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens, and Virginia Woolf. The overall impression of the area, is a curiosity of the world and culture extremely magnified in these few blocks.



London's huge, interactive science museum that offers free admission, which is more than I can say about the science museum where I am from. I agree that we should be free to explore the complexities of the world around us.


The V&A offers a wide variety of exhibits, bot old and new. One of these includes a model of the statue of David. Again, free admission.

The very impressive Natural History Museum-- impressive in size, architecture, contents, and price. Again, free!

Geological Museum. Here one can learn about our Earth's infrastructure. Free!

Lines and lines of buses bringing swarms and swarms of school children to the free museums to learn things for free.
The Royal College of music houses the great musicians of tomorrow. Here they study, and often can be heard practicing from the street. We had the privilege of hearing a wailing female opera voice.

This must be where the Royal College of Music students go when they graduate-- across the street.
This area was full of famous residents-- Winston Churchill, Dickens, Woolf and her family.  There is just something attractive about South Kensington. It is an area for learning, exploring, experiencing culture, and remembering the great ones.

No comments: