Monday, Monday, So Good to Me--Day 40

I am pleased to report that Tesco is back and better than ever! I noticed that they switched the store around a little while they were repairing the door (I didn't appreciate this at first, but I suppose it's good for my brain), and some of the prices have dropped pretty significantly. As always, budgeting is going well, so I'm happy about that.

After lunch, I went to the Study Centre to sign up for my last few activities, but the sign-ups weren't finalizzed yet, so I will have to go back on Wednesday. I stopped quickly at an ATM to get more cash and then headed on to Metrogate. My first visit to Metrogate was fairly interesting. I had to sign up to use the computer facilities with a username and password, and it took a little while to figure out how everything works (but thankfully the front-desk staff are very nice and understanding of a hapless student like myself). It was such a beautiful afternoon that I felt like I shouldn't spend it in my room, so after Metrogate, I walked to the Natural History Museum, which I had seen on my walk there and which for obvious reasons had struck my fancy.

The Natural History Museum--too big to fit in one shot!

The Natural History Museum is one of the largest museums I have ever seen. I was completely overwhelmed when I walked in the door. Most of the museums items were donated by Sir Hans Sloane (who, if I didn't tell you, also gave a lot of items to the British Museum), but it is obviously a 21st century museum, so it has lots of video, interactive exhibits, and modern scientific displays. The museum has a large collection of dinosaur fossils, and its crown jewel is the Diplodocus skeleton, which looks kind of like a brontosaurus except its back legs are larger and thicker than its front legs. The museum affectionately calls him "Dippy." The dinosaur exhibit also has an animatronic T. Rex. If I didn't already know that the T. Rex is extinct, I would swear this one was real! It bobs its head, blinks its eyes, chomps its jaws, and makes noises in an eerily lifelike manner. A sign near the exhibit informs visitors that the T. Rex just might see them! I'd hate to see that thing angry!

I actually saw the dinosaurs last, but I thought I'd mention them first because they seem to be a big draw for the museum. I started my visit with the arthropods, which were pretty interesting. I liked looking at the bugs and spiders under the magnifying glasses. It reminded me of the zoology course I took last winter. I also took at look at the bird specimens. The Natural History Museum has well-preserved dodo birds, auks, and hummingbirds. Some of the hummingbirds are so small it is incredible! They look like nothing more than big bees or flies. Next, I wandered into the earth science section. I saw a wide variety of earth minerals and even a moon rock! The museum has a really cool earth sculpture superimposed over the escalator that leads to another earth science floor, so you can see how the earth is composed of different layers. I really liked the earth science section because of the rocks and minerals display! I saw so many cool types of gems and rocks. I find geology really fascinating, so this display was a real treat for me. I learned that citrine (one of my birthstones, the other being topaz) is actually a variety of quartz. And to my further delight, I found a whole other hall chock full of rocks and minerals. It was mind-boggling. I am willing to bet that the Natural History Museum has the largest collection of rocks and minerals of any museum in the world because I cannot believe how many specimens I saw today.

The large mineral gallery at the museum. Rows upon rows of specimens...I think I'm done rocking out for awhile after today. (Although I wouldn't mind going back so I can give each item a better look.)

This larger hall was also home to the Vault, where extra-special rocks and gems are kept. One of the best items in the Vault was a rock from Mars! The Vault also had some cool gems like alexandrite and a very large piece of pure gold. I think I spent almost an hour on the rocks and minerals alone!

Next, I found a gallery holding a piece of artwork called TREE, which is made out of real slabs of wood and commemorates the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth. I thought TREE was stunning, as were the windows on either side of the gallery.

I thought it was painted on for a minute until I took a closer look and saw that it was actual wood! It is obviously meant to represent the "tree of life" and the relatedness of all biological forms.

The pretty windows in the TREE room.

Near TREE is an exhibit about primates, and it was freaky to see how many of their behaviors match our own. I did like seeing the specimens, though, like the pygmy marmoset, bush baby, tarsier, and slow lorris (I don't know, he looked pretty smart to me!). They were so cute! Though, obviously, I much prefer their living versions in zoos.

Another really cool part of the museum was a slab from the Giant Sequoia. Significant rings on the slab are marked, such as the date of its "birth." If you can believe it, the tree was a seedling in 557 (about the time of King Arthur)! The tree was felled in 1892, at the age of 1335 years!! I was amazed!

I also spent a lot of time on the human biology section. They had exhibits on virtually every system of the body and on virtually every function of the body. There were a ton of interactive things and cool videos and displays. In total, I spent about two hours in the museum, which still was not enough. I really enjoyed it, and I definitely want to go back, particularly on October 21st or later because that is when the museum is starting its 2011 Wildlife Photographer of the Year display. I would love to see the photographs, being a wildlife enthusiast and amateur photographer. Maybe I can convince my friends to come with me!

Tomorrow shouldn't be too exciting. I am very proud to be turning in a paper for British Politics that I believe I worked pretty hard on and did some good work on. I am also going to campaign in British Art History for the supremacy of my coal scuttle! I hope my powers of persuasion are at their best tomorrow! That's all for now. :)