Big ideas

Sometimes I think my brain will just explode, from learning so much in London museums!

Today I took in a very educational and inspiring exhibit at the Natural History Museum, called Darwin: Big Idea, Big Exhibition, and learned a lot about the development of the theory of evolution and about Darwin's life and times. In addition to the very informative explanatory panels, there were many original documents that were quite thrilling to examine. The neatest things, though, were actual specimens that he collected on the Voyage of the Beagle, including a tiny beetle picked up in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, that I made a point of noticing in particular. (I'll be seeing you (on TV, at least) soon, Manu!)

Unfortunately, they didn't allow photos in the special exhibition, but the fine statute of Darwin shown above has pride of place in the main hall of the Museum all the time. Everything is gearing up for the bicentennial of his birth next year, and I was sadly somewhat embarrassed by the idea that in the U.S. he's probably more likely to be vilified than venerated. But he certainly is appreciated here!

Since I'd already toured the Museum earlier in my visit, I didn't spend time in any of the other galleries today, but I was struck anew by the lovely architecture of the building itself.


Yesterday I did little that was blog-worthy, although I did stop off at the Council offices of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (where I've been residing) and deposited some used camera batteries in their gumball-machine-like recycling bin. I wonder if they'll be puzzled about what "HEB" means on some of the batteries in their bin? (Click on the photo at the right to see a larger version, where you should be able just to make out the logo so familiar to San Antonians, but rather alien-looking over here.)

A landmark was reached yesterday, however, that must be noted: only 1 week until our return to Texas! I can't believe how fast the semester has flown. I met with my last class today, which is something of a relief to me, although my job as teacher is far from over since I have 25 final papers to grade before we leave.

I have enjoyed the teaching, and the students have been wonderful. But I really miss my regular job and will be glad to get back to it. Rather nice to realize, I suppose, that one has made most of the right choices in life, and has ended up in a career for which one is much better suited, than perhaps some others that were considered along the way, such as classroom teaching.

Lots and lots of history

We had another full day of exploring and learning in London. We saw lots of natural history at the Museum of the same name, and lots of cultural history at Westminster Abbey. Both were enjoyable, in very different ways.

The Natural History Museum is an interesting combination of old-fashioned museum-ness and modern, interactive displays. They have a great many fossils and reconstructed skeletons (the dinosaurs are quite impressive) as well as stuffed animals of all kinds. They do inform you, frequently and somewhat contritely, that these unfortunate creatures are from the Museum's historical collections. Current museum practice, of course, puts a greater value on animals in the wild than on capturing them for displays. However informative these historical displays are, they definitely have an old-fashioned look.

But there are also all kind gee-whiz exhibits that are geared, and quite successfully, I would imagine, toward 21st-century kids, mixed in with the stuffed dodos and pygmy shrews. We actually liked the "red" section of the Museum's exhibits, that deals with earth science, better than the life science sections that we saw. The impressive escalator ride shown above takes you from one level of this section to another. I'm looking forward to my next visit here, with the next set of visitors.

A long walk and a short bus ride later found us at Westminster Abbey, which is a very impressive structure absolutely chock-full of cultural/artistic decoration. It was our first pay-for-admission attraction but was well worth the £12. No photography allowed in the Abbey, but the cloisters are a different matter and I was able to take this nice shot looking through the ornate windows there.

Although these were two prime sight-seeing spots, we weren't finished yet! A pleasant walk through part of St. James Park led us to Buckingham Palace, which is a must-see, I suppose, but not nearly as photogenic as a lot of the other buildings I've seen. Then a somewhat over-priced, but good, dinner at a neighborhood pub closed out the day.

Now we're vegging and watching insanely difficult British tv quiz shows. The next few days will be short on blog-worthy action, since I've got to get back to work, but I'll try and find something interesting to post.