“MORE THAN 8,000 OBJECTS HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR THE NEW GALLERIES – 80 PER CENT OF WHICH ARE ON DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GENERATIONS”
The Natural World area looks at animals in their natural environment, how their senses work and how they survive in today’s world
JANE CARMICHAEL Director of collections
What are the collections? The collections have been built up over 200 years. They vary from Egyptian arte- facts through to Scottish archaeology and history, the natural world, science and technology, European art and design and world cultures. More than 8,000 objects have been selected for the new galleries – 80 per cent of which are on display for the fi rst time in generations.
How are they displayed? We’ve created order where previously there was precious little. The displays have been organised in units. We have this splendid Victorian architecture with a ground fl oor and two mezzanines above. Each unit of three levels has become
a showcase for a particular subject area, such as the Natural World or the Planet Earth or our World Cultures collections.
How did you choose the exhibits? Our world cultures collections were the big discovery of the projects. They were stored
AM 1 2012 ©cybertrek 2012
in our basement in very crowded condi- tions and we hadn’t been able to assess them for years. By taking them out of the old stores and putting them into new ones we could see what we had and decide how to make the most of it. Highlights include complete outfi ts from native American chiefs dating back to the mid 19th century, which are astonishingly rare. When deciding how the gallery should be constructed, we worked out how much space should be allocated for each topic and came up with the idea that each sub- ject matter should be in different stacks over three levels. For the Natural World stack, we decided that the bottom fl oor should show animals in their environment, using lighting, fi lm and sound. The fi rst fl oor looks at how their senses work and the second focuses on how they survive and the challenges of climate change and extinction that animals face today.
How have you been able to display so many more artefacts than before? We’ve rediscovered our Victorian archi- tecture. Most of our archways had been blocked up, so we cleared the building of the clutter that had accrued over the years. The Victorians really knew about design- ing public spaces. Now you can stand in
our grand gallery and get a sense of the building around you and the open space.
What is the Window on the World display? Our Window on The World display in the grand gallery accommodates 800 objects. The idea was to create a signature space which would identify us and what we are about. We wanted to give a sense of our multidisciplinary collections and show the enormous variety of what we have, plus use the space imaginatively. The arrangement is a mixture of a
reasonable balance across the different subjects and getting the shapes to work together alongside the very dramatic light- ing and graphics. For example, a bicycle that carries four people hangs beside a superb selection of works in silver because they both have strong shapes. The display also includes our working models, such as engines and trains, including Stephenson’s Rocket, which are beautiful and work when people press a button. Another important factor was to create a unity within the building. The display starts in the arrivals hall and goes all the way up to the top of the building. It also acts as a visitor draw – you see it on one level and want to go up and explore the rest. The public seems to love it – it’s so different.
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 31
PHOTO: ROB MCDOUGALL
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