Geological Museum facts for kids
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The Geological Museum is one of the oldest science museums in the world. It started way back in 1835! Today, it's a special part of the Natural History Museum in London. The museum moved to its current home on Exhibition Road in South Kensington in 1935. This building was designed by famous architects Sir Richard Allison and John Hatton Markham.
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Museum History
The Museum of Practical Geology began in 1837. It was first located at No. 6 Craig's Court in Whitehall. This idea came from Henry de la Beche, who was the first leader of the Geological Survey. The museum also started its library in 1843, mostly with books donated by de la Beche himself.
First Home: Jermyn Street
The museum quickly needed a bigger space. So, a new building was designed by James Pennethorne. This new place was built between 1845 and 1849. It had galleries, a library, a large lecture hall, offices, and labs. Prince Albert officially opened it on May 14, 1851.
The main goal of the museum was to show off rocks, minerals, and fossils from the United Kingdom. It also wanted to show how these natural materials were used to make useful and beautiful things. The collections were set up in two main parts: natural materials from the UK and industrial products made from them. There were also sections for tools, old products, and materials brought in from other countries. The museum even had maps, mosaics, glass, pottery, and statues of important geologists.
In the summer of 1933, the Geological Museum became very famous. It hosted the London Economic Conference. This was a huge meeting where leaders from 66 countries tried to find ways to help the world's economy during a very difficult time.
New Home: Exhibition Road
The museum moved to its new building on Exhibition Road in South Kensington. It reopened in July 1935, with the Duke of York doing the honors. The new building cost about £220,000. After the move, the museum became well known for its many dioramas. These were three-dimensional models that helped explain geology and mining methods. Many of these have been taken down since the Natural History Museum took over in 1986.
In 1965, the museum joined with the British Geological Survey. They became known as the "Institute of Geological Sciences." In 1971, the museum hired a designer named James Gardner. He created an amazing exhibition called The Story of the Earth. This exhibit was a big step forward in how science museums were designed. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It was famous for a giant model of a rock face, a planetarium, a model of an active volcano, and an earthquake machine!
From 1971 to 1974, the museum created its own design team. This team worked with scientists to make many new exhibitions. These included Early Days of Geology in Britain, Black Gold, Britain Before Man, Journey to the Planets, British Fossils, Pebbles, Treasures of the Earth, and British Offshore Oil and Gas.
Treasures of the Earth was one of the first major museum galleries in the world to use computers. These computers showed pictures and text next to the real objects. This helped visitors learn more. The main film in the Oil and Gas exhibition, called Liquid Assets, won a big award in 1989.
The "Power Within" exhibition teaches about seismology, which is the study of earthquakes. It even has a model of the 1995 Kobe earthquake to show how powerful it was.
Joining the Natural History Museum
The Geological Museum officially became part of the Natural History Museum in 1988. At first, it was called The Earth Galleries. Before 1998, it was hard to get from one museum building to the other. But then, a new connecting walkway was built. Now, the old Geological Museum galleries are known as the Red Zone in the Natural History Museum.
Visions of Earth
Surveys showed that not many visitors went to the top floors of the Geological Museum. So, the galleries were changed to encourage people to start their visit at the top. Visitors now ride a long escalator up through the building.
The main hall of the museum was renamed "Visions of Earth" in 1996. It was designed by Neal Potter. This is where you find the huge escalator that goes up through a giant model of the Earth. The walls around the escalator are covered with recycled slate. These walls have stars and planets from our solar system sand-blasted onto them. When it first opened, the globe used to spin around the escalator with cool sound effects!
The museum sometimes rents out this hall for special events like dinners and parties. It can hold up to 500 guests.
Images for kids
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Stegosaurus skeleton in the Earth Hall atrium
