Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery facts for kids
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The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is Scotland's oldest public museum. It is part of the University of Glasgow. The museum includes several different parts. These are the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology Museum, and the Anatomy Museum. All these places are found in different buildings on the university's main campus in Glasgow.
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The Hunterian Museum's Story
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The museum began thanks to a man named William Hunter. He was a famous doctor and scientist. When he died in 1783, he left his huge collections to the University of Glasgow. He wanted his collections to help students learn and improve.
The first Hunterian Museum opened in 1807. It was in a special building near the old university campus. William Hunter even left money to help build it. Later, the university moved to a new, bigger site called Gilmorehill. This was because the city center was getting too crowded. The museum moved with it in 1870. It found a new home in the university's main building.
At first, all of William Hunter's collections were kept together. But over time, they grew too big for one place. So, different parts of the collection moved to other university buildings. For example, the animal collections went to the Graham Kerr Building. The art collections moved to the Hunterian Art Gallery. Hunter's many books and old papers are now in the Glasgow University Library.
William Hunter collected many different things. He had medical items from his own work. But he also collected coins, rocks, paintings, prints, and even insects. He bought these items from all over Europe. Today, the museum also has important works by artists like Charles Rennie Mackintosh and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. It also has amazing collections of rocks, animals, old tools, and items from different cultures.
What You Can See at the Hunterian
The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery has several exciting places to visit.
Hunterian Museum
This main museum is in the big university buildings on Gilmorehill. Here, you can learn about William Hunter and his collections. You can also see displays about Roman Scotland. This includes parts of the Antonine Wall, which was a Roman frontier.
The museum also has many fossils. One special collection is from James Livingstone Begg. You can also see many old scientific tools. Some of these belonged to the famous scientist Lord Kelvin.
In 2016, a new study center opened at Kelvin Hall. This center helps the museum care for and study its huge collections.
Zoology Museum
Most of the museum's animal collections are in a separate building. This is the Graham Kerr building. It is also open to the public. Here, you can see many different animals. The museum has a very important collection of insects. They have even had special exhibitions about them.
Hunterian Art Gallery
The art gallery is in a modern building. It is part of the large Glasgow University Library complex. This gallery shows the university's many artworks. It also has an outdoor sculpture garden. The special metal doors to the gallery were designed by artist Eduardo Paolozzi. The gallery has many works by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. It also has most of the watercolours by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The Hunterian Art Gallery was updated in 2012. It reopened with a special show about the artist Rembrandt.
The Mackintosh House
The Mackintosh House is a very special part of the gallery. It is a modern building that looks like a house. It was built to copy the inside of a house where famous Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh lived. He lived there with his wife, artist Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.
The university carefully moved and rebuilt the main rooms of their old home. This includes the dining room, a studio-drawing room, and a bedroom. You can see original furniture and decorations. This shows how Mackintosh thought of a room as a complete work of art.
Visiting the Hunterian
The Hunterian Museum reopened a new section in 2011. This part is all about the Romans in Scotland.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It is closed on Mondays. The Mackintosh House has the same opening hours. However, the last entry for the Mackintosh House is at 4:15 PM. Tickets for the Mackintosh House cost £10, or £6 if you have a concession. The other parts of the museum are free to visit.
Other Hunterian Museums
William Hunter had a brother named John. He was also a famous doctor. John also started a museum in London. This museum is called the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. It has many old medical items. These include skeletons and surgical tools.
Both brothers were honored in their hometown of East Kilbride. There was a small museum there called the Hunter House Museum. However, it is now closed.
See also
In Spanish: Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery para niños
