Hooray The Natural History museuem is back open

amdublin

I never called it the dead zoo btw. Don't know anyone who did....

Anyone been in yet? How are the crowds?

deaddonkey

I heard this the other day. So happy. One of my favourite places in Dublin, can't wait to go back there once I'm home.

Phantastic Fox

Finally! I've been wanting to head there for years.

John Mason

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, i have missed it soooooooooooo much

have they changed to make it look all modern though :mad:

i loved the old dusty smells and the olde worlde feel to it. i work close to it and would love wandering around on my lunch break

SimonMaher

irishbird wrote: »

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, i have missed it soooooooooooo much

have they changed to make it look all modern though :mad:

i loved the old dusty smells and the olde worlde feel to it. i work close to it and would love wandering around on my lunch break

We had Eleanor Fitzsimons from the Dubliner on the show the other day and I asked her the very same question! It still smells the same, looks the same and feels the same she assured me. Looking forward to going in for a wander next week.

Simon

phasers

Glad to hear they haven't changed a thing, I love the creepy old school vibe they have in there

I'll be heading down next week, so excited!

Flamed Diving

yay! I moved to Dublin nearly two years ago and I have never been able to see it!

potsy86

Flamed Diving wrote: »

yay! I moved to Dublin nearly two years ago and I have never been able to see it!

where is this place again

Flamed Diving

Next to the Office of An Taoiseach, I think.

potsy86

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Next to the Office of An Taoiseach, I think.

fcuk that didn even notice it was closed feels like it wasnt that long ago i was there and its been closed over two years thats mad i must have been abducted by aliens or something

Scarinae

Wooo I'll have to drop in next time I'm home! Spend a lot of time in London's Natural History Museum these days, but I still have a great fondness for the Dublin version

potsy86

nearly lost the plot there for a second or should i say a few years of my life lol the museum i was thinking of beside the dail thats the archaeology museum yes...? kildare street

and the national history museum thats on merrion street street where the hell is that dont think iv ever been to that one maybe as a kid but been to the archaeology one so many times it never changes cant quite put my finger on merrion street and the funny thing is iv prob walked up it so many times just cant get the picture in my head

Einhard

I don't think ye can go upstairs where they have most of the birds and insects and smaller mammals. Which kinda sucks. Better than nothing though. Anyone know if that giant whale hanging from the ceiling is real, or a model. From what I remembered it looked kinda artificial. But then again, maybe that's what a stuffed 150 year old whale is s'posed to look like.

potsy86

that's rite its all not actually open only the lower level of it your actually missing out on a lot of stuff (link below) from steps in evelution onwards is closed due to safety issues http://www.museum.ie/en/exhibition-list/natural-history-permanent-exhibitions.aspx

now ya'd think after all this time they would have sorted it out :mad:

wobzilla1

I used to have days when I'd have a class at 8 in the morning, and then not have a class until 3 or 4 (No I wasn't an arts student). I used to spend the whole day in there.
I was planning on heading up with the girlfriend tomorrow. Does it still open for a few hours on sunday?

potsy86

wobzilla1 wrote: »

I used to have days when I'd have a class at 8 in the morning, and then not have a class until 3 or 4 (No I wasn't an arts student). I used to spend the whole day in there.
I was planning on heading up with the girlfriend tomorrow. Does it still open for a few hours on sunday?

yup according to the website it does i left a link in a previous post it will give ya the opening times on it

edit: from 2 till 5pm

DublinWriter

Great news. I really hope they haven't changed anything.

I was there the week before the stairs collapsed and felt a bit nervous at the creaking noises when I walked up the stairs at the back of the museum to get up to the highest gallery.

amdublin

OMG!!!! The queue to get in today!

I parked at 1, went off for a spot of lunch and when came back at 2.30 the queue snaked out from the door all down the railings to the National Gallery (old building).

Mad! Lots of family and kids.

I didn't fancy queueing. Plus all those kids, imagine it was crazy inside so I gave it a miss and will go back in a month or so.

crow_eat_crow

Was there today. The queue was all the way past the National Gallery, and it took about 30 - 40 minutes to get in. But it was worth it. Would like to go back in a few weeks or months when it's a bit less mad, for a more sedate look around. The children loved it, and they seemed really interested, especially in the skeletons!

wattlendaub

Is the upstairs area open yet? All the best stuff is up there, like the lovely peacock!

adamski8

I know I'm probably going to get lambasted for this but I really didn't enjoy it when I visited (i think two times). Do people really just like it for the fact it old and dusty etc????
I've been to the london natural history museum and that was excellent! Could have spent a week there but the Irish one is pretty poor IMO.
The fact that they havent changed it as a previous poster said spells being cheap and not renovating it while they had the chance to me.
Anyone out there that agrees? (I'm really surprised people seem to love it so much!)

I will check it out this month again to give it a chance

Flamed Diving

Comparing London to Dublin?

Seriously?

adamski8

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Comparing London to Dublin?

Seriously?

I still thought it was poor by irish museum standards, I do like that its free though but it was dark and boring when i went, what can i say!
I just mentioned the london one to show that I like museums and natural history ones when done well, and sounds like the irish one missed an opportunity to improve it!
Doesn't a stairs collasping (i think that what happenened right?!) tell you that you need to rennovate the place?!!!

Flamed Diving

Yeah, but I'd imagine funding is hard to come by.

stovelid

Nice one.Think I'll stroll up on my lunch break.

Irish Halo

adamski8 wrote: »

I know I'm probably going to get lambasted for this but I really didn't enjoy it when I visited (i think two times). Do people really just like it for the fact it old and dusty etc????
I've been to the london natural history museum and that was excellent! Could have spent a week there but the Irish one is pretty poor IMO.
The fact that they havent changed it as a previous poster said spells being cheap and not renovating it while they had the chance to me.

a) The Natural History Museum in London has a few more pennies than the Dublin one. This is mostly due to Irish government's contempt for cultural heritage and all that muck. Even the building it is housed in has been slowly chipped away at by the Irish government. It used to be a lot larger but parts were taken by the government for offices.
b) The Natural History Museum in Dublin is a museum piece itself there is no other Victorian era museum anywhere in the world which provides an insight into the roots of the modern museum (it has been referred to as a museum of museums). There would be an international outcry if they refurbished it so it was a bright shiny (quickly outdated) modern museum. Even the London one got lambasted when they did a partial refurb a few years ago.

Changing something because you can does not always make it the correct option. I'll be popping back when I'm next home.

adamski8

Irish Halo wrote: »

a) The Natural History Museum in London has a few more pennies than the Dublin one. This is mostly due to Irish government's contempt for cultural heritage and all that muck. Even the building it is housed in has been slowly chipped away at by the Irish government. It used to be a lot larger but parts were taken by the government for offices.
b) The Natural History Museum in Dublin is a museum piece itself there is no other Victorian era museum anywhere in the world which provides an insight into the roots of the modern museum (it has been referred to as a museum of museums). There would be an international outcry if they refurbished it so it was a bright shiny (quickly outdated) modern museum. Even the London one got lambasted when they did a partial refurb a few years ago.

Changing something because you can does not always make it the correct option. I'll be popping back when I'm next home.

A) the dublin one is much smaller so it shouldnt be as hard. But i guess it would get alot less visitors even for the size so less donations.
Yeah fair point, guess its just not for me then!

Maybe ill try enjoy it as you say as a museum of museums

DublinWriter

adamski8 wrote: »

I've been to the london natural history museum and that was excellent! Could have spent a week there but the Irish one is pretty poor IMO.

I found the British National History museum to be quite a let-down compared to Dublin.

The London museum was full of interactive screens and lots of blinking lights and keyboards to attract the kids. It had precious few actual exhibits and nearly all the dinosaur skeletons on display were reproductions.

The museum in Dublin beats the one in London hands down. It's crammed with real live, sorry, dead exhibits.