Horniman Museum

With a day off and no plans, I decided to go to a south London museum that had caught my eye, and not just because there's a lot of ads for it on the rear of buses, which I tend to get stuck behind while cycling.

No, it has a damn funny name. Horniman! Okay, I'm immature. But childishness is good for this museum.


That's not a comment on the exhibits -- they were, for the most part, pretty high quality. No, the whole place was full of moms (and grandparents) with toddlers and noisy preteen school groups. So immaturity fits right in. As does running around. And screaming. And throwing temper tantrums.

Despite the attendees, the Horniman is a decent museum. The new aquarium is amazing. The music room is really cool, especially this one interactive feature, which lets you listen to hundreds of different instruments.

The natural history bit is a bit weak, especially compared to the Natural History Museum (which is so hella cool, nature pales in comparison). The Horniman's exhibit had some old-school stuff things -- including dogs, yes, domestic ones -- but their growning glory is a full-sized walrus. Compare that to the NHM, which aside from a moving t-rex, has a real stuffed blue whale... a wee bit more impressive than a walrus.



More pictures here.