Horniman Museum

Horniman Museum and Gardens

Horniman Museum and Gardens

Horniman Museum and Garden
Director	Janet Vitmayer
Opened	1901
Location	Forest Hill London, SE23 United Kingdom

Overview

The Horniman Museum and Garden was founded by John Horniman. He opened this museum to show off his collection of objects and bring the world to Forest Hill. This museum has an acclaimed aquarium, anthropology and natural history collection.

Background

John Horniman was a successful tea trader and philanthropist. He used the wealth to begin collecting objects, artifacts, and specimens that "illustrated natural history and the arts and hand crafts from people around the world" in 1860. He did this to "bring the world to Forest Hill"and educate his community. He went to places such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Japan, Canada, and the United States. His interests became well known and soon people began approaching Horniman with specimens and curiosities. In the late 19^th century, his collection had grown too large for his house. The Horniman family moved next door and turned their old house into a museum.

Natural History Exhibit

The Natural History exhibit at the Horniman Museum aims to show how human lives are linked to the nature of Earth. It also attempts to display the diverse wildlife of the world. The creators of the gallery hoped that through the exhibit people would become inspired by nature. The gallery has been open since the early 20th century and has remained almost unchanged since then. To learn more about the exhibit click here

Music Exhibit

The music exhibit at the Horniman Museum is incredible. It covers one fourth of the lower level of the museum. There are many different examples of music throughout the years and how instruments have evolved. To learn more about the exhibit, click here.

The Robot Zoo

Representative Image

The Gardens

Display Gardens

All botanical displays have been carefully created by the museum's gardeners and curators to unite the indoor and outdoor collections. They reflect themes of the exhibits displayed in the museum and can be seen inside and outside of it.

Conservatory

This Victorian Conservatory was originally built at the Horniman family house at Coombe Cliffe, Croydon, in 1894. By 1982, it had fallen into disrepair. The structure was dismantled and moved to its current site where it was beautifully restored with the help of English Heritage. It re-opened in 1989 and is used for performances, workshops, and as a function room.

Brandstand

From the grandstand, visitors are able to enjoy a breathtaking vista of London. It was built in 1903 from a design by Charles Harrison Townsend and it is a focal point for a lot of the museum's outdoor summer events programme such as concerts or film screenings, while surrounding terrace provides a large picnic area with stunning views.

Nature Trail

The Horniman Nature Trail is the oldest in London. It is roughly half a mile long on the site of the original Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway. The railway was closed in 1954 and the area was left unmanaged until 1972. This resulted in it becoming a wild woodland area. Today, the trail is managed carefully to encourage a wide variety of plants, birds, insects and other animals which depend on each other for survival. Pond and meadow habitats have been introduced to attract new species, and a log pile area is home to dozens of different mini beasts, including the endangered stag beetle. The trail is a sensitive area and much time goes into managing it for your enjoyment. The main entrance to the Nature Trail is located on the cycle path that runs parallel with the Museum and Gardens and can be accessed from London Road.

References

1. History of the Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2017, from http://horniman.ac.uk/about/museum-history

External Links

If appropriate, add an external links section

Image Gallery

If appropriate, add an image gallery