Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery – Interactive and Impressive

Over the past two days I have been staying in Shrewsbury to visit the area and have a small break before starting back at Uni. Shrewsbury is a quaint and ‘old-worldy’ town that offers a great break from a busy city life filled with traffic and routine. So today I went to visit Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery and what a treat it was! I am usually dubious about museums that ask for paid entry, but for £4.00 per adult I decided I would give the museum a go. After buying my tickets, I was given a detailed floor map with a descriptive guide on how to walk through the museum, and simultaneously, walk through the historical ages.

I began in the Roman gallery that offered displays of animal’s skins, wool making and artefacts such as coins and spear heads (we then found out that this area was actually free for all general public to act as a little taster for what was to come). There were Roman-style tiling designs with small square tiles that can be fitted into patterns which would be great for children to keep them engaged. I also picked up a leaflet about upcoming events being held at the museum in the future for paid adult education sessions to further my knowledge of Roman history – an event I will definitely be attending.

From this exhibit I visited the medieval and middle-ages section of the museum on the first floor; this was where the interactive services began. Here I found paper and letter templates in medieval-style calligraphy that came with a feather quill and ink pot so that visitors can try their hand at perfecting their handwriting. This was great fun and come alongside a great exhibit whereby all the artefacts were described in detail and in chronological order to teach someone even with little knowledge of that time era.

The progression into the Tudor display offered more delights including a four-poster bed on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Stuart section with a large section on Admiral Benbow, a Shropshire Naval figure. I enjoyed the section on Admiral Benbow, including a video clip of a group of men in a local pub paying homage to this famous seaman through battle chants, as it related wider, more popular history, back to its roots in the local area. Museums that only cater to local history tend to limit themselves as it is only offers specific history that may not appeal to the average public that do not have that historical background. However, it is still nice to incorporate local pride into national history in order to engage an audience, a skill that this museum has homed in on by showing the Shrewsbury/Shropshire area through the years that are popular to the public.

After the visitor has become engrossed into the history of the museum, they are submerged into the Shropshire-based part of the exhibition.  This includes information on: Charles Darwin, the scientist who founded the famous theories of evolution; and geology, the study of the progression of the planet and Shropshire’s part in this. Finally fashion through the ages and how the styles have changed through the years – this included an advert for a 60’s girdle that actually proved radioactive due to it being manufactured from uranium and radium! This offered a strong insight into how the local history had shaped the history of the world, and vice versa in terms of the geology.

All of these displays are concluded by a special exhibit that tends to change every few months or so, today I saw “Exposed: The Body in Art from Durer to Freud” that has been on display since the 15^th of September and will remain on display until the 4^th of January 2015. This was a great exhibition of art that captured the body form, both life-like and abstract. As soon as you enter this final room you are handed a device that allows you to tap in the number of each picture or sculpture and listen to an explanation on that piece, as well as a text description for extra information. This was my favourite of all the displays due to its interactive quality and the ease in which anyone can receive the information.

Shrewsbury Museum shows organisations how to really display exhibits and how to make them accessible to all of the public – from the average family to the avid historian. The audience of enticed by the relatable information and the common themes but also leave having learnt something new about the era or area. I would suggest abolishing the entry fee and asking for a donation instead as this would bring in many more people, both local people as well as tourists. But I would definitely recommend visiting the website and looking up the opening times in order for you to organise your own visit.

Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery