Emergency Questions #8: Museum Trip

Mark Lanegan - Museum

Richard Herring's question of the week, from his excellent book Emergency Questions...

What's the best museum you've ever been to? 

Rich's answer to this is the Keswick Pencil Museum, which I have to say takes some beating. He's probably being sarcastic, although maybe not, because I'm sure he appreciates a good pencil like the rest of us. Having been there myself, I can highly recommend it.

Styrofoam Winos - Stuck In A Museum

The photo at the top of the page was taken in the Weston Park Museum in Sheffield, which was probably the first museum we ever took Sam to... but we still enjoy visiting it today. The woolly rhino is worth the price of admission on its own... or it would be, if admission wasn't free.

Aimee Mann - At The Frick Museum

Michael Knight - Fright at the Museum

A more local museum that we still pop into from time to time, even though it'll only kill half an hour or so is the Tolson Musuem in Ravensknowle Hall, Huddersfield. There are a few old cars, an old trolleybus and... best of all, a horse that has been cut in half to reveal its skeleton. From one side, it's a horse, from the other... brrr! 

Lonely Tourist - Museum of Childhood

Muse - Muscle Museum

The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum has also become a regular summer stop for Sam and I. An excellent collection of old planes and helicopters, some that you can sit in and pretend you're a pilot.

Michael Hall - The Museum Of Giant Puppets, PA

Paul Weller - The Strange Museum

I like a museum that allows you to step back in time and see the world as it was in days gone by. One of the best of these is Ryedale Folk Museum in North Yorkshire; it's like wandering around an old village and you can go into the old shops, farm buildings and cottages and really feel like you've gone back in time.

Tiny Ruins - Me At The Museum, You In The Wintergardens

Finally, there's the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford - formerly known (back when I worked in the city) as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. They have lots of ever-changing interactive exhibits, but the best thing is the Hall of Mirrors. They were closed last year for extensive renovation, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's new in the summer holidays.

Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 - Museum of Sex

Graham Parker - Museum of Stupidity

Having listed some of the best museums Sam and I have visited over the years, I still haven't answer Richard Herring's question. My favourite museum? Well, it'd have to be this one...

Do you know the history of the trench coat?
What it represents and who it's for?
What I want to know is who would want a coat
So close to the floor?
I went to the Trench Coat Museum to see 'em
A thousand different cuts
Like pelts from another dream
Stuffed and bursting at the seams
Cause I'm fishing for a theme
If it's somewhere in between
A day's honest graft and constantly fleeing the crime scene...

Do you have a favourite museum?