OXFORD 6: World wonders, plus punting!

Skeleton in back is of an Asian elephant
Tall skeleton right of center is a giraffe

Su 15 May

Since the forecast was for rain, we figured an indoor activity would be good, and we'd been meaning to see the Oxford Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum, but I didn't know that much about them. They are both SPECTACULAR, each in a different way. We were blown away by the richness and variety of both collections, as well as by the architectural settings they're in.

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History

The setting of this museum collection is breathtakingly beautiful, with a high glass ceiling flooding the space with natural light, and with lots of loving detail in the archways, columns, lights, floor tiling, etc. The collection itself is wonderful, too, with all kinds of information about animals and minerals. There are skeletons and fossils and stuffed animals, and every column in the second floor gallery is made of stone from a different part of Britain. It's a dazzling display of the wonders of the natural world. (Note that two rock photos are included, for a particular rock fan...)

The Pitt-Rivers Museum

The adjacent Pitt Rivers Museum is a very old-style museum, full of dimly lit old-style cases (dimly lit to protect the objects on display). It is more of an anthropological museum, focused on human-created objects of culture and ritual. In the museum's own words, its very existence is based on a colonial outlook on the world, where the world's treasures are yours to collect and own. The collection includes objects from all over the world, including a giant totem pole from Canada, Noh masks from Japan, brass anklets from Nigeria, etc

The museum seems to be working hard at finding the right path to take going forward. It has various info panels scattered about, calling attention to things like the importance of how you name and describe exhibits; it is also working more with the communities being represented. For example, one info panel explains that a previous well-known exhibit of shrunken heads is no longer on display, as it was considered to be offensive by the peoples involved.

One plus of having such a wide assortment of objects is that the objects are displayed thematically, rather than being grouped more by time period or place of origin, as is often the case. For instance, there is a case devoted to Lutes of all kinds, from all over the world. Upstairs, in the section on body adornments, there are cases devoted to Tattoos, or Masks, or Headdresses. There are cases devoted to different Playing Cards. It can be very interesting to see items grouped in that sort of thematic way; apparently this unusual approach came from the founder Pitt-Rivers, and is one of the things that sets the museum apart.

Both museums reflect a deep love of their subject matter, and a devotion to sorting, cataloguing, and organizing the world that is mind-boggling. 

The Handle Bar and Punting After All

In the mid-afternoon, we met up with Allie at The Handle Bar, a fun café/bar decorated with all kinds of bikes. We discussed activity options, and I think Allie picked up on the fact that Doug was still hankering to go punting, despite the grey skies and off-and-on rain. So off we went! 

I was a little worried that the boathouse might have closed early, with the inclement weather. But it was still getting a fair amount of business, and we lucked out in that we only got a few occasional drops of rain while we were out. 

Doug says keeping your balance standing on the boat wasn't as hard as he feared, but steering was tricky. He was able to move us along at a pretty good pace; sometimes I'd want to take pictures of ducks, but we'd go by them faster than I could get ready! Partway through, Allie switched with Doug to try her hand at it. It was a very fun outing. If we were staying longer, I'd definitely go again, and I'd even try it too.

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It's hard to believe it's time to leave Oxford already...it's been such a treat to see Allison every day. The weather seems to echo our sadness, with its wetter, more blustery turn.