"Women don't have hot flushes, they have Power Surges." ~ WoooHoooo I'm Blue!! ~
"Women don't have hot flushes, they have Power Surges." ~ WoooHoooo I'm Blue!! ~
Member since:02.09.2005
Reviews:20
Members who trust:9
Many a weekend have I spent traipsing around Pitt Rivers museum. I must have been at least 3 times with my primary school, twice in secondary, once with my uncle from Australia and more recently with my Art coursework. All will be explained later!! You could never get bored of Pitt Rivers. Every time I go I see something I have missed before. Don't get me wrong it's not huge, but it's packed! I don't think they would get anything else in there if you tried!!
When you arrive at the front, the museum could pass for any other historical Oxford building, or part of the University. But take a closer look, and you will see prehistoric marks of some kind across the grass........ Walk in through huge doors, and the first thing you see if a donation box. Now, Pitt Rivers is free entry, but I really would suggest you make a donation, even on your way out, as it is the most amazing place and any donation helps them keep the artefacts where they are, instead of having to sell them to some other old museum that no one visits!!! The first part is the Natural History museum, full of stuffed animals and bones etc. Not really my thing, but
great if you like the London Natural History museum, it's much the same but on a smaller scale. And its great for kids, they love it! The last time I was visiting there was a camera crew there filming a documentary on Prehistoric times, and the director was giving talks to the visitors which was really interesting. Have no idea what program that was for though!
~DISPLAYS~ Then you go through the gift shop into Pitt Rivers itself. You have the main floor, and then 3 (or is it 4?) galleries that are themselves filled to the brim with artefacts. Pitt Rivers has everything, from ancient jewellery, tableware, clothes and tools, to Aboriginal, Japanese, African and European weapons and armour. All original stuff dating back thousands of years! The only word to describe it is AMAZING! You can almost travel through time, starting at Prehistoric/Cavemen era all the way to the modern day, where they have display cases of different cultures' dress and religious artefacts. They have a selection of African war and death masks (Art coursework!!!!!) which are very interesting! The galleries are kind of themed whilst the main floor is full of everything else. One year they had an Egyptian mummy (Not King Tut I'm afraid!) which was brilliant, but I don't think that's there anymore. Things like pots, more jewellery, tools, artefacts, shrunken heads... (You have to see them to believe them!!!!) And the whole bottom floor is towered over by a big totem pole, with huge eyes. Everything in Pitt Rivers is donated, and every artefact has something written about it in the display case, so it's a wonderful way to find out which ear/country each piece came from.
Pitt Rivers is great. Kids will love it (especially the shrunken heads!!) and learn so much whilst not really realising they are, which is great. Its great for adults too, you can really get a feel for the different cultures around the world and how they used to live too. Some of the tools and artefacts are magnificent to look at as they look so similar to what we have today, only thousands of years older!!
Take a visit to Pitt Rivers Museum next time you're in Oxford; its free, so it can't hurt! Plus, you don't have to worry about transport! It is sign posted from the city centre and is only about a 20 minute walk away!
~MORE INFO~ Opening hours: Pitt Rivers and the Natural History Museum are open from 12pm to 4pm daily. Only the Natural History Museum has wheelchair access although this could be rectified when the new extension is finished next year sometime! Parking: There is no parking on the museum grounds, and anyone caught parking in the university grounds without a permit will be shot (only joking! You'll just get your car clamped and a hefty fine, so be warned!!) But you can either get the Park and Ride (signposted from about 50 miles outside Oxford centre, just in case you miss it!) and there is also a multi storey car park in the Centre of Oxford.
There is no restaurant or Cafe at the museum but when ever I have been there I have nibbled away on my own food and the security didn't say anything!
They do allow you to take recordings and photographs, but this is usually at their discretion, so ask the friendly security guard first! The reason they don't want people to use flash cameras is because the bright light over time can fade and damage the artefacts. You will notice when you walk in that the lights are dimmed right down.
You can book group visits to bother the Pitt Rivers bit and the Natural History bit and they have guided tours and trails for Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils that can be arranged.
The gift shop is a typical one really; pencils, stationary, etc etc but you can also purchase professional prints of the artefacts and painting that are there. So just in case you forget your camera, go and have a little look in the Gift Shop, I'm sure you will find what you're looking for in there! They also sell various pocket books on each of the displays, which is good for coursework or homework if you have to do a little research.
The collections get changed every couple of months or so, or they just get moved around. So there is always something new to see. And they have never gotten rid of the shrunken heads! I think they are just way too popular to be got rid of!
All in all, very educational I think!
Just type Putt Rivers into Google or something similar and you can read up on it to your hearts content!
Pictures of Pitt Rivers Museum (Oxford)
Map of Museums in Oxford
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I really like these kind of things. Seen a few mummies this year at the Egyptian museum, very interesting. Excellent Review. :-) Jono x
jo145 20.10.2005 08:49
That brought back memories of a Musuem in Shrewsbury that I loved to visit. Jo
Librelola 14.10.2005 11:13
This reminds me a little of what used to be the Mankind Museum in London. I am not sure where they moved the artefacts that were housed there. I remember the shrunken heads so well!
I love Oxford, I will keep this in mind. Thank you!
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Sep 2nd, 2005
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