Ulster Museum

BOBS

Well has anyone been to the new reopened museum ???? Thinking of going up this weekend or do you think might be a tad busy saying just reopened??

Lobell

Apparently the queues were still pretty long today.

I guess the weather forecast may influence it's popularity at the weekend to some extent.

belfastgirl23

I can vouch for the facts the queues were long today, they were stretched almost out to the gate of Botanic Gardens at lunchtime. I'd say leave it for a while...

happymummy24-7

we took the kids on wednesday...........i was very very busy!
If you can avoid it DONT take a buggy as we ended up having to abandon ours half way round! We used to go all the time and i have to say the new layout is awful....everything is squeezed in and it was nearly impossible to see some of the items as we were just pushed along with the queues! ( the mummy is now in a tiny room which,filled with people made me feel really claustraphobic!)
on the plus though if you do have kids there is a nice bit near the top in the art galleries where they can get creative and make a mess!! ours took part in making a piece of wool art that will be kept as part of the display so-as my daughters pointed out-they can bring their kids there someday and show them (me thinks it wont be around that long...shes only 8!!)
gift shop was a nighmare,again all down to the crowds.but was well stocked and not the usual rip off prices (though mine bought..stones...:rolleyes:)
so yes,leave it a while,leave the buggy at home,and take your satnav both for the parking nightmare(we ended up in the city hospital carpark!!) and also even with a map inside its difficult to know where to goto,it doesnt flow very well inside,makes you go round in circles and fall out with your other half

jenheiffer

happymummy24-7 wrote: »

gift shop was a nighmare,again all down to the crowds.but was well stocked and not the usual rip off prices:p

The prices in the shop were always surprisingly resonable compared to other 'tourist attractions' and it's good to see that hasn't changed. Also there's no rubbishy 'oirish' tatt that you see at airports, etc, just decent and relevant N.Ireland and Celtic stuff.

alabam

I took my wife and two children along today and notice the place had a strong wiff of upper class aristocracy to it, which being a working class citizen made one feel unatease with ones self. (ROFL) At first you'll look back in awe at the open plan interior, but it's short lived as you notice that now that they have taken away most of the floor space there isn't much room to view the exhibits, you will snake your way around the building in a queue like fashion, and god help you if you bring small kids. Now if you are hoping to find something new to the old museum forget it, In fact I much preferred the old style sea life exhibit to the !!!!!! narrated version they have now! To be completely honest if you want something that sums up the whole £17 million spend, take yourself up to the art gallery where you can find a lovely huge waste of open space devoted to an abstract artist known as Sean Scully, do you know him? No neither did I, yet looking at his work will sum up the museum in one word, as the vast majority of abstract art is crap. and by the vast majority, I mean 99.999 percent of all abstract art as pure, undiluted, hand-squeezed crap. :rotfl:

jenheiffer

alabam wrote: »

the place had a strong wiff of upper class aristocracy to it, which being a working class citizen made one feel unatease with ones self.

This is intriguing - can you explain?

I agree with you wholeheartedly about abstract art and (probably like at least 90% of the population) have never heard of that artist Scully either.

Rach39

alabam wrote: »

I took my wife and two children along today and notice the place had a strong wiff of upper class aristocracy to it, which being a working class citizen made one feel unatease with ones self. (ROFL) At first you'll look back in awe at the open plan interior, but it's short lived as you notice that now that they have taken away most of the floor space there isn't much room to view the exhibits, you will snake your way around the building in a queue like fashion, and god help you if you bring small kids. Now if you are hoping to find something new to the old museum forget it, In fact I much preferred the old style sea life exhibit to the !!!!!! narrated version they have now! To be completely honest if you want something that sums up the whole £17 million spend, take yourself up to the art gallery where you can find a lovely huge waste of open space devoted to an abstract artist known as Sean Scully, do you know him? No neither did I, yet looking at his work will sum up the museum in one word, as the vast majority of abstract art is crap. and by the vast majority, I mean 99.999 percent of all abstract art as pure, undiluted, hand-squeezed crap. :rotfl:

Brilliant post - still laughing! Makes one wish to visit though - it's about time us toffs were catered for!;)

donnac2558

Have they brought back the strunken heads?

I remember them from childhood, then they took them off. I used ask to annoy them, where are the strunken heads?:rolleyes:

Artytarty

:rotfl: yes I've heard of Sean Scully, does that make me a toff?! I dont , for the record, enjoy his work , I'd like to know if the John Laverys are back on display though ?
BTW would anybody dare say that a place they had visited had a wiff of the working class about it?
I doubt it very much;)

craftyfox

SIL and i took the kids on wednesday and had a good day, both of us got parked at the other end of the strandmillis road, and yes the place was bunged but we plodded on and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves (11, 9, 6, and 5) but they did have a bit of a job getting to see the mummy as the place was filled with adults who seemed to think that they had more rights than a child to be first to see some of the things on display and as for the upper crust ... well form the way some were pushing and shoving i didn't see many of them use the manners they are suposed to have over the working classes and i must be in the 10% that like abstract art but then my problem is going to places with an open mind :j but we will go back in the near future when the place is a little quieter