Three went to the Museum

Today, the three of us went to the City Museum on Park St in Bristol. Opened in 1905, this is a council run museum that houses "world class collections of art, archaeology, geology and natural history." It's also got a MASSIVE dinosaur & if you're a toddler, you'll think is pretty darn great!

Look Daddy! DINOSAUR ROAR!

Evan loves this place, with its beautiful parque flooring and wide open spaces, it's a great place to run around in and take a look at what's on offer. For a 2 year old, the level with the dinosaurs and stuffed animals is the best place ever! I know because Evan told me so. He likes to roam around, looking at the collections of bones and other interactive exhibits they have. 

showing Daddy how the jaws work

We played with the dinosaurs jaws, stroked the dinosaurs skin and even built a dinosaur on the computer. Of course, any trip to the museum isn't complete without a tantrum, so we had a few tears when another little boy came over to have a go on the machine. Oh the complicated life of a toddler!  

Daddy & his boy

We swiftly moved onto the visiting exhibit, No Borders - a contemporary art exhibit from the globalised world. Whilst I had a look around Evan and Daddy had a little watch of the TV ... my boys are sooooooo lazy! Even bunny got in on the action, not sure what they were watching but the curator kindly asked them to leave, as Evan was too young.

"Oppression?"

Around the corner from the TV we stumbled across 2 pairs of headphones, so we picked them up & had a listen. Evan did enjoy listening to a recording of a woman talking about oppression & how it's had an impact on her creativity .. he did make me giggle when he took off the headphones and said "oppression" ... too cute beyond words! 

"Do you want some cake bunny?"

By now we all needed a cup of something & Evan declared that it was snack time so off we trotted to the cafe. It's a really nice cafe here & they are really happy for you to have a picnic so long as you buy a cup of coffee. So we had a little teddy bears picnic with Bunny and Bunny (so imaginative with his names) before we went off to play in the media centre. 

This whole museum is completely free for anyone to visit, it has something for everyone, & I especially love the old masters they have on the second floor. They have Pissarros and Renoirs, we are so lucky to have such beautiful works for art in our little provincial city. 

Back in the summer of 2009 the whole museum was taken over by the Graffiti artist Banksy - I queued for 4 hours to get in & see his work, it was nothing short of amazing! Here's my favourite piece from the exhibition:

Banksy - 2009

So if you live here, & have walked past this museum several times but have not ventured in, then do yourself a favour & take a look. The place is fab!