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Mondays are for dreaming: The Oxford University Museum of Natural History

By Mara 14 Comments

Looking at exhibits Oxford Museum of Natural History

It’s a fact not often discussed by travel writers that the act of visiting a new place can be profoundly disappointing. Indeed, a key element of any trip is expectation – before we go somewhere we imagine what it will be like, some of us with more passion and enthusiasm than others. Where our expectations and reality diverge can be a source of misery and bitterness. But when a place lives up to our expectations – exceeds them even – it can be rapturous. It’s a risk worth taking.

I suppose I should back up here and explain that I’ve been an Anglophile for a very long time, and in particular, an Oxfordphile (I’m not sure that’s actually a word, but isn’t novelty what blogging is supposed to be all about?). Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, the Chronicles of Narnia, and The Hobbit were my favorite books as a child, and all of their authors lived in Oxford. I loved the Alice books in particular and owned an annotated copy of both (purchased at a sidewalk sale on a hot July day in Ridgefield, Connecticut in 1977) that I read and re-read until I could have told you all about Charles Dodgson the stuttering don and his friendship with Alice Liddell and his photography and their picnics along the Cherwell and visits to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, that great neo-Gothic temple to science and exploration. Could have told you as if I had actually been there myself.

Given that my first visit to the museum took place in July of 2010, that’s 33 years of expectation – quite a lot as Teddy would say (apparently he’s also an Anglophile – it takes one to raise one). I’m delighted to tell you that I was in no way disappointed in this magical place, which is bursting at the seams with curiosities enough to satisfy the most eager dreamer.

For Teddy, who loves everything to do with dinosaurs, fossils, undersea life, and animals in general, the museum was Shangri La. We arrived just as they opened and basically had the place to ourselves for the first half hour. He ran from case to case, periodically shrieking with excitement when he founds something his heart had always desired to see. And so our visit was punctuated with exhortations like “Ammonites!”

Oxford Museum of Natural History ammonite

or “Spider crab!”

Spider crab Oxford Museum of Natural History

or “Brain coral!”

Oxford Museum of Natural History brain coral

I was unaware, by the way, that brain coral got quite so big.

Because I am so passionate about Alice, I was thrilled to see the skeleton of the famous Oxford Dodo and its stuffed recreation.

Oxford Museum of Natural History Dodo Bird

A painting of the Dodo hanging in the museum was said to inspire the character that gives out prizes in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Dinosaur lovers won’t be disappointed at this museum either. Outside the entrance to you can stand inside the casts of dinosaur footprints (the originals were discovered not far away).

Inside a dinsoaur fooprint Oxford

And once you are inside, there are numerous cases dedicated to dinos, including some exhibits that explain Victorian misconceptions about them. But most impressive of all are the skeletons of an iguanadon

Oxford Museum of Natural History Igunadon skeleton

and a T-Rex.

Oxford Museum of Natural History T Rex skeleton

They’ve also created a more lifelike version of the latter.

Oxford Museum of Natural History T Rex model

This museum is the ideal place for a scavenger hunt, which someone there has clearly realized, as they are on offer for younger visitors. Teddy found every last thing on his, stopping sometimes to jot down his notes on one of the glass cases like I’m sure many a budding scientist before him has done.

Oxford Museum of Natural History scavenger hunt

It also contains a number of exhibits that are meant to be touched, from a meteorite to an adorable wallaby.

Oxford Museum of Natural History granite

Oxford Museum of Natural History

Even if you aren’t interested in the science of the exhibits, you will be drawn in by their beauty. The skeletons are sculptural and beautifully arrayed (indeed, I saw more than one art student sketching them).

Oxford Museum of Natural History deer

Oxford Museum of Natural History giraffe

Then there’s the gorgeousness of the iron columns, which support a glass roof through which light pours in ample amounts, shining on butterflies and beetles, malachite, and megalosaurus. In the upper galleries you can read a series of fascinating panels that describe the construction of the museum, funded by public subscription, which ran out before all of the ornate stone carvings could be completed on the building’s exterior.

Oxford Museum of Natural History columns

It is indeed a place designed to satisfy the senses and to give one faith in both the wonders of creation and the power of expectation. It leaves me only to dream of a time when I can return to Oxford with my boys, perhaps to stay for longer so that we can return regularly and explore every bone and insect, claiming them as our own.

What’s your Monday Dream? Please feel free to share it below, linking back to this post in yours.

See all of my posts about our trip to Oxford, England with kids.

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Filed Under: Dreaming of, England, Museums and zoos, Oxford, Oxford, Oxford Museum of Natural History, We've been here

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Comments

  1. Kristy says

    February 7, 2011 at 2:12 am

    Man, now want to GO!!! Great post Mara~

    Reply
  2. Natalia says

    February 7, 2011 at 5:25 am

    Fantastic post! I am ashamed to say, as an Oxfordophile and as someone who has visited Oxford twice in the last year, I haven’t been to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Yet.

    Reply
  3. jamie says

    February 7, 2011 at 11:11 am

    That “scared of the dino” shot is so priceless!

    Reply
  4. Victoria says

    February 7, 2011 at 8:41 pm

    Lovely post, I’ve never been, despite spending a lot of time in Oxford. It looks a lot more peaceful than the London one, where we spend a lot of time, which has got to be a good thing.

    Reply
  5. Sonja says

    February 7, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    Sounds like an incredible delight, inside an incredible building, in an incredible place!

    Reply
  6. Tracy Burns says

    February 8, 2011 at 5:34 am

    Funny I was just looking at photos from when my husband and I were there ten years ago and thinking I should do a Mondays are for Dreaming post on taking my kids there one day soon. And honestly after looking at your photos I think my children would a) wet themselves with excitement and b) insist on going there every day for a month. So glad you made it there and the boys had a wonderful time. Love the t-rex ‘scared’ photo.

    Reply
  7. Tracy Burns says

    February 8, 2011 at 6:52 am

    oops sorry just realised my comment came out the wrong way – meant to say was looking at photos of a very similar looking museum that my husband and I were at ten years ago … it wasn’t this one!

    Reply
  8. Anna says

    February 8, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    It looks great!! Must see more of my own country…. Must see more of my own country… Must see more of my own country…

    Reply
  9. GBK Gwyneth says

    February 9, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    What a fun place! I know that my girls would love to go there…. now to work on getting us to England sometime soon!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Family Travel in Singapore: Night Safari Fire Eaters | Vagabond Kids says:
    February 7, 2011 at 3:32 am

    […] For more Mondays are for Dreaming go check out Mara’s posts at Mother of All Trips […]

    Reply
  2. Tweets that mention The Oxford University Museum of Natural History with kids -- Topsy.com says:
    February 7, 2011 at 9:30 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mara Gorman and Amy Whitley, Kristy Harris. Kristy Harris said: The Oxford University Museum of Natural History with kids http://bit.ly/gylKF0 from @motherofalltrips […]

    Reply
  3. Travel Tuesday: Weekly Highlights for 8 Feb 2011 says:
    February 9, 2011 at 3:31 pm

    […] Mother of All Trips: The Oxford University Museum of Natural History What a fun place! I know that my girls would love to go there…. now to work on getting us to England sometime soon!! […]

    Reply
  4. Travel Tuesday: Weekly Highlights for 8 Feb 2011 : Gobbledy Goon says:
    August 22, 2011 at 8:50 am

    […] Mother of All Trips: The Oxford University Museum of Natural History What a fun place! I know that my girls would love to go there…. now to work on getting us to England sometime soon!! […]

    Reply
  5. Traveling Families Share Their Best Worldschooling Moments – Family Adventure Summit says:
    October 7, 2017 at 12:57 am

    […] was so enthusiastic about Oxford or just why I kept waxing rhapsodic about how magical it was. But a visit to the Oxford Museum of Natural History taught them to love this most special of places too. This beautiful museum has rightly been famous […]

    Reply

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I'm a family travel expert & award-winning writer who loves to eat. Explore this site and you'll find lots of stories about my adventures, and family travel tips. More about Mara

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