Ulster Museum reopens

[plank007]

Looks fantastic...

Ulster Museum back in business

One of Northern Ireland's most popular attractions has opened its doors to visitors on Thursday after undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment.

The Ulster Museum closed in October 2006 to allow a £17m renovation to take place.

Although the opening is a few months later than originally planned, staff hope the new-look building will soon be attracting record numbers of visitors.

The museum is headlining its opening with a major exhibition by Irish-born artist Sean Scully, which will run until February 2010.

The museum's more familiar artefacts, such as the Egyptian mummy Takabuti and the Bann disc, are also on show in revamped displays.

Artefacts

People returning to the museum may not notice much of a difference on the outside, but it has been completely revamped on the inside.

The old cave like entrance to the museum has been replaced by a bright open plan welcome area, which allows visitors to look up at through all three floors levels of the building.

Although no extensions were added to the original footprint of the building, the new museum now has an extra square kilometre of exhibition space.

Dr Jim McGreevy, the museum's director of collections and interpretations, said the increased floor space means many artefacts which had previously been kept in storage are now on display.

"The collections are now represented in a much more fresher and vibrant way," he said.

"Access to all of the museum has been improved and the building has really been opened up.

"We have now moved to the position where 96/97% of the museum is accessible to all users."

The new-look museum has been split into three main zones around the themes of art, nature and history.

Each zone has an interactive area where visitors of any age get the chance to handle fossils, touch a real elephant skull, try on period costumes or even have a go at creating their own artistic masterpieces.

"They have been designed so visitors can interact with the exhibits and get a real hands on experience," Dr McGreevy said.

A viewing gallery, complete with binoculars, in the nature zone gives people the opportunity to look out at the wildlife in Botanic Gardens.

'Intimidating'

The RSPB will also be holding special bird watching sessions at the museum every weekend from November.

Paul Millar, partner in Hamilton architects, who carried out the museum redesign said the building was now more welcoming and easier to navigate.

"Anyone who knows the old museum, the entrance was very intimidating," he said.

"It had a very low ceiling and was a dark space, so one of the primary considerations was to make it a more welcoming experience.

"The other main difficulty of the old museum was that it was very hard to find your way round."

Tim Cooke, CEO of National Museums of Northern Ireland, said the new-look museum set a new standard for cultural institutions in Northern Ireland.

"For a museum project, £17m, while a lot of money, is not really exceptional at all, it is probably at the lower end of museum refurbishment," he said.

"There is a fantastic art exhibition on from Sean Scully who is an internationally renowned abstract painter and we think that exhibition will attract visitors from North America and Europe in large numbers.

"So it really puts Belfast on the international map."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8316550.stm

[Conor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8316262.stm

^ Slide show of images. Museum looks amazing, and alot airier in general. Cant wait to see the refit for myself. Although am I the only person who thinks some bits look a bit sterile/cramped?

[SnailTrain]

I loved the old museum (meaning pre-refurb) I'm looking forward to seeing how they've made out with the re-design. I'm sure it will be great.... and of course the excellent Sean Scully on show. How could you go wrong? (note make sure the DOE keep well away)

Friends of mine went tonight and said it's really great. This is brilliant news. At last something here gets done right. Let's hope that lessons are learned as to the benfits of raising your game. Well done all those involved. My praise does not come easy, as I am more used to frequent living midst the high standards of Dublin, Berlin, and New York.

[plank007]

Get SnailTrain a pint! Finally something in Belfast he likes

[G2GAP]

.... though one thing that did catch my eye was this pic below... Look like a classroom to anyone else?


Source: BBC NI News website

[G2GAP]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/connor_...hy/4035258577/

[belfastuniguy]

I can't wait to see it, looking forward to it.

Look like a classroom to anyone else?

It looks like a learning centre yeah, not that rare, they are present in most museums. Nice to see such a facility for young kids and teenagers.

[plank007]

Remember going into that room as a kid.

[thevanishin]

Spent about 20 minutes looking around yesterday afternoon, the place looks fantastic. £18 million well spent.

[hypnotoad24]

Originally Posted by thevanishin

Spent about 20 minutes looking around yesterday afternoon, the place looks fantastic. £18 million well spent.

Did the same today myself, absolutey brilliant. Only problem was... it was absolutely heaving! lol. Which was great to see. And so many of the people in it appeard to be tourists too, which is excellent. I've always felt Belfast needs more things for tourists to see and do- though it was unfortunate that both this and the city hall happened to be shut at the same time- however this is a great step in the right directin. A great asset for the city.

As has been mentioned countless times, the brightness of the interior really does strike you the first time you enter. Even the area outside the entrance is fantastic.

Thanks to the huge numbers of people there i didn't see much, so there will be many repeat visits!

[archstudent2]

aaa

[thevanishin]

There has been scaffolding up around lower end of the Tropical Ravine in Botanic Gardens for the past few days, does anyone know what's happening there? I couldn't see what was happening, but that building seriously needs some repair work, particularly on the roof.

[plank007]

Once again the NI moaners are complaining!

The museum is shut on Mondays (National Museums NI policy) but people are complaining because they went on Monday with their 10 kids to find the museum was shut

[plank007]

The comments on the Belfast Tele website are brilliant and confirm NI is a nation of moaners. Probably unemployed idiots sucking in benefits...

i didnt like the new 'improved' museum. the giant sugar cube entrance and the top floor decidated to art was, in fact, lots of the same picture in different colours. Oh and dont miss the dedicated cinema room where you can watch the artist painting some of these amazing works of art. My painter and decorator looks just like him complete with paint kettle and white overalls.

BORING

"Rivals some of the best museums in the world"...not so sure about that. I yawned my way through the milling

I agree that the current art on display is very boring

weres the chippy? the cafe is a ripoff

[SLMCC Belfast]

The brain drain here is not just bad for our economy but its leaving nothing but pessimistic, ignorant bastards here... Fuck I despair for our future when people here are so dull. (Not everyone I might add) Its like when victoria square opened and people said that it was too expensive and that it was cold or a wind tunnel without doors. What a bunch of fuck-wits.

[belfastuniguy]

Originally Posted by SLMCC Belfast

The brain drain here is not just bad for our economy but its leaving nothing but pessimistic, ignorant bastards here... Fuck I despair for our future when people here are so dull. (Not everyone I might add) Its like when victoria square opened and people said that it was too expensive and that it was cold or a wind tunnel without doors. What a bunch of fuck-wits.

I completely agree with this statement.

Unfortunately I will be one of those people leaving. After a few years of establishing myself career wise I'm off to Canada

[G2GAP]

Originally Posted by SLMCC Belfast

The brain drain here is not just bad for our economy but its leaving nothing but pessimistic, ignorant bastards here... Fuck I despair for our future when people here are so dull. (Not everyone I might add) Its like when victoria square opened and people said that it was too expensive and that it was cold or a wind tunnel without doors. What a bunch of fuck-wits.

I find myself often promoting Belfast when i'm away places and always focusing on the good things! I sound like some sort of tourism promoter half the times lol but i don't get why some people insist on trashing the place they live - its not perfect - i accept that - but why do people want to be so negative and create such a negative atmosphere - its like they almost want to force themselves to be miserable! The Belfast Telegraph comments section winds me up something shocking each and every day! I really should stop reading them coz they're taking years off me!! But it's full of moaners and people who complain at every opportunity and talk down the environment they live in! ... Perhaps if they spent more time actively involved in bettering their city rather than talking it down then things would improve! gggrrrrrr

[plank007]

Ridiculous altogether.

Regarding the redesign. Can see slight similarities (especially the atrium) to the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

[belfastuniguy]

"Rivals some of the best museums in the world"...not so sure about that. I yawned my way through the milling

Wonder is this person has actually been to any other museum, instead of being dragged to the Ulster Museum by their kids.

He/she (likely a he) sounds like a retard.

[belfastuniguy]

weres the chippy? the cafe is a ripoff

This person would appear to be a cheap welfare dependent dick that has no concept of culture and instead worries about filling his face with fat and salt.