Sunday 29 November 2015

The Earth Hall


Passing through the globe in the Earth Hall

Entering the Earth Hall from Exhibition Road, apart from the reception area and the staircase, the layout of the old Geology Museum, where I became interested in a subject that has fascinated me ever since, is unrecognisable. 

The sky at night and the solar system in the Earth Hall

Replacing the light galleried atrium that once rose above the main exhibition space in the main hall, dark slate clad walls - which have been sandblasted to show the main stars in the night sky and the planets in the solar system – now form the backdrop to an escalator that rises up to a once spinning globe, through which visitors pass on the way to the top floor.

Sophie the Stegosaurus

Before ascending the escalator, you pass by the only geological specimen that I can remember seeing in this large open space – the most complete example of a stegosaurus skeleton that has ever been found; however, in my opinion, this detracts from the magnificent, elaborately carved staircase, where decorative stones from Britain and Ireland have been used in its construction.

Decorative stone from England and Ireland