I was in town today and found myself with some time to kill so decided to check out the newly refurbished Natural History Museum on Merion Street. As a kid I loved this place and the annual school trips we took during my primary school years are very fond memories. The Museum had been closed for a couple of years due to a collapsed stairwell but reopened recently. When I heard it was being refurbished I was horrified that it might lose its Victorian charm in favour of a more modern flashy style but I was delighted to find that it's still very much like stepping back into the Victorian era as you pass through the door. Everything is as I remember it, the bottom floor houses examples of Irish Wildlife while upstairs holds species from all over the world, some now extinct and many are over a century old. Many of the animals still show the scars of where they were shot, the Polar Bear for example I will always remember as having a clear bullet hole in its forehead, and while it's poignant to think that many of these animals died in such a manner it's at least some consolation to think that they have inspired the imagination of generations who, like me, have passed through in a sense of wonder and amazement. Not a bad way to spend an hour in Dublin and admission is free.
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