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Aspic or celebration?
How did the cabinets of curiosities brought back from the voyages of discovery of the 16th and 17th centuries lead to the rise of museums?
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Not just a treasure house of objects, but a living collection and active centre of education, research and discovery for its visitors, the British Museum remains one of the most popular and dynamic museums in the world. Having now passed its 250th anniversary, it continues to offer free access to everyone.
Now with the return of the Museum of Mankind, the British Museum reaffirms its universality and will once again become a place where the visitor can meet all the peoples and cultures of the world, past and present, under a single roof. By displaying their art and craft, their rituals of birth and death, and of love and work and worship, the museum reveals the richness of their relationship to each other as well as their differences. The present position of the British Museum has never been more relevant and important as a fascinating and accessible means of explaining the historical and cultural background of the modern world; how it came to be.
It continues to be not just a treasure house of objects, but a living collection and active centre of education, research and discovery for its visitors. With the opening of the spectacular Great Court in 2000 the experience of visiting the Museum has been transformed, and its position as one of the most popular and dynamic museums in the world has been consolidated. Its guiding principle since its foundation has been, and will continue to be, free access to everyone.
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Content last updated: 25/07/2005
