May 24, Kelvingrove
Thursday, Glasgow All Day
After our two library appointments on Wednesday, Dr. Smith organized a day off for sightseeing. He did insist, rightfully so, that we all visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Museum, the most visited attraction in Scotland.
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Kelvingrove was opened in 1901 and features a very eclectic collection. The building is two stories high, but also has a basement level with a cafe, gift shop, and temporary exhibition room. The Centre Hall has a grand pipe organ, with concerts every weekday at 1 p.m. The East wing of both the first and second floor house the 'Expression' exhibits, featuring French, Dutch, Italian, and Scottish art, with a section dedicated to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and another to the Glasgow Boys.
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The West wing on both floors houses the 'Life' exhibits, including collections from ancient Egypt, Life in the Arctic, Scotland's first People, and an exquisite armor collection called Conflict and Consequence. The picture to the right shows English armor from the time of Henry VIII.
Thursday Afternoon, Huntarian Museum at the University of Glasgow
We had the rest of the day free, and a couple of other students and I wanted to go back to the University of Glasgow and check out the quad with its impressive tower. We walked from Kelvingrove to the campus and walked under the tower. Much by accident, we found ourselves at the entrance to the Huntarian, a 200 year old museum opposite the tower in the same quad. We were so happy to have come across this amazing collection, which was made up primarily of a personal collection of Dr. William Hunter. Dr. Hunter studied anatomy and made incredible advancements in obstetrics. He was so well known and respected, became the personal physician to Queen Charlotte. The collection at the Huntarian was largely made up of what was Dr. Hunter's personal collection, which he donated to the University in 1783. This included jars and plaster casts of organs and other body parts, taxidermy animals, minerals, and insects.
Still Thursday afternoon, glasgow botanic gardens
We continued on, a bit further West to visit the Botanic Gardens. It had been a very long day of walking and standing and walking some more, so we mostly just sipped water and sat in the lawn outside the gardens. It must have been at least 80-degrees that day, so we could hardly stay in the greenhouses for more than 10 minutes or so. I also have to mention that all of the attraction we visited this day, Kelvingrove, the Huntarian, and the Botanic Gardens were all free of charge.