HRH The Duke of York visits refurbished Hunterian Museum ahead of its reopening
Published: 18 May 2007
His Royal Highness the Duke of York visited the newly refurbished Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow today (Monday 21 May) prior to its reopening to the public on Wednesday.
His Royal Highness the Duke of York visited the newly refurbished Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow on Monday 21 May prior to its reopening to the public on Wednesday.
New exhibits, never before seen in public, improved displays and an enhanced layout will transform the visitor experience at Scotland's oldest public museum, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. The Museum ﾖ rated in the top five in Scotland because of the scale, range and significance of its collections - has been closed for the last 8 months to allow completion of a £750,000 refurbishment project to be carried out.
After a lunch with Principal Sir Muir Russell, University students, staff and invited guests, Prince Andrew was able to see for himself the final preparations ahead of reopening the museum. Ewen Smith, Director of the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery led the Duke of York on a tour of the collections and introduced him to key members of staff.
Ewen Smith said: 'I am particularly pleased to welcome the Duke of York to the Hunterian at this time. Our founder, William Hunter, a key person in the Scottish Enlightenment, was so closely connected to the royal household of the 18th Century that it seems especially appropriate that Prince Andrew should be here for the start of our next 200 years.'
Showcasing objects of interest from archaeology to zoology, the Hunterian boasts a rich diversity of fascinating exhibits, which the Prince will have an opportunity to see at close quarters including: the world's smallest dinosaur footprint; a decorative Maori knife from New Zealand collected on a Captain Cook voyage; a portrait of Cleopatra on a 2,000 year old Egyptian coin; Scotland's largest trilobite fossil dating back some 435 million years; and Roman Stones, including altars, tombstones, figures, and distance slabs from the Antonine Wall.
A new display, titled 'Weird and Wonderful', features objects of historical significance with fascinating stories to tell including a full elephant skeleton, Robert the Bruce's toe bone and the High Possil meteorite. Most appropriately, the Museum's Entrance Gallery now contains a permanent exhibition on the Hunterian's founder, Dr William Hunter and there is an extensive exhibition on the life and work of Lord Kelvin.
Martin Shannon (m.shannon@admin.gla.ac.uk)
Further information: Martin Shannon. Media Relations Officer Corporate Communications on Tel: 0141 330 8593
First published: 18 May 2007
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