When I was young, it was a real thrill to visit Birmingham Science Museum, then situated in cramped quarters in Newhall Street. Every inch was packed with a fascinating variety of artefacts and, although some of the areas were a bit scruffy, it was all good fun.
That museum was closed and moved to a modern warehouse at Millenium Point, just yards away from the 1838 terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway in Curzon Street. I finally visited the new museum a few days ago and I'm afraid I found it as appalling as I expected. Three floors are described by one of my friends as a 'theme park' - lots of jazzily staged (and very noisy) interactive science exhibits suitable for children with attention deficit syndrome. As you look at one loud exhibit, the next distracts you with its sound track. Maybe the staging is effective for a young audience, but on the morning I visited there were no young people, just earnest adults who looked as bewildered as I was.
The low ceilings, dramatic lighting and sound effects soon made me flee to the ground floor, where there are real artefacts and a little daylight filters in from Millenium Square outside. There's a collection of stationary steam engines (including the 'Smethwick Engine', which claims to be the oldest working steam engine in the world), motor vehicles, aircraft, a Birmingham tram and the imprisoned locomotive 'City of Birmingham'.
But I'm afraid the layout seemed cramped, the eyelines to view the exhibits often poor, the printed explanations terse and the alternation of general gloom with occasional spotlights unhelpful. I can see that a lot of effort has gone into interpreting the things on display, so I'm sorry to appear so unappreciative.
