In March of 2026, I was lucky enough to visit London, England for the first time.
This trip showed me numerous things, mainly the similarities and differences between English and American museum culture.
In London, I realized that there was a bit of the historic everywhere. Here is a photo from inside the Tower of London. Interestingly, you can see a Roman ruin, tudor style cottages, and The Shard all in one photo!
This photo was taken within the Natural History Museum’s taxidermy bird exhibit. I felt it was incredibly well done, and had some very moving scenes depicting nature in its glory.
This photo was taken outside the Natural History Museum. In Europe, I have noticed that architecture is used to tell a story to guests. For example, because of the natural scenes on stone gate dividers, one can infer that the space they are in centers around the natural world.
This photo is from inside the British Museum. Something that stood out to me was the display of human remains. In America, human remains are not commonly shown for ethical and provincial reasons. At the British Museum, there were mummified remains on display. This made me curious about the ethical standards in Europe, and what the two societies can learn from each other.
Taylor Pastor 