My expectations of the Science and Industry museum was for the building to be very old-fashioned with worn down bricks that had fragmented pieces falling off, upon my arrival my expectations were proven slightly right as there was worn down bricks like an old building would have. However, entering the building there was many added features that were very modern; like the double automatic doors, I walked through. Inside the décor were bricked walls, with the modern touch of wooden panelling running through certain areas of the walls. There was a charming man that greeted me on entrance; he added warmth to the entrance considering that the floors are laid with cold greyish concrete flags. Even though there were visions of old machinery already present, there was a reception that had a big widescreen TV that took away the feel of a museum, the reception desk, which was on the left hand side, also contained a variety of leaflets that contained information on the museum. As it was spacious, there was an echoing of laughter from all the children on school visits, they were all mainly focusing on the gift shop to the right of entrance. The concrete flags came to a stop where the wooden flooring began; this made the museum feel a lot warmer. In the centre of the ground floor there was an interactive display that consisted of the viewer’s taking photos of him or herself which was then displayed on the TV’s that was in the installation. To my guess, it had fibre optic lights running through the middle of the installation that changed from colour to colour. Behind this on the wall panelling around were screens that have patterns displayed on them adding extra colour to the room. On the right hand side top corner the plastered walls were in different colours representing a different era, making it clear to the viewers. Even though this area seems modern and very technical, I looked up to the ceiling to see old brick red beams with bricks as the ceiling. Above this however, the architecture shifts to modern with its use of glass and plastic bordering. There’s also inviting comfortable seating areas at the side of displayed units to the right.
As soon as I opened the glass doors leading into the Textiles area, the first glimpse I got was of old yarn machinery. As I looked around there were colourful informative timelines that added colour and light to the darkness/dullness of the machinery. Throughout this room, modern technology is positioned. Areas of different themes were split and easily readable. This room continued on the old ceilings and red beams however, modern touches were added in the sense of the silver decorative light shades that hung. Old artefacts that are moved to different museums are placed and displayed in glass cabinets taking away some of its authenticity. The right hand side of this room holds some of the old features that have been resurrected for example; an old door, which is huge, has been repainted, looking at it up close it is obvious to some wear and tear. Also on the right hand, side is a contemporary wall hanging that a variety of schools participated in. This room definitely has a mixture of old and modern features; projectors are used to display old images, new designed stain glass windows that are boarded off with the old borders that have just been repainted. In the bottom right hand corner are old images displayed in a contemporary glass frame, this leads on to a modern bridge with wooden floor panelling, at the side of this are current pictures that children have drawn. The bridge leads to a display of 5 large ceiling hangings that were very old. Going down a wooden ramp on the left top hand corner led to a modern beige carpet with blocks of different images and information on. In this area there were a few interactive games but what caught my attention the most was these long draped modern curtains that were displayed in front of the windows(there were 3 of them). As I thought I had seen everything I noticed that in the top left hand corner was a glass cabinet that contained some work done by Jennifer Collier, it consisted of 2 dresses, shoes and other accessories. I wonder why all of these modern changes have been made, maybe for safety regulations? Or maybe to make an old historical building more modern to get more people involved?
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