BLOG: Student Life #3

University lecturers never seem to stop talking about the RAMM and for everyone’s first term of university, it’s commonly mistaken for the Ram pub on campus (not quite the same thing). Although both Ram(m)s are claimed to be great, this week I decided to get a little cultural and check out the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

Having done practically no research, I had no idea what to expect – not being a huge fan of museums, this made the day a little more exciting. All I knew was it stayed open Tuesday – Sunday for free to the public. Fantastic. It’s far more enticing to go to a museum when it is free because if it doesn’t live up to your expectations, you feel no guilt in leaving. Let’s face it, museums can sometimes be a bit hit or miss.

The RAMM is a large building on Queen Street that many people walk past every day with absolutely no idea what is inside (yes, I’m guilty of this too). Inside it is highly accessible with automatic doors, lifts and staff on hand around the museum which gives the place the friendly feel it requires. That’s all the visualisation I’m going to give you – if you want to see the rest you’ll have to go inside for yourself.

Starting on the ground floor, you can explore Devon, and specifically Exeter’s, history from the prehistoric era. Many museums focus on the history of an area from the modern eras so it was fascinating to see medieval Exeter and where it sat on the globe before the seven continents of the world were fully formed and even how the weather conditions so long ago have affected our city today. Did you know Exeter used be near the equator and experience temperatures similar to North Africa? I thought not.

Other sections of the museum include an in-depth history of Japan, particularly Japanese soldiers and their marvellous clothing pieces. There was well-documented information for visitors to read although in some places the numbered captions could be confusing, there was no faulting the volume of information. Apart from thinking about all of the Japanese history I knew so little about, I was thinking of how incredibly glad I was that I didn’t take my dad with me – we would have been there until closing and probably come back the next day as well.

There is also a selection of stuffed animals which can either be taken as pretty horrific or fascinating, whichever way you decide to see it. Although the animal activist inside me was screaming, I can understand how others would have found it very insightful to grasp the size of some of the animals. An elephant and giraffe have been stuffed to convey their huge size to the public which is one of the most impressive parts of the RAMM.

If that doesn’t float your boat, there’s a large Egyptian section with a coffin. The information tells of how the museum came to possess the coffin and how the paintings on it suggest the dead woman may have been married. Unfortunately, it doesn’t say how the paintings show that – surely, that’s what I came to the museum to find out! Also, if the RAMM ever comes to possess a mummy it will make a great addition to that section.

Overall, the RAMM is full of history to see and read about, meaning it’s a place you can visit multiples times and always find something new and genuinely interesting. Plus, it’s warm, gently lit and ever so cosy; ideal for escaping the cold weather and doing something different. Be warned though, it will prepare you for a very long nap – not because it’s boring, but because there’s so much to take in.