Castles and Coprolites

Museums in the 1990s and earlier were often characterised by a formal, academic, and object-focused approach to display and interpretation. Displays often followed a taxonomic or chronological focus, with artefacts arranged in neat rows and accompanied by detailed, often technical, labels. These displays reflected a curatorial emphasis on classification, provenance, and academic authority. Many museums had a quiet, almost reverential atmosphere, with dim lighting and hushed tones. An interesting article by Kate Hill on the history of museum display cases describes that “ The ideal case contained a complete series systematically arranged, was dustproof, and contained clear scientific labels .” To me, this was bliss. As a child, I adored visiting museums. The Great North Museum (then The Hancock Museum), was a regular weekend destination, a place where I felt at home. I have a distinct memory of a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London , where I discovered the geology ga...

Disclaimer: I was a huge Pokemon fan in the late 90s and played it religiously on my Gameboy. So I was always going to love Pokemon Go just from a nostalgia perspective. So I've been a bit surprised at all the moaning about it on social media - seriously, why be all grumpy about a free game that gets people outside and walking about? It's not like we haven't all been playing odd games on our phones for years. Candy Crush anyone? I think Pokemon Go is a brilliant idea, you literally have to leave the house and get some exercise to play it. We all lament so much that 'kids these days' spend all day sat down playing computer games instead of going outside, what could be better than combining the two? Something I did not expect was that I would learn so much playing it. Whereas the original game was set in a fantasy world, this one is set in the real world. The whole thing is based on a location based tourist app, that gives you little snippets of information on various...