Viewing entries tagged
york

Get Lost in the World of British Modern Art at Tate Britain

Get Lost in the World of British Modern Art at Tate Britain

One of the largest museums in the country, Tate Britain, should not be a place to be missed on your visit. The gallery is situated on the site of the former Millbank Prison. Since its opening in 1897 the museum housed both British and modern collection, but since the launch of Tate Modern, the gallery displayed only modern collections from the Tate network of galleries. Download the Tate Britain Travel Guide and Offline Map to get to more about this iconic museum.

1.     Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais

Millais’ depiction of the Shakespearean heroine is almost as iconic as the museum that houses it. It captures the moment from Hamlet when Ophelia goes mad after discovering that her lover has murdered her father and drowns herself in a stream. The model fo the painting, Elizabeth Siddal was required to pose over a period of four months, lying in a bath of water.

2.     Chair by Allen Jones

Ever since the launch of the British pop artist’s controversial ‘furniture’ series in 1970, it has since caused outrage for its fetishisation of the female body. The Chair, along with the Table and Hat Stand, presents full-sized, busty mannequins in erotic poses. Some people claim that it symbolizes female oppression, while others view it as an important object in the canon of art history.

3.     The Angel Standing in the Sun by JMW Turner

As Turner became preoccupied with the notions of death during his final years, he became fascinated with biblical stories of righteous retribution. The painting combines his glorious mastery of light and color. The painting showcases Archangel Michael wielding his sword, ready to smite the sinners below.

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out eTips.

The Spellbinding Museum that is the Science Museum of London

The Spellbinding Museum that is the Science Museum of London

Here you’ll get hooked with seven floors fulls of interactive and educational exhibits. Wether you’re an adult or child, you will for sure be completely mesmerized. The museum covers everything from early technology to space travel. One the most famous exhibits is Exploring Space, a gallery featuring genuine rockets and satellites. Visit this epic gallery with the Science Museum of London in hand.

1.     BepiColombo

See the a full-size engineering model of the European Space Agency’s first ever spacecraft to explore Mercury. This model of the spacecraft was used to test BepiColombo’s resilience during its seven-year journey to Mercury. The journey is considered to be the most challenging planetary missions ever launched.

2.     Superbugs

This new exhibit showcases how antibiotics have enabled us to combat diseases that were once untreatable and how bacteria has evolved into superbugs resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics. It explores how society is responding to the enormous challenge of antibiotic resistance. See real bacteria and discover the innovative technologies being used to make superbugs a thing of the past.

3.     Dream Big

Explore our beautiful world and our ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small. Hear inspiring stories of human grit and aspiration as the 3D film reveals how engineers push the limits of innovation. From the Great Wall of China and the world’s tallest buildings to underwater robots and solar-powered cars.

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out Tours & Travel.

Explore Nature at its Finest at the Natural History Museum in London

Explore Nature at its Finest at the Natural History Museum in London

As one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, its exhibits focus on a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. The museum comprises of 80 million items within five major collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology, and zoology. It is also a center of research specializing in taxonomy, identification, and conservation. Discover mother nature’s beauty with the Natural History Museum Travel Guide and Offline Map.

Natural History Museum London Tours and Travel in AppStore

1.     Origins

The first floor exhibits showcase the origins of species and explores natural selection and Darwin’s theories. ‘Our Place in Evolution’ exhibits the remains of “Lucy”, the Australopithecus discovered in Ethiopia in 1974 and believed to be between 1.5 and five million years old. While the Mineral Gallery contains some 130,000 specimens representing some 75 percent of the world’s known minerals.

2.     Mammals

There is also a section that is dedicated to mammals which includes a 91-foot-long life-sized cast of a blue whale as well as casts of extinct mammals. The lower floor showcases land mammals, including elephants, hippos, giraffes, and their early relatives. And the lastly, the upper level is dedicated for mammals living in water.

3.     Earth

The gallery focuses on an extensive collection of material on the geology and minerals of the world. There are lectures and film shows on particular subjects. In the main hall, stands a six-feet diameter rotating globe that serves as the museum’s purpose to the the story of the Earth. The gallery also includes a simulation of an earthquake and a collection of gems.

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out eTips.

Reasons to Visit the World’s Most Famous Park, Central Park in New York

Reasons to Visit the World’s Most Famous Park, Central Park in New York

Central Park is packed with amazing features and it's truly no wonder why it's one of the most famous and most renowned parks in the world. Central Park comprises 843 acres of rolling meadows, boulder-studded outcroppings, elm-lined walkways, manicured European-style gardens, a lake and reservoir—not to mention an outdoor theater, a memorial to John Lennon, an idyllic waterside eatery and a famous statue of Alice in Wonderland. Download the Central Park Travel Guide and Offline Map to plan your next picnic at this wondrous green space.

1. Central Park Zoo

This compact zoo within Central Park is just small enough for a short, hour or two visit, but just large enough that everyone will seriously enjoy the exhibits. The children’s zoo, included with your admission, is hands-on and oh-so-fun, while the red panda exhibit will draw out every adorable “ahhh” from your vocabulary. this small zoo is home to penguins, snow leopards and lemurs. Feeding times in the sea lion and penguin tanks make for a rowdy spectacle.

2. Take a Stroll

It may seem obvious, but one of the best things to do while visiting Central Park is to just stroll through the beautiful grounds. With over 58 miles of trails, plenty of open spaces, stunning vegetation, animal encounters, rocks to climb, and sights to see, taking a walk through Central Park is the epitome of a New Yorker’s park experience. Be sure to wear comfy shoes, dress in layers, and plan on tackling one section of the park at a time.

3. Loeb Boathouse

Enjoy the park from the waterfront with rowboats (or gondolas) on the lake at the Loeb Boathouse, open spring through fall. This perfect warm-weather activity is a photo-op jackpot, so be sure to dress the kiddos in cute clothes. Loeb Boathouse also has a restaurant for one of the most idyllic settings for a meal in Central Park. Don't forget to try out their crab cakes--we hear they're exceptional!

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out eTips.

Things You Must Not Miss at the American Museum of Natural History

Things You Must Not Miss at the American Museum of Natural History

History buffs look no further, if there’s a one stop site for everything about history then the American Museum of Natural History is it. A wonderland of more than 30 million artifacts including tons of dinosaur skeletons, a cutting edge planetarium—the Rose Center for Earth & Space. And if you plan on visiting between October to May, the museum house a Butterfly Conservatory. Download the American Museum of Natural History visitor guide and learn more about this must visit in the USA.

1.     Lucy

In the Hall of Human Origins you will meet Lucy. She is one of the most complete skeletons of early hominids ever found. The remains were found in 1974 in Ethiopia. She’s known to be over three million years old, but her age and completeness aren’t the only reasons why she’s so important. Her knees show us that she walked upright.

2.     The Great Blue Whale

No list of things you can’t miss at the American Museum of Natural History would be complete without the Great Blue Whale. Located in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, it is 94 feet long and weighs 21,000 pounds. It’s a great reminder of the majesty and beauty of the blue whales, which unfortunately have been hunted to near extinction in the wild.

3.     Dinosaur Skeletons

The dinosaur skeletons at the AMNH are pretty amazing to say the least. There are two different halls in the David H. Koch Dinosaur Wing: the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs and the hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs. The saurischians are characterized by their grasping hands, in which the thumb is offset from the other fingers: think of T-rex. Ornithischians on the other hand, are known for having enormous stomachs to digest massive amounts of vegetation they ate.

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out eTips.

Why You Should Never Miss the Guggenheim Museum When Visiting the Big Apple

Why You Should Never Miss the Guggenheim Museum When Visiting the Big Apple

The Guggenheim Museum in New York houses works by art heavyweights such as Kandinsky, Picasso and Jackson Pollock. But the real draw is the temporary exhibitions by some of the great visionary artists of today. Not to mention the stunning conical white spiral in which these great artworks are displayed is reason enough to visit. Download the Guggenheim Museum Travel Guide and Offline Map to help your art outing.

1.  Woman Ironing by Pablo Picasso

During Picasso's Blue Period, he famously depicted peasants, laborers, beggars and other downtrodden folks in shades of blue. Though this long-limbed, hunched woman is shown in grays and blacks, she represents that same period of gloom. It's a kind of metaphor for the poor in general, the forever oppressed.

2. "Untitled” by Mark Rothko

This classic Mark Rothko piece was painted between 1952 and 1953 and features his iconic large-scale blocks of bright colors. Rothko, an American artist, is one of the central figures of the New York School, who creates his abstract pieces to illicit “basic human emotions — tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on,” from the audience, according to Rothko himself.

3. “The Renowned Orders Of The Night” by Anselm Kiefer

Anselm Kiefer was born in Germany just before the end of World War II, and many of his artworks explore the themes surrounding war, as well as the rise of fascism. This piece, entitled “The Renowned Orders Of The Night,” features the artist himself lying on a bed of dry, cracked earth, as if he were a corpse, under a vast starry sky. In his later artworks, Kiefer became obsessed with the night sky, and he created a few different artworks exploring its beauty.

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out eTips.

Visiting the Superstar of Modern Art, the MoMa

Visiting the Superstar of Modern Art, the MoMa

We're not exaggerating when we say superstar we mean superstar. Since its founding in 1929, this museum has featured almost 200,000 pieces of modern art by heavyweights such as Picasso, Warhol Van Gogh, Pollock, and so many more. It has documented the creative emergence of ideas and movements throughout the late 19th century. This is the place to be for both art enthusiasts and novices. Download the Museum of Modern Art Travel Guide and Offline Map and have a peek at your next art destination.

1.     The Fifth Floor

We suggest you head straight to the fifth floor and progress through the galleries in numerical order. This takes you on a chronological ride through the development of modern art. On this floor, you will begin your journey with some of the most notable pieces of modern art in the world. One of them is Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night. It depicts a turbulent sky over Saint Remy, where Van Gogh himself was confined in a mental asylum.

2.      The Fourth Floor

Here you will be left in awe with Jackson Pollock's One, which that is considered a masterpiece of the "drip" technique. And it is also one of Pollock's largest paintings. Andy Warhol's seminal work of Pop Art, Campbell's Soup Can, is also one of the stars on this floor. Warhol used familiar images that everyone can relate to and in this case, he used thirty-two varieties of soup offered by Campbell's--a staple of American diet during his time.

3.     The Persistence of Memory

Probably one of the world's most well-known example of modern art, Salvador Dali's masterpiece showcases his penchant for Surrealism and in this piece the theme is time. A desert landscape that contains melting watches, ants, and a grotesque object in the center that resembles Dali's face profile.

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out eTips.

Get Lost in Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Get Lost in Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

When we say get lost, we literally mean you way just experience that as you weave your way through the world's largest permanent collection of art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art of fondly called simply as the MET has over two million individual collections of paintings, artifacts, and textiles from around the globe. Now, if that's not enough to entice art lovers and visitors to visit this museum we don't know what will. Download the Metropolitan Museum of Art Travel Guide and Offline Map and be even more enticed to visit!

1.     The First and Seconds Floors

The first floor of the MET is a vast Egyptian collection that is unmatched anywhere else. You might as well have taken a trip to Egypt when you walk through the Temple of Dendur. Built at around 10 BC and now relocated from Egypt in 1978 it is one of the must-sees in the museum. The second floor is dedicated to European paintings from the 13th to 20th century, while 15 rooms showcase a massive collection of Islamic arts and artifacts.

Visit MET Museum in NYC with our Museum Guide

2.      The American Wing

As if the name itself isn't a dead giveaway to what this wing offers--the American Wing houses decorative and fine art from across US history. Other galleries in this wing are devoted to classical antiques such as sculptures dramatically illuminated by natural daylight. It also houses Asian art, modern and contemporary paintings and sculptures. And truly, you just have to visit to believe how extensive their collections are.

3.     Art Installations

If visiting April through October, head up to the excellent roof garden, which features rotating sculpture installations by contemporary and 20th-century artists--through the grand city and park views are the real draw. Enjoy a sundowner cocktail from its on-site bar. And if you're coming with kids, fret not, they will also be entertained. There's a specially designed brochure and map for kids, and events listed on the website.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Travel Guide

Learn more about other destinations that offer unique experiences by checking out eTips.