By Professor Robert Van de Noort
As an archaeologist, I always enjoy researching our past and, as somebody who has done a lot of work into the Bronze Age, there is no site that speaks to the imagination like Stonehenge.
The University of Reading marked midsummer not at Stonehenge – although we have carried out research there – but with Show Your Stripes day, a worldwide celebration to spread understanding about climate change.
Thousands of people showed their stripes using graphics created by Professor Ed Hawkins – including the front pages of both Wokingham Today and Reading Today.
The stripes show, in one simple image, the reality of our warming planet. I hope those fantastic front pages, and other uses of the climate stripes globally, helped you to start conversations with your friends and family about climate change.
Much of my own finds and discoveries have found their way into museums around the country, and because in June we also celebrate Museum Week, I considered it important to talk about our own museums.
Here at the University, we are lucky to have three museums, all of which are free to visit and open to everyone.
With the summer holidays coming up, now is a good time to plan a visit.
On our London Road campus, the Museum of English Rural Life, known as ‘The MERL’, explores the history of countryside life along with its relevance to our modern lives. It is the largest of our museums, with a beautiful garden that I love to visit, a peaceful oasis in the middle of Reading. The MERL currently hosts the exhibition of Reading’s 200-year history of biscuit-making.
On our Whiteknights campus, the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology is home to many ancient artefacts and is closely aligned with our Department of Classics. From ancient Greek vases to Egyptian pottery tools and Roman statues, visitors are able to get up close to some wonderful objects, giving them a real sense of history.
The Cole Museum of Zoology recently moved to our new Health and Life Sciences building, also on the Whiteknights campus. It houses thousands of specimens, including fossils of ancient creatures, models of unusual dinosaurs and many skeleton models. Our resident skeleton of an Asian elephant from the 19th century, known as Norman, is hard to miss.
The University is also working closely with some of the UK’s national museums, and bringing world-famous artefacts and expertise to Reading and Wokingham.
The British Museum is close to completing a new storage and research facility at our Thames Valley Science Park in Shinfield. And earlier this year, the Natural History Museum announced its own plans to build a new science and research centre there too.
These are wonderful developments for the University, with the potential to bring many opportunities for our students and researchers.
There are also potential opportunities for our whole community.
School children will benefit from organised visits, and the development of this area as a hub for innovation with world-class institutions further puts us all on the museums map.
Professor Robert Van de Noort is the vice-chancellor of the Univeristy of Reading
