#muesum review

[musea-reviews]

Terraria-Houten (event)

"The largest terrarium event in the Netherlands"

Location: Houten, Utrecht, The Netherlands Price: 16,- Duration: 2 - 4 hours Transport: the bus from the station to the event location only goes once an hour, so it takes some planning. You can call in a bus, but even those were usually too full to take everyone. Language: Dutch, German, French, English. Activities: buying reptiles, insects, invertebrates, rodents, and everything related to them. Date of visit: Sunday 26 February 2023 Website

so much to see

Terraria-Houten is part of the ‘’Terraria-’’ expo series, where every month there is an event like this in a different city. The price depends on the size of the event, the one in Houten being the biggest. At this event, you can shop and find good deals on enclosures, health lamps, food, substraid, but also things like insect-inspired jewellery and taxidermied animals. That is all next to the obvious main attractions, the animals for sale. The most expensive animal I’ve seen there were 2.000 euros, as this is also a good place to find rare animals they don't have in most stores. Or to get common animals for cheap. I got my beetles from a pet store, 15,- for 3. Here you could buy the same kind 5,- for 5… Insects and interbred are a rare sight in pet stores over here. So once you find a store that has them, they overprice it. But besides it all it was also fun to look at animals, even tho I feel bad for the small containers, tho those are temporary. I got to hold a giant millepede, and petted turtles, ferrets and giant snails. The event does also have a rodent section (and frozen rodent) but it's small. Fun if you're ALSO interested in rodents besides the rest, but don't go if that's your main goal. Also, if you go, you have to take cash with you and download the PayPal app. I was not prepared for this but since the people behind the stands come from all over the place and from other countries, specifically Dutch paying apps are not going to work. And at most stands, it's not possible to pay by card at all. Cash is your best option, so be prepared for that. 

buy buy buy

I myself keep a terrarium with sun beetles and isopods, but I wanted to add more, so I went to get other kinds of beetles and millipedes. At the beetle stand, I asked what beetles would work well together with my beetles, and they told me beetles are actually racist!? no, but yeah they all have a different chemical smell and things, therefore pretty territorial to other species. So I decided to not get more beetles and focused on millipedes. i was so hyped by the first one I saw that I bought it immediately, it was a black and white millipede for 5 euros, I called her Mime. As we walked further, we found a whole stand with all kinds of millipedes. I knew about the giant millepede and really want one, but the enclosure I have right now would be too small (25 litres, 6.6 gallons). They were also kind of expensive on that stand, prices of the ones I wanted ranging from 10 to 25 euros per millepede. At the back of the event, something caught my eye, 4 millipedes for 10 euros. They were bigger than the one i bought before and that was a steal. As I bought them I got the entire enclosure including some wood pieces and stuff. He clearly wanted to get rid of them, but as the rest of the stand had no animals like that, it might have been that these were used for food or something. 

Another thing I bought was homemade fruit jelly. This guy sold them for 90 cents per piece, and that was already cheap for fruit jelly. We wanted all 9 flavours, but I only had 5 euros cash left, the guy said it was fine because we were so chill! Lastly, I bought a bird leg, probably a leftover from a failed attempt at taxidermy, I'm going to make an earring out of it. 

Not the best location

The location is not optimal as the bus only goes once an hour, and walking it will take you more than half an hour. Since it was already freezing, you (and the animals you probably bought) will not appreciate this. But the event does have free parking, so your best option would be to take the car. Definitely, if you have a long shopping list with you. 

Another thing the event could do better is an advertisement or the site. If you see the site, it almost feels like it’s not their real site, but it is.. If I was looking online and found this, I would have never gone there. I only went because my friend have been there before and told me it was cool, and so that's also how they got the info about this event from other friends. From a marketing standpoint, it's almost impressive they even get people to come with a site looking like that and 0 advertisement. On the other hand, I'm glad, it was just the right amount of busy, so more people would make it chaos. 

TLDR:

+ Fun expo with cheap deals and rare animals

+ anything you need for keeping any animal + handcrafted supplies from small businesses + free advice, and the ability to ask questions + A lot of stands

- bus only goes once an hour - how you can pay differs widely from stand to stand - the site looks sketchy

Would I revisit it: yes I would, it's a cool place to get good deals and get inspired.  Who do I recommend it to:people who keepreptiles, insects or invertebrates.

[adamburt1984]

Mid Year Review, 2023

Start off with what worst, football, apart from winning League Cup (Carabao Cup) and being 3rd and back to Champions League, football is annoying lost 7-0 to Liverpool (fans arogant that not shame lost to a team that bottom of the table), Kim Min Jae choose Bayern over Manchester United and didn't get Harry Kane (he move to Bayern cos Spurs put £100million, United not sure they pay him or is he worth £ 100 millions) and got trolled by two Bayern wanking bastards and Leeds Sheep shaging fan (I don't accpet trolls and negative comments. And don't forget, Manchester Shity steal Manchester United's treble history, frusrated and angry it happen. I'm not loving my football. Got three great players but would of been great if we get Harry Kane, but Tottenham put too overprice on Kane, hate that team and losing to them on 2nd match doesn't help and new season start, feel not start off great but it's beginning of the season, hope we win Champions League.

Had my first interview, well it called training interview with group, been shown a booklet and shown around. It at gym, be gym cleaner but didn't get the job. I got but feel job are good and would be good for me. No idea how nerves I was before interview, it was tense, but after interview I was bit better. Nerves if I had a job. And worry that unable to get a holiday for my concert. Was looking forward for a concert. Still struggling with job searching,

Talking about Concert, went to Sabaton Concert with my brother at a Arena in my hometown. It also feature Babymetal and Lordi, I do like all these bands, Babymetal more. Even I enjoyed the concert, didn't get any mechs or souvnirs. And walking home at night is bit scary.

Enjoying Genshin Impact lately playing non stop. And on Youtube seem addicuited listen to US presidents (Trump, Biden and Obama) IAs (not real) like playing video games and doing tiers, check them out, they everywhere in Youtube.

That all I think I can say so far. Well Seen The Mandalorian season 3, I wasn't happy with this Bo Katan can do what Din can't like using black lightsaber and allow to take her hemlet off and be part of the Bounty Hunters, and seen the creature which is symbol of Bounty Hunters, feel Din should do some of them, like see the creature. He main character with Grogu.

What coming that I'm looking froward even had no job, is me and my brother going to London for three days in end of November, mainly Babymetal Concert, seeing them again. But also going to tour Big Ben and visit Battersea Power Station and some muesums and some shops. Two months and four weeks, worried everything can happen. It seem far. Looking forward for it.

[okayish-omens]

Eddies in a box

or Flowers in a Box but it’s cyberpunk. anyway here u go

Chapter 1 – The Beginning

autors note: okay just so you know i dont like this game. well sorta, but not really. but my older sister really like it though so i'm writing it for her as a present for her birthday. :) i hope that she likes it!

dedcated to my sister, haley :)

-okay beginning now-

Vee walks into the flat megabuildign 10. he is wearing a scarf and has squinty eyes. then he sees johnny sitting on the chair in the flat. the flat is pretty and has many BDs in it.

"hollo johnny" he says

"hello Vee" jonnhy says but bitchily.

"what are you on your period of something?" said ve also bitchily (but Johnny can sound way more bitchy because Koala Reeves plays him)

"you should knows i'm not a girl after you spend all night sucking my dick ;)" said johnny (johnny has the hots for v even if he has squinty eyes)

(i bet johnny has a squinty eyes fetish)

"what?' said ve e because he was smoking and not paying attention.

"oh nothing i guess that was a dream" said jonnhy sadly

"oh cool" said vee (hes kind a dumbazz lol) "anyways i came back from the store because rogue says we have a new case"

"oh really?" johnny said. He got up and walked over to eve. "Wow that's cool :)"

"We should go" said vee. "rouge will be wondering where we're going"

-some time later-

The crime scene was very bloody. It was at a muesum. everyone was there. even Takemura (everyones a bitch in this game and so is takemura). Takemura walked over to veee and there was some black chick by him (she kinda looks like the girl from being human, lol i love that show you sould watch it)

"Hi freak-v” Takemura said. (hes a jerk but he gets alot of dick he's like a pimp lol)

"why don't you go fuck a dinosaur taekmura" said Eev. 'jerk and also your cheating on your Wife."

"WHAT" said tkaemura (even though he's pimp hes still lame :)) and then he run off (but he didn't fuck a dinosaur like frea-v said)

(i know i'm not that good but the story isn't that bad :D please review)

Then Rouge came by and that made stuff more interesting. (i like her shes cool).

"Hi vee" she said. "how is this case going"

"Good" said V. "I think I know the killer"

"wow vee you're so hot" Said Jhonny.

"what?" said v.

"I mean smart" said johnyn.

"i know right?" Ve says

"can you just tell me who the killer is?"

V looked down at the body and narrowed his already squnty eyes. then some white words (it happens in the game guys don't flame me) appeared in front of him.

"the killer is takemuar;" said Vee e. "because he is a douche".

"Ok arrest him guys" said Rgoue. "Thanks vea for your help".

"no problem," said V.

"cool"

then they took away takemura, but someone was watching from the shadows. Someone who would want revenge.

-authors note: please r and r! i'll write more i have a great twist coming up :)-

Chapter 2 - The Skull

autors note: FCK H8TRS ! but for that 1 person who liked my fic thnx you 3 ! ! keep reviewin guyz! :)

-2 days earler-

takemura stempted through the doorway of the door. in side was a bunch of creepy stuff like spider web and a fish tank with deadly fish and a hammer head shark in it. and so was adam smasher.

(i hate yorinobu i like to call him Adam MASHER :))

Tkaemura sat down at the tabel across from smasher. "hello" he said.

"hello takemura why are u here" said smaher

"well yor i was wonderi ng if uo could fix somthing for me." said Taekmura. (get it cause in the game they say 'adam can u fix it for me? :O)

"wat?" said smaser

"well u see in the future this guy caled V-" said takemura

"oh i know him hes tawsome" said smashr

"ikr anyways he arrests me in the da future so i ned you to kill him." said taekmura

"how do u know the futre" masher saided

"well you see" said takemura

-FLASHBCAK-

Takemura is in the megabuild10 wen he touches Vees skull (not his REAL skull under his ksin lol his UNREAL 1 on the s helf)

then he (dun dun dun)… COULD SEE THE FURTE

-flashnack over-

"cool faslback" said smsher

"i know right"

"you no takemura you're really pimpin (well it's true real the first chatper of my sotry) so I think i will kill him for you"

"thnx then" said takemura.

"your welcome" said smashre

-back at the flat in the presnt time-

"i wonder what adam is doing now" sid vee

"yea me to," said johnny wisfuly "last time we saw him was at the hq. remember it blew up becasue u shot the bomb then the elevator began to explode. Yorinoub jumped away on his mototcyle-copter and smasher fired up his lazers into the smoke and climed up them. i pushed you in too the water beloe and (can you guys tell im trying to add more desription to make it god :)) saved us botg. then rouge came in and saved us. we never saw adma agan after that night.'

"yea johnyn …. i know i was there." Veee said.

johnyn did not like smasher much he liked to call him MASHRE haha (like me) because vee obvously liked him better. vee was a smart man who neded someone to kepe him intrestd johnny was simply a borin rockstar terrorist. he wold nevre me as good as adam..

he looked over at the skull which lay on the shelf… … . . and had an idea.

(okay guys do u like it? i added some more long bits and i tried to make it good and post some good scifi stuff in it :) :) :) please REA DAND REVIEW

Chapter 3 – The Kill

athorus note: thnx for all the revews guyz! I really aprciate it :) btw I found some bold font on my compter so now I;m going too bold some fstuff to mke it more dramatic ::)

-presetn time-

Vee and johnny were having dinner at a resuatrant. Mama welles was theyre (it's funny because JACKIe and yea) and they were eatin g gphagetti because thats what italina people eat (or maybe mama welles is spans hi cant remember) and she brouhgt over some candles and it was nice BUT THEN

a guy with a gun crahsede through the widow and shot vee dead and he fell to the floro dead and johnny said "OH NO" and held him in his arms

a single tear dripped donw his check add it was sad. every one of the cnadels in the restuarnt was blone out. it was sad.

"WHO" said johnyn. "WILL SOLVE THE CASE OF VEES MURDOR IF HES DEDA"

it was a sad day.

-back at the flat-

johnyn was stiging theye sad when all of a sudden the dore opend. in came a fmalr face- it was (dun dun dun) VEE.

"WOW SAID JOHNNY" "your mback!"

"i know" said eev "wait wat do yu o mean"

"you died"

"no i didnt" said v

"WHAT"

"yea i didnt why do u say i did."

"because you did!"

"hmmmph" said veee

"okay" said jhonny and then he went aoutside

then he saw misty (who is uhso tarot reder) and she said johnny i need "to talk to you"

"oka" he said

mitsy said "look eve died"

"yeah i know :(" sdia johnny

"but hers here"

"yea i know" said johnny

"see what happned is when vee touched the skull he sthins he saw the futue but realy his future self was swraped with his past self so his ptas self died and his futre self lived"

"oh" said johnny. "okay"

"lok smashre is trying to kill vee's fture slef you have to help him"

johnny thought about what would happen if vee wa s a striper "I DEDUCE THAT UOU ARE SEXY" he said

"what" said mistey

"nothing okat bye" said johnny going back

futurev was there and he said "hi johnny"

"hi Veea"

-1 day later-

"okay hi" said takemura "you said you killed him but hes skill alive"

"i know" said smashr. "because he touched the skull too"

"oh no"

"yes. which means that your past self has been aresttd and is in hail right now"

"good" said tkaemura

"no not good"

"i mean tnot good " said takemura

"godo said" adam "anways we need to kill the other vea too okay"

"okay" wait no

"pahy me"

"okay i'm a pimp so i have lot of mony"

"colz"

-1 day earlier-

vee touhec d the skull

-1 day later, at the flat-

John y touched the skull. (dun dun dun) (dun dun dan)

autors note: thnxs for reviwing guzy! keep it up 3! :):)

[blaclovematters]

EP. 52: Hip Hop Muesums and Attachment Styles

We back at it again! We appreciated if you could leave a 5-star rating and review on iTunes or Stitcher. In this episode, Niram and Niambi talk about the new hip hop museum and attachment styles. Nothing but laughs and real talk! Submit your Black Love Story -- Go to https://blaclovematters.com/lovestory/ and we’ll shout you out! We really want to showcase the greatness of black love…  

Kitchen Table Talk

Sis, Bro, Cuz -Submit you question to blaclovematters@gmail.com or you can leave us a voicemail at 508-784-1111  

Hit us up!

Blog: https://blaclovematters.com/

Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/black-love-matters/id1243642268

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Twitter: @blaclovematters

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Tumblr:@blaclovematters

Email: blaclovematters@gmail.com

Voice mail: 508-784-1111

Check out this episode!

[travelsbeyondbehind]

Travel:  We travelled by train which takes you to the very centre.  The airport is now connected to the centre via the tram network.

Edinburgh is hilly but all the sites are within walking distance of the centre – and most of the festival/fringe venues are within easy reach of the centre, too.  Take a coat and jumper; the weather is cooler here than elsewhere in the UK and a showers can be common when rushing from theatre to theatre.

View from our accommodation

Accommodation:  If you’re travelling up for the festivals and fringe thn it’s wise to book well in advance (we book nearly a year ahead).  If you’re up for more than a few days then a flat is a good option and we stayed in two flats in Tigh Ard: Flat One, Flat Two.

However, there are other options available and I would consider looking at the university halls which are in a good location and are sufficient quality given that most of your time will be spent around the city. http://www.edinburghfirst.co.uk/for-accommodation/pollock-halls/ 

There are some private halls available and it is worth checking out the latest apartments available on booking.com: http://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?city=-2595386&nflt=ht_id%253D201&aid=1222377&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA

For me, it is better to stay south of the station – it’s nearer to some of the key venues including Summerhall, the Pleasance Courtyard and the venues around George Square.

Food & Drink:  There are food stalls at nearly every venue; they’re not great always great quality but they fill gaps between shows.  The food at Summerhall were a little more artisan and better quality.

We had a few meals out where we sat down rather than eating takeaway: a good value meal at Bar Napoli (75 Hanover Street), a non-chain Italian which does classic dishes well.  For something cheap and delicious, try the Mosque Kitchen (31-33 Nicholson Square).  Delicious curries are served on disposable plates for bargain prices; the place is, rightly, a bit of an Edinburgh institution.  We had a quality night out at Usquabae (2-4 Hope Street); the food is good but the range of Whiskies is very good – the bar man will help you find something that you like.  It’s not cheap but worth the pennies.

Sights:  My main reason for visiting Edinburgh are the festivals and, in particular, the fringe.  There are over 300 shows and I manage 25 shows in a week or so.  It’s very hard to make recommendations but there should be something to suit every taste – and a poor selection or two is part of the experience.  For theatre, places that I find dependable are the shows at Summerhall and the Traverse theatres.  There are some excellent bits in the Free Fringe (though turn up early to make sure you get in).  For comedy, the Pleasance has a lot to offer but trying to find a performance in a back room in a pub by someone (as yet) undiscovered is one of the fun challenges of a week in Edinburgh.

Scottish Parliament

However, there are some excellent things to do outside the festival.  I had a very good afternoon visiting the Scottish Parliament; there was a free, informative tour which I really enjoyed.

The National Galleries of Scotland are worth a couple of ours of your time – if only for the coffee shop overlooking the park.  They have some lovely pieces by many of the greats but the section on Scottish art is particularly interesting, offering insight to this country’s identity.

And then there’s the castle.  It’s expensive and full of (other) tourists but, to be honest, again worth a visit to get an understanding of Scotland. From the National War Museum and Memorial to the Royal Palace and Crown Jewels, I was left with a better understanding of the distinctiveness of Scottish culture and history.

Edinburgh Castle …

… dominates the city …

… and offers excellent views.

On my next visit, climbing Arthur’s seat, exploring Calton Hill and visiting the National Muesum of Scotland.

  Further Reading & Listening:

Guide books:  There is a handy city guide from Lonely Planet for Edinburgh for a first time visitor:

Festival & Fringe Reviews:

The places I use most for reviews are the Scotsman and the Guardian – both worth keeping an eye for the latest reviews:

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/edinburgh-festivals

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/edinburghfestival

  Off to the #Edfringe? Here are my tips for where to eat, visit & look for the best shows. Travel:  We travelled by train which takes you to the very centre.  The airport is now connected to the centre via the tram network.

[dd20century]

In Her Own Right: Marion Mahony Griffin

The Elmhurst History Museum in Elmhust, IL is currently running an exhibition on architect, Marion Mahony Griffin. Griffin possibly Frank Lloyd Wright’s most talented drafts person, was responsible for drafting many famous rendering’s of Wright’s Prairie Houses. According to the Elmhurst History Muesum’s website the exhibition covers Griffin’s professional and personal life with her husband architect Walter Burley Griffin. The show highlights the important work of this usually overlooked talent.

The exhibition, In Her Own Right: Marion Mahony Griffin runs now through March 12, 2017. Visit the Elmhurst History Museum’s website for details and museum hours.

Read a review of the exhibition on architecturalrecord.com.

Read more on Marion Mahony Griffin on placesjournal.org.

Marion Mahony Griffin, Rendering of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Susan Lawrence Dana House (1911), Springfield, Illinois. Image Source.

[musea-reviews]

Museum Catharijneconvent (St. Catherine's Convent Museum)

‘’The collection tells the art and cultural history of Christianity in the Netherlands.’’ 

Location: Center of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Price: 15,- / students 7,- Duration: 2 - 5 hours Transport: easy to walk to from the central station Language: All text is in Dutch, I didn't ask if the audio tour could change the language Activities: look & read Date of visit: Friday 17 February 2023 Expo at that time: History of Gospel Check out the website

The building was very beautiful from the outside as it was located inside a medieval monastery. You could look in the small garden area for free.

The Children Room The first part of the museum I went to was intended for children and was about all the holidays, this part of the museum even had information on other religions like Judaism and Islam. As these religions and Christianity come from the same set of stories and historical events. The information didn't go very deep since it said things like “the Christmas tree is a part of Christmas because it stays green all year around‘’ instead of explaining it came from pagan religions. I did learn however that we have new year's on the day that we do (8 days after Christmas) because that's when Jesus supposedly got circumcised. Which was a shocking reason to me that I didn't knew. This part did also have some fun interactive elements, such as opening food lockers from a wall to connect 4 kinds of food to the right holiday. Sadly, one of the screens was broken, and the lights were off/broken in that corner, so I couldn’t film it.

Another cool thing there was a built replica of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, with light projections explaining why these 3 religions all want to own this place and fight for it. I was all alone in this part of the museum, probably because it was on a school day

The Treasury The next part of the museum was the treasury, a dim lid room full of shiny objects, I loved it. This is also where the ‘’real’’ museum started, so I got handed an audio tour. I love audio tours. However, on the lowest audio setting, it was still too loud for me. But I simply put the headphones further from my ears, you can also use your own headphones if they have a cord. 

Keeping it real I found it all very interesting, I was a bit disappointed that it was not about other religions anymore, but I went in this blindly and didn't know it was specifically a museum of Christianity. Personally, I don't believe in anything, but love to learn about religions. Next to the normal audio tour that talked about the paintings and the history, they also added some new numbers to the audio tour talking more about controversies about some paintings and people. I liked this since they weren't glorifying the religion and showed more about how it was done back in the day. For instance, in the extra audio tour, they talked about Jesus' skin colour and how everywhere in the museum he's portrayed as a white man with long brown hair, meanwhile, this doesn't have to be the case. They explained that it's easier for people to feel connected to stories if they can see themselves in them. The person being interviewed said that when they visited a church in Surinam they saw the painting of ‘’The Last Supper’’ but with everyone being black. They stated in this interview that they're working on adding more diverse pieces like that to the museum, and assured that they were working on a big new collection of different interpretations of the catholic stories. For now, they had an exposition about the history of gospel in America and told the stories of black artists. I didn't see much of it since I couldn't find the right way to walk thou the exhibition and my legs were already hurting since I had been there for 5 hours.

TLDR + Fun room about holidays, not only about Christianity but also about Muslims and Jewish religion. + In the centre of the city, easy to just pop in and out on a city trip. + inclusive and does not give a blind eye to the bad things of Christianity.

- it was pretty hard to navigate the museum and I kept getting lost, don't know if I missed parts of the museum - I do not recommend it to children/teens since there was not a lot to do

Would I pay the price: No, this would not have my interest Would I revisit it: probably not Who do I recommend it to: Adults interested in Christianity or history Interactive:         2 Educational: 4 Storytelling: 2 Price: 3 Memorable: 4 Total score: 3

[musea-reviews]

Japanmuseum SieboldHuis

(Japan Museum Siebold House) ‘’Japan and The Netherlands are closer than you think’’

Location: Leiden, South-Holland, The Netherlands Price: 10,- / students 6,- Duration: 1,5 - 3 hours Transport: about 10-minute walk from Leiden station Language: Dutch, Japanese, English, German Activities: Audio tour, Japanese history Date of visit: 26 April 2023Website

Only Holland is allowed Japan was a closed-off island, not interested in trading with the rest of the world, except for China. When the Dutch were busy sailing all over the world looking for more trade, they stumbled upon Japan in 1598 and became the first country outside of China that Japan traded with. So in 1641, they build a small island called Deshima (出島) where the Dutch traders and scholars could stay. Deshima grew into a big city now known as Nagasaki, the small location that was Deshima is now a museum where the village still looks the same as it did all those years ago. 

The Spaniards and Portuguese already tried to trade with Japan but to no luck, as they got banned from the island, the Dutch VOC remained the only Western country they traded with for almost 200 years. They traded not only objects but also knowledge, therefor Dutch became the scientific language of Japan, and scholars had to learn Dutch. Just like we now use Latin or English. After 1850 Japan started also allowing other countries to trade, but because of this history, Japan and The Netherlands are still very close.

Since Deshima was such a popular spot in Japan, they also decided to build another Dutch village, but modern, called Huis ten Bosch close to Nagasaki.

Siebold’s personal collection This museum was Philipp Franz von Siebold’s personal work. Born in Germany into a family of doctors and biologists, he grew up the same and went to good schools in the Netherlands and Germany. He quickly became very recognized for his work and because his dad was already a very good doctor. In 1822, he was asked at the age of only 23 if he wanted to go on a voyage of discovery to Japan. Siebold was a big fan of Japan and the goal of his trip was to learn about the culture, plants, and animals. This sounds like a dream to him, since he's very passionate. You can see this passion in the museum. The thing I love most is that he actually started this museum, when he came back home he put all the most beautiful things in his home and started the Japan Museum. Just like it is today, in the same location, in his house, his objects. Most of the objects were bought, found (in the case of plants) or given. Some given as gifts from Japanese scholars and students, and some gifted as payment for his medical help. 

Siebold himself as tour guide The museum itself was very dark to preserve the objects, I thought it looked calming. The tour through the museum starts with a short movie about who Siebold is, because he had a diary they know a lot about him. It is spoken through his character like he is telling you about his trip, and throughout the museum the audio tour is the same voice, Siebold showing you around the things he finds fascinating. It just makes it all a bit more personal this way. The floors upstairs were closed that week since they were building a new exposition, so I could only look around downstairs. I will have to come back later. The museum also has a small garden with Siebolds statue and some plants he took with him from Japan that h planted in his garden. Some objects from Siebold have been put in other museums, like some taxidermied animals have been put in Naturalis and some plants have been planted in the botanical garden, both of these museums also on Leiden. 

Would I pay the price: yes, I think the price fits the museum perfectly, maybe even cheap but i have only seen the museum partly. Would I revisit it: Definitely, since I missed some. Who do I recommend it to: Japanese tourists, people interested in Japanese history. 

Interactive:         2 Educational:       4 Storytelling:        4 Price:                 4 Memorable:       4

Total score:        3,6

[musea-reviews]

Naturalis

‘’Like a zoo, but all the animals stay very still’’

Location: Leiden, Zuid-Holland, The NetherlandsPrice: 17,- / Students 12,75Duration: 2 - 5 hours

Transport: 10-minute walk from Leiden Central train station Language: Dutch / English Activities: Look at taxidermy animals, skeletons, and fossils. And play interactive games. A T.REX Date of visit: Monday 3rd of April 2023 Expo at that time:  Website *it's recommended to make a reservation on busy days, but it's not mandatory

For Free!

So the first part of the museum is called the LiveScience and is before the ticket scan. So you can walk around for free, and I really recommend doing so if you’re in the era. This first part has a set of taxidermy birds and insects, you can also see all kinds of stones and a meteorite. It also has a bit of a library where you can read books about animals and nature, books for all ages. In the middle is a drawing table where you can try your hand at making anatomically correct animal drawings of the animals in the middle. But the coolest part must be the researchers! In the back is the Dino lab where researchers are working on real dinosaur bones right in front of you, and you can go up to them to ask questions. Underneath that is also a lab of researchers with microscopes, on a screen you can see what they see under the microscope and also ask them questions. 

Blathers Museum

Once you want to go up the massive stairs, you first need to scan your ticket. The building has about 8 floors with different rooms that all tell a different story (there's also a lift ofcourse). To me, it felt like walking thou Blathers museum, like from Animal crossing new Horizons. The way, you got immersed in the storytelling and the animals. It was set up beautifully. Also for kids, it's a sight to see as you are just allowed to touch anything (carefully), in one room you could just pick up and hold bones! There are a lot of fun interactive mini-games, so to say, and in one room where they explained how the layers of the earth move and make mountains using cooking videos. Interesting choice, but very fun to watch and understandable for all ages. And that's really what this museum is, for people of all ages, since you can choose how much you want to learn. You can only play the mini-games and play around, but deeper information can be found when you really look everywhere and even open some drawers. Also, once again the fun parts are not being ‘’gate kept’’ so to say, where in some museums they hide the mini-games and treasure hunts and only make them accessible by kids like I also like fun!!

If you love dinosaurs you came to the right place as they have a full T. rex skeleton and some others. You can even go through the dinosaur experience for an extra 2 euros, but I didn't do that this time as I am not a very big Dino fan, but my boyfriend is, so maybe I will go with him.

A lot closed off

It seemed like there were more rooms also called science labs, but I think you could do fun experiments there, that required the staff’s help. So that was all closed. This is probably because it was a Monday and on Monday most museums are closed. So I assume they just closed half of it. Or it is because it's a school week and those parts might be open during holidays when more people are coming. But I didn't mind, I mean I have a museum card, and I'm definitely planning to come back.

Would I pay the price: Definitely, I think It's actually very cheap for the experience. Would I revisit it: Absolutely! Who do I recommend it to: nature/animal lovers, families, tourists Interactive:         5 Educational: 4 Storytelling: 5 Price: 5 Memorable: 5 Total score: 4,8

[musea-reviews]

Het Mauritshuis

(Maurice House) ‘’Come up close with paintings you definitely know’’

Location: Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands Price: 19,- / Students 12,50 Duration: 1- 2 hours Transport: you can take the train to Den Haag Centraal and walk about 10 minuets Language: Dutch / English Activities: Look at famous historical art, audio tour Date of visit: Monday 27th of March 2023 Expo at that time: Vrel, Forerunner of Vermeer

website

*For this museum you need to make a reservation, I also recommend you take headphones with you.

On Monday I have most free time to travel as I have online lectures on that day, what i can watch just as well in the train as at home. Sadly, Monday is the day that most museums are closed, so I don't have a lot of choice. But today I went to Den Haag and just went to see what was open. Het Mauritshuis was open, well I actually had to wait an hour, but I just walked around a bit. It was very cold and windy outside, and I really recommend visiting this city in the summer, since it wasn't as pretty as I usually remembered it to be now.

Feel like a VIP As i got to the beautiful old building and walked through the gates to the door, I was pointed by a man in a suit towards the stairs going down under the Hofvijver. After that I got to a desk where they took my jacked and bag and i once gain was greeted by people in suit. All this was way more formal than any museum I have been to so far. Then I walked upstairs, and I was inside the beautiful old building. Old painting everywhere. 

It was kinda busy, which I didn't expect. I was there the second it opened, and it’s a random Monday, so maybe it's even buster when tourist will hit the city in the summer. You do need to make a reservation for this museum, luckily since it's not busy, yet I could do that right before it opened.

The peal earring

This museum is known for showing famous Dutch painters like Rembrandt and, most importantly, Vermeer. The highlight is the painting of the girl with the peal earring. However, that wasn’t there today, as they had borrowed the painting to Het Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for some months. To compensate for this, they did have other visions made by people all over the world and stories of people and how important art is to them. The painting will be back in April, so I just missed it, sadly.

Kinda… boring? As you know, I like interactive museums, and this is very much just.. Looking? Like bro, I can also look at the painting for free ON THEIR SITE. But I know this is how historical art museums are. After walking and reading for a bit, a group of students walked in, with a tour guide. And I just kept following them for a bit. They were Ukrainian students here fleeing from the war. I’ve heard from a lot of museums that Ukrainian schools or groups of adult will come by museums often. In the Chicken museum I went to some weeks ago, the man working there told me that these museum visits are mandatory by the state, so they will have a good integration in the Netherlands. I think that's a good thing and very interesting that I get to see it everywhere.

Download the App

This was the first museum that had an app and I really recommend it as that will give you access to the map, audio tour and other things. The museum also has free Wi-Fi with is nice when you require an app. First you choose your language, but after I clicked around some and tested other languages I noticed that if you chose anything other than Dutch or English you won't have access to the audio tour. Like everything in the app will be in your preferred language except the actual information about the paintings????? Which will still show in English. That was kinda weird tbh but okay. In the app, you can also select a tour, like ‘’the highlight tour’’ or ‘’the animal tour’’ and some others. Or you do what I did, and you just type in the numbers of paintings that you want more info off. So I do recommend you take headphones, otherwise you can still hold your phone to your ear, but headphones would just work better.

Would I pay the price: nooooooway, idk maybe I don't get the difference between looking at art in real life, I'm like ‘’hmm I already saw this’’ Would I revisit it: nah Who do I recommend it to: people/tourists who like to see famous painting Interactive:         2 Educational: 1 Storytelling: 1 Price: 2 memorable: 3 Total score: 1,8

[musea-reviews]

Kunsthal KAdE (Art Gallery KAdE)

‘’exhibitions on contemporary & modern art, architecture, design, and contemporary visual culture.’’

Location: Amersfoort, Utrecht, The Netherlands Price: 13,- / students 6,- Duration: 0,5 - 1 hour Transport: Walking distance from the station of Amersfoort central. Language: Dutch, but it's more looking than reading Activities: Drawing, making clay figures Date of visit: Thursday 23 February 2023 Expo at that time: Ministry of Fear/Foam by Folkert de Jong website

Since the whole museum has a switching exposition and not a fixed collection, I can not really judge over the museum itself, more about the exposition. The museum is placed at ‘’het Eemsplein’’ locally known for having homeless men harassing you, and they did. The building itself is very modern looking, the whole square it's placed on looks modern, all stone and metal. Just not really my thing.

I was not prepared

I was in the city and had some free time, so I popped in, not knowing what the museum was about. After I was greeted by the friendly staff and put my backpack in a locker and walked thou the big doors, where I saw a naked mannequin (Dick out and all) standing at the end of the hallway, staring at me, holding two heads in his hands. Okay cool anyway, let's walk further. Into a big room with multiple people hanging from the roof. Where the fuck am I??’. I started walking through the exposition and came into a black room with tv’s that played short clips of brain scans, hostages being kicked on the ground, and American soldiers posing with bombs. All the while the sound of a voice was playing, echoing saying things like, you know you're dreaming… right?? And creepy slowed-down music. It made me feel fear, it made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't know what was going on or how I got into this situation. I felt like I was in an Indie horror game like my boyfriend sometimes shows me. I didn't like it.

But the further I walked, the more interesting it got, weird ‘’edgy’’ drawing like that you would see in a high school notebook. I started thinking to myself, what in the ‘’nice guy’’ incel collection is this?? Statues of mutilated dead bodies, and all kinds of colours and textures. As the artist describes, he makes these things from what he has ‘’lying around’’. Looking a bit closer at these characters, I noticed these hands were too detailed to be a mannequin, the wrinkles, and pores and all. It started to scare me, how do I know this guy doesn't just have real humans ‘’lying around’’ based on what I saw earlier I would have believed it.

When you see his work, you already start making a picture in your mind of what this deranged, mentally ill human could look like. But then I saw the interview, a friendly-looking man, a friendly teacher or neighbour vibe to him. Wearing his sweater with soft pink, blue, and yellows. I had judged too quickly, I had made a stereotype and judged the book by its cover. 

Really inspiring

I hated it at first because ‘’these drawings are so stupid, I could make them!’’ ‘’This is not art! He just wants to be edgy’’. I have not made art for myself in a long time, because these are the comments I would get. But this man just does what he wants, he makes great art, and you can see the great skill in his work. He's just having fun, making things up as you go. Doing what he wants or just for the shock value.

In the interview, he talks about how he grew up around bunkers, and his parents always talked about war stories. How he would go to the video store and always rented American horror movies. How he grew up being proud of his country, but the more he learned, the more disappointed he got. How he feels like his mind is an isolation cell he desperately wants to escape. To see what more there is. it suddenly all made sense. And walking thou it a second time with a new view inspired me.

The KAdEStudio

In the studio you can make your own art. The activities you can do here are connected to the art exposition, so it also changes. This time, you could draw your own character/mannequin with crayons and markers. Next to that, you could make clay faces, or I guess clay anything. After you finished with it, there was a display where you can put it. And write your name and age. It was fun to see the different artworks from the ‘’normal people’’ and to see all different ages on this display, from 4 to 80! Sadly, they only had 2 tables to make the clay on, and there were already people sitting there. So I didn't make them. 

TLDR +I would recommend it for Artists and Art students since it's usually not the ‘’mainstream’’ art. + Fun art activities, matching the theme + changing expos making it re-visitable.

- wouldn't recommend it for kids, maybe with a more kid-friendly expo.  - small, Even tho I take my sweet time looking at the art, watching the whole interview, playing at the studio and even looking at the fun things in the gift shop. I was standing outside again in an hour.

Would I pay the price: No, it was too short/small in my opinion Would I revisit it: yes, since the expositions keep changing every so months.

Who do I recommend it to: Artists, Modern Art fans, Art Students of any field. Interactive:         2 Educational: 2 Storytelling: 4 Price: 2 Memorable: 5 Total score: 3