Favourite museum?

I love museums, especially when they are a bit quieter and you aren't crowded. 

The National museum of Scotland I always enjoyed, I think they quite often have people drawing what they see, and have some seats for doing this (not sure if they still do). I remember the national gallery only vagly as a teen, but I was impressed at the time.

A bit random but the transport museum in Coventry is amazing, once you get in! 

Likewise I think there is a small flight museum, Midland air museum was small but fun as it has a lot of outdoor planes to look at. We went once to the American air museum in Duxford, that was pretty cool.

The Great North Museum: Hancock, was also amazing, we went when they had Dippy, I would go back, the collection is varied, vast and well spaced out. I want to go back there again sometime.

I will add a plus to those that suggested Natural history museum a London and the science museum. I remembered going when I was little, and when we went to a London a few years ago, it was the second thing on my list was to go back there. 

There are lots depending on what you are into, science museums do tend to be busy but great fun, Birmingham Think Tank, Dynamic Earth Edinburgh, The Explorium Dublin, Space Center Leicester. We did the Yorvik, the Viking museum in York, but it was a bit dark for me.

Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford was a good one which involved a nice outside walk around the exhibits so now relaxing.

I remember in Paris going to a bit of a random one, the Institut du Monde Arabe, it was very quiet compared to the Louvre or D'Orsay, which are amazing as you'd expect. 

I used to love Sensations science museum in Dundee back when I was growing up

I too, have been to the Postal Museum and enjoyed the displays as when I went they had a room dedicated to The Great Train Robbery and it was set up as the kitchen at Leatherslade Farm. I did enjoy the chance to ride on the Royal Mail Underground train although as you say, it is a tight squeeze and noisy when going around the tight curves. I do go to London a lot and find there is always a quiet spot, sometimes just around the corner. I recently went to Statfold Country Park near Tamworth as they have an extensive narrow gauge railway system as well as a museum with more trains and a traction engine workshop and fairground museum too.     

BeaE said:

the Black Country living museum

I used to go there, also York railway museum. There used to be a wonderful one in London, the Museum of Mankind. I find the British Museum very dull - just rows and rows of the same thing. These other museums are laid out so that make sense of lives, not just rows of Roman pottery for example.

In his book, Religion for Atheists [which I really recommend], writer Alain de Botton put forward the idea of museums and art galleries being laid out in order of ethical concerns - to help people live their lives, for example, relating, grieving, kindness, tenderness. 

I've not been to a museum for years either, I remember liking the V&A.

I loved the Archaeological museum in Istanbul, although it's quite overwhelming, when you go to a museum in the UK they might have a few busts and sacophagi, but there; theres rooms and rooms of them, you can't really take it all in, theres thousands of years of history there.

I was a bit disapointed with The Aya Sofia, I think I'd seen all the interesting bits on tv, it is a lovely building though.

Istanbul itself is a bit like a living museum, crusader buildings next to Roman stuff and it's all higgledy piggledy.

I think it's closed now, but the Fairy Museum on Skye was interesting, all the fairy lore of the island all together and celebrated.

National Galleries Scotland, Edinburgh.

"World-class international and Scottish art from 1300 to 1945. Open, free to all. Yours to discover."

The Gallery design gives a far less oppressive sense in its use of space than many other art galleries.

Favourite works within the collection:

1) World renowned painting by John Singer Sargent: Gertrude Vernon, Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (1864 – 1932).

www.nationalgalleries.org/.../5396

The artistic treatment / rendering of the sitter's gown fabric is mesmerising.

Photographs rarely do the painting justice (as you lose the tremendous depth of field).

2) I also like the use of light in:

A Lady in Grey (Dated 1859) by Sir Daniel Macnee.

www.nationalgalleries.org/.../5122

3) Another thought-provoking piece is:

Portrait Of A Young Man by Jan Lievens (about 1631).

"...It has been suggested that Lievens himself, or possibly Rembrandt, modelled for this painting, but it was certainly not intended to be a portrait."

I always wonder; what was on the sitter's mind - he looks so pensive.

www.nationalgalleries.org/.../5091

When I was a teen growing up in South east London, I used to like Horniman's museum. I remember it as surprisingly good. Founded by a tea trader in 1901.

I also liked the Ashmolean in Oxford.

The aerospace museum in San Diego, near the zoo, was good. Not very local though.

The Forney transportation museum in Denver was a bit eccentric.

As a kid I loved the science museum and natural history museums in London. The natural history one is probably one of the finest stone buildings in London. It used to be black with soot when I was small, as did the houses of parliament and others, and but they cleaned it 45 years ago and it is beautiful coloured stone. The best description was a cathedral to natural history.

I haven't been to that many, and none in the last 15 years.