The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is truly a world-class museum. From the iconic architecture by I.M. Pei, to the stunning display cases and innovative use of audio guides, this museum has it all.

MIA is a collection of masterpieces with many artifacts unsurpassed anywhere else in the world. Given their importance, the exhibition designers have taken an ‘iconic’ approach to display with each object given a prime position with exquisite lighting. This minimalistic approach draws deserving attention to the objects themselves rather than than text panels and this is where the innovative audio guides come in handy.

The audio tour is delivered through a touch screen hand-held device about the size of an iPhone with a wide range of additional digital material such as geographical tours of important cities of the modern and ancient Islamic worlds. There is no prescribed audio tour and the user is encouraged to choose the objects they are interested in. There are described by a narrator who brings in the international experts from the Smithsonian, the V&A, Stanford University (to name but a few) to discuss the importance and relevance of the object.

The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization took a bit of finding but it was well worth it. As one of the 16 museums and galleries that make up the Sharjah Museums Department, it is in my opinion, the pick of the bunch.

Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization

The museum is located by the water on the Sharjah Corniche and housed in a beautifully restored traditional Souk.  On entering the building, I was impressed by the use of space and light – there is a refined spaciousness similar to that of older Victorian museums. This spaciousness is coupled with well designed displays, good use of technology and beautiful cabinetry supplied by the world renowned Click Netherfield.

Unfortunately, I had less time in the museum than I would have liked but the following describes some of my personal highlights.

One of the galleries concentrates on Islamic contributions to technology, especially in the fields of cartography and horography. In it are numerous interesting working models of complicated mechanisms and devices.

Another gallery focuses on the importance of Mecca, the Kaaba and the Kiswah in the Islamic world. It includes some remarkable photographs of Mecca during Hajj with literally millions of people circling the Kaaba stone.

Timeline showing Islamic developments and developments in the rest of the world

One exhibit I found especially interesting was a timeline wall chart displaying major Islamic events and achievements along side those in other parts of the world. This is the first time I have seen this approach and in my opinion, it works rather well and should be used more frequently.

In conclusion, the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization is a must see attraction in Shajah and deserving of a journey from Dubai and even Abu Dhabi. There are more museums/galleries I’ve yet to see in the Sharjah Museums Department but this one will take some beating.

The Times newspaper has published thier top 10 Museum Websites.

And the winners are……

1. louvre.fr (link)

2. hermitagemuseum.org (link)

3. vam.ac.uk – Victoria and Albert Museum (link)

4. rijksmuseum.nl (link)

5. mhs.ox.ac.uk – Museum of the History of Science (link)

6. culture24.org.uk (link)

7. si.edu – The Smithsonian (link)

8. nationalarchives.gov.uk (link)

9. museumstuff.com (link)

10. sciencemuseum.org.uk (link)

For the full article see – http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article7016077.ece

The Museum on the Mound is located within the impressive Corporate Headquarters building of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in the centre of Edinburgh’s Old Town. The museum benefited from a major refurbishment in 2004 which increased its exhibition space by six times.

The museum’s six galleries are divided into the history of the bank; the history of the building; money; building societies; life assurance; and bank employees. These themes are used to look at topics such as trade, technology, design, crime and security.

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When Queen Victoria turned the silver handle that channelled the pure waters of Loch Katrine to the city of Glasgow on 14 October 1859, it marked a key moment for the Victorian city. Before then, most people had to rely upon public wells and the River Clyde for their domestic water supply – water which was often contaminated with sewage and industrial waste.

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The War Poets exhibition at Napier University is housed within the Craiglockhart Campus in the South of Edinburgh. The building was used as an army hydropathic hospital during World War One which adds poignancy and meaning to the location of the collection and exhibitions. The War Poets Collection includes more than 400 items and is centred on the lives and works of the famous war poets Sigfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.

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