London Canal Museum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
London Canal Museum is situated in the King's Cross area of London, England, beside Battlebridge Basin on the Regent's Canal. The museum was opened in 1992. The building was constructed around 1860 as a warehouse for ice imported from Norway by ship and canal barge.
There are two preserved ice wells under the building, one of which may be viewed from the public area of the museum.
The exhibitions cover the following topics:
- Introduction to UK waterways
- Canal life (social history)
- Canal art
- Lifting and handling cargo
- The ice trade
- Canal craft
- Working horses on the canals and the streets
- The Regent's Canal
- Large scale historical map of London's canals
- Water and locks
- The museum's Bantam Tug
- Changing temporary exhibitions
There are special events, evening illustrated talks, and summer activities for children. The museum is independent and self funded. It is run and managed almost completely by volunteers. It is often used as a venue for private functions out of opening hours and this provides income to support it. There is a substantial commitment to education and a range of educational resources are available.
The museum has a track record of innovation as regards Internet based initiatives. It was the first UK museum to introduce a WAPsite for mobile phones, including a WAPwalk, a guided canal towpath walk using the WAPsite. It was one of London's first museums to become a Wi-Fi hotspot. In September 2007 it became the first UK museum to offer a podcast audio tour of its permanent exhibitions, for the visitor to download in advance and play on his/her own MP3 player.
