Comedian, writer and former mayor of Reykjavík JÓN GNARR, writes a weekly column for the weekend issue of Fréttablaðið, Iceland's most read newspaper and we publish an English version here at Iceland Insider.
Natural history museums are among the most interesting museums you can visit. There are splendid, big museums in most capital cities. Many Icelanders know the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the famous British Museum in London. There is a natural history museum in Oslo and Copenhagen. The natural history museum in Stockholm was established in 1819 and will soon celebrate its centennial.
I have visited these museums. When I travel to foreign cities and have time to spare, I usually try to visit natural history museums. I find these the most interesting museums. It is convenient when travelling with others, especially children, because everyone can find something suitable. Natural history museums are especially valuable for children, because here they get direct education in the wonders of nature.
After wandering around the showrooms you typically go to the museum shop where many interesting things can be bought. In natural history museums everybody comes together for a mixture of instruction and entertainment. They are visited by tourists, school children and scholars. And also artists. Few museums are as ideal and popular destinations for families as natural history museums. One of the best such museum I have visited is the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I went there many times when I was living there. And every time I discovered something new.
Third-grade Politics That Overburdens Everything
There is no impressive natural history museum in Iceland. This is a peculiar situation in a country which is world famous for its nature. It is as if Denmark had no Legoland. A few years ago I visited the museum in Paris. I noticed that most of the visitors were in the part of the museum that dealt with the northern regions. There was a stuffed great auk there, and in front of it there was a long line of people. People took photos of themselves with a model of a narwhal while the animals of Africa received little or no attention.
The Icelandic Museum of Natural History is one of three central museums in Iceland. Its primary role is to “shed light on nature in Iceland, the natural history of the country, the use of natural resources and nature conservation, in addition to shedding light on the interplay of man and nature and the nature of Iceland in a global context.”
The museum has had unacceptable housing problems from the beginning. Museum pieces have landed in the hands of politicians who have used them to rally support in their constituencies. Recently, the prime minister announced to his fellow party members that he intended to hand over to the Whale Museum in Húsavík town the skeleton of the blue whale, which is a national treasure on an international scale. He did this, of course, without any consultations with the Icelandic Institute of Natural History or the Iceland Museum of Natural History. There has also often been serious talk about moving the whole museum up to Skagafjörður fjord.
This is part of the Icelandic third-grade politics that overburdens everything. Many politicians fight against plans to build the museum in Reykjavík. They’d rather build it somewhere out in the country, or distribute the museum pieces to private parties connected to the tourist industry around the country. This is a political issue like so many other things. But while people are arguing about this, the collection is decaying and already more than 2000 museum pieces have been destroyed because most of them are kept in cardboard boxes in cellars all around the city. It would, admittedly, be a little better to have the whole collection up in Skagafjörður.
But the problem with that is that most Icelanders live in the capital area, and that’s where most of the educational institutions are located. A museum out in the country would mostly serve tourists, but Icelandic school children would be deprived of it, and continue to know less and less about their country’s nature. I, therefore, think it is obvious that the Icelandic Museum of Natural History should be in Reykjavík. That’s by far the most efficient option. I think the museum could even be run with a profit. I don’t think that is unrealistic in view of the growing number of tourists coming to the country.
The nature of Iceland is unique. There is no Iceland in America. There is no Iceland in Europe. And I don’t think there is any Iceland in Asia. Everything that is rare and unique and different is valuable.
National Disgrace
Our Museum of Natural History is trapped in the bonds of mentality. There seems to be a general lack of interest in the value and importance of the museum, and news about it do not get many likes on Facebook. Everybody seems to have forgotten the national collection in 1970, when even children emptied their piggy banks so the Icelandic nation could buy a stuffed great auk. Have we really become such plebs that we don’t want to try to understand ourselves?
We, Icelanders, seem to have more interest in and opinions about where the headquarters of Landsbankinn should be than whether and where the natural history museum is. It seems that most people don’t care at all. This is not natural, and not good development. How many valuable items have to get lost and damaged before we wake up? I think this matter is a shame for us.
I think this is a national disgrace.
Comedian, writer and former mayor of Reykjavík JÓN GNARR, writes a weekly column for the weekend issue of Fréttablaðið, Iceland's most read newspaper and we publish an English version here at Iceland Insider.
Natural history museums are among the most interesting museums you can visit. There are splendid, big museums in most capital cities. Many Icelanders know the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the famous British Museum in London. There is a natural history museum in Oslo and Copenhagen. The natural history museum in Stockholm was established in 1819 and will soon celebrate its centennial.
I have visited these museums. When I travel to foreign cities and have time to spare, I usually try to visit natural history museums. I find these the most interesting museums. It is convenient when travelling with others, especially children, because everyone can find something suitable. Natural history museums are especially valuable for children, because here they get direct education in the wonders of nature.
After wandering around the showrooms you typically go to the museum shop where many interesting things can be bought. In natural history museums everybody comes together for a mixture of instruction and entertainment. They are visited by tourists, school children and scholars. And also artists. Few museums are as ideal and popular destinations for families as natural history museums. One of the best such museum I have visited is the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I went there many times when I was living there. And every time I discovered something new.
Third-grade Politics That Overburdens Everything
There is no impressive natural history museum in Iceland. This is a peculiar situation in a country which is world famous for its nature. It is as if Denmark had no Legoland. A few years ago I visited the museum in Paris. I noticed that most of the visitors were in the part of the museum that dealt with the northern regions. There was a stuffed great auk there, and in front of it there was a long line of people. People took photos of themselves with a model of a narwhal while the animals of Africa received little or no attention.
The Icelandic Museum of Natural History is one of three central museums in Iceland. Its primary role is to “shed light on nature in Iceland, the natural history of the country, the use of natural resources and nature conservation, in addition to shedding light on the interplay of man and nature and the nature of Iceland in a global context.”
The museum has had unacceptable housing problems from the beginning. Museum pieces have landed in the hands of politicians who have used them to rally support in their constituencies. Recently, the prime minister announced to his fellow party members that he intended to hand over to the Whale Museum in Húsavík town the skeleton of the blue whale, which is a national treasure on an international scale. He did this, of course, without any consultations with the Icelandic Institute of Natural History or the Iceland Museum of Natural History. There has also often been serious talk about moving the whole museum up to Skagafjörður fjord.
This is part of the Icelandic third-grade politics that overburdens everything. Many politicians fight against plans to build the museum in Reykjavík. They’d rather build it somewhere out in the country, or distribute the museum pieces to private parties connected to the tourist industry around the country. This is a political issue like so many other things. But while people are arguing about this, the collection is decaying and already more than 2000 museum pieces have been destroyed because most of them are kept in cardboard boxes in cellars all around the city. It would, admittedly, be a little better to have the whole collection up in Skagafjörður.
But the problem with that is that most Icelanders live in the capital area, and that’s where most of the educational institutions are located. A museum out in the country would mostly serve tourists, but Icelandic school children would be deprived of it, and continue to know less and less about their country’s nature. I, therefore, think it is obvious that the Icelandic Museum of Natural History should be in Reykjavík. That’s by far the most efficient option. I think the museum could even be run with a profit. I don’t think that is unrealistic in view of the growing number of tourists coming to the country.
The nature of Iceland is unique. There is no Iceland in America. There is no Iceland in Europe. And I don’t think there is any Iceland in Asia. Everything that is rare and unique and different is valuable.
National Disgrace
Our Museum of Natural History is trapped in the bonds of mentality. There seems to be a general lack of interest in the value and importance of the museum, and news about it do not get many likes on Facebook. Everybody seems to have forgotten the national collection in 1970, when even children emptied their piggy banks so the Icelandic nation could buy a stuffed great auk. Have we really become such plebs that we don’t want to try to understand ourselves?
We, Icelanders, seem to have more interest in and opinions about where the headquarters of Landsbankinn should be than whether and where the natural history museum is. It seems that most people don’t care at all. This is not natural, and not good development. How many valuable items have to get lost and damaged before we wake up? I think this matter is a shame for us.
I think this is a national disgrace.
