Last Sunday marked the opening of Barcelona’s Museu Blau, a brand new natural sciences museum at the Parc del Forum. The museum is housed in the Edifici Forum (Forum Building), the architectural centerpiece of the park, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. Previously home to a cultural exhibition showcasing Barcelona, this vast, blue triangle has long been viewed by many as an impressive but ultimately pointless structure. The multi-million Euro museum conversion breathes new life into both the building and into the park, and forms one of the four elements of the Natural Sciences Museum of Catalonia, distributed throughout Barcelona
Luckily for us, we were able to squeeze in a visit between our morning and afternoon Sphereing sessions, taking advantage of the temporary free entry. We oohed and aahed with everyone else at the giant beasties stalking around outside to promote the museum, which were sufficiently impressive to have a number of small children in tears.
The museum itself was well worth a visit, but we only really had time for a quick dash around the place this time. Their main collections include heaps of animals, fungi, minerals, fossils and more, all displayed to great effect – presumably much more so when you’re not busy elbowing your way through the opening-day hordes. There are lots of hands-on activities and interactive educational displays, with plenty to keep the little ones interested. So, if Sphereing, sunbathing or any of the Forum’s other offerings aren’t your cup of tea, there’s now yet another reason to visit the park, and the museum will undoubtedly form a great counterpoint to the Forum’s incredible upcoming Marine Zoo – more details on that when the project begins to take shape!
