The Imperial War Museum had a makeover four years ago in 2014, and could you believe that it has been on my list to visit since then and I've only just recently got around to it. My goal was to see it before the end of 2014, but that just did not happen. So, with 2018 being the centenary of the end of World War I (The Great War), I knew I had to go. I decided to avoid Armistice weekend in early November and instead went the following weekend when I could still see the wave of ceramic poppies climbing up the facade of the museum. I thought that it would be quiet; boy, was I wrong!
The first attraction to see was the wave of poppies climbing up the side of the building. The ceramic poppies were first on display in the moat of the Tower of London in 2014 (read about them here: Tower of London Poppies - Jenikya's Blog). They became an instant sensation and a wave of them toured the country. Their final tour was at London's Imperial War Museum, which marked the end of the four years. The poppies were on display here for only a short time, and they have since completed their tour.
An anti-aircraft gun and a section from the Berlin Wall are also on display in front of the Imperial War Museum.
The interior of the museum has actually changed a lot, and it's actually not a very large building. I last visited the museum around twelve years ago. I remember that a lot of it seemed to focus on the Great War, and I particularly enjoyed the bit with a stretch of trenches with sounds that made visitors feel that they were actually in the trenches. I started on the top floor, which was primarily about the rise of Hitler. This continued into related subjects focusing on Europe in the same timeframe. There were some attractions with photographs and audio to remember the war, and the ground floor contained a lot of information about the Great War, but it was too busy to have a look.
I really wanted to go through the trenches again as that was my favourite part of the museum, but they have replaced them with a very small segment of "trench", and it's nothing like what it was before. I feel that they ruined it, and apparently a lot of visitors have said the same thing. I know that the area is not large, but they have crammed a lot in and I think some of the exhibits could have been excluded. I also remember more planes in the ground floor area, but a lot of these are removed now.
Overall, I left feeling a little disappointed with the Imperial War Museum because the trench was mostly removed and I didn't think some of the exhibits were the best use of space, and it was just too busy in the museum. I will probably attempt to go again and hope it is quieter so that I can take a look at the exhibits.
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