The British Museum is located in central London and it attracts millions of visitors every year who are very much enthusiastic about expanding their knowledge on the culture and history of humans. A scientist by the name Sir Hans Sloane was the one who was responsible for establishing this museum as it was his collections which were first used to create the museum in the year 1753. After a gap of six years, the museum was finally opened to full public viewing in the year 1759. Over the course of the next 250 years, the museum has undergone several changes and it has been shifted across buildings to accommodate its ever increasing artifact collections which number more than 8 million. Hence, the British museum is widely regarded as one of the most influential museums in the world by its sheer number of artifacts which are also the most comprehensive in comparison to other museums of the world.
Every major culture in the world has a separate and dedicated department in the museum. For example, you can find departments which specialize in Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Middle East and European cultures. In these departments, you can find historical texts, manuscripts, artifacts, drawings, paintings, inscriptions and other items which are significant to each culture. Every single artifact on display is accompanied by a detailed explanation about it and why is it so significant in nature. There are also certain artifacts of great controversy like the Elgin Marbles obtained from the Parthenon.
If you like ancient coins, then you will definitely be impressed with the large numismatic collection that is up for display at the museum. More than one million coins are included in the collection and it happens to be the rarest and finest collections of all. Coins dating from 7th century BC can be seen by the visitors. The department of conservation and scientific research undertakes all the restoration of the artifacts and preserves them in the proper manner for the future generations to enjoy. There is a humongous library the size of several football fields that houses thousands of books that cover almost every topic under the sun. Plus, there are books which are related to the artifacts found in the museum. Some of the books date back to the era before Christ and are extremely rare.
Lectures and information sessions are held frequently at the museum for the benefit of students as well as general public. Most of them are free to attend and you can enhance you knowledge about history by attending them. In addition to that, guided tours are also available to tourists and locals who wish to have an experienced individual explaining to them the history behind each artifact. Admission to the museum is free and it is open from 10am to 5.30pm on all days and it will take more than a day to cover all the areas of the museum. There is a souvenir shop where you can buy gifts and replicas of important artifacts for your friends and loved ones so that you bring back something memorable for them.