Kali and Shiva, The Horniman Museum. Photo: Horniman Museum

This spring, Lewisham’s Horniman Museum plays host to a historical relic trail, allowing children and adults alike to discover some of the treasures of the museum collection.

The Relic trail is inspired by the CBBC series Relic: Guardians of the Museum and has been very well received since it opened this week. Ellen Morgan of the Horniman Museum told East London Lines that:

“Visitors are enjoying the challenges and being able to relate the CBBC series to their local museum. The Relic trail draws visitors’ attention to some of our objects that they may not have noticed before, and encourages them to look at them in a new and challenging way”.

The Horniman Museum is one of several museums across the country that are partaking in A History of the World – a joint project between the BBC and the British Museum. The Horniman is home to one of ten objects from London that are featured in the BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects – a Kali and Shiva statue (pictured, above).

But the project also has enough room for each individual museum to adapt the scheme to their own collections. Hence there is also a place on the trail for a glass armonica  from the museum’s internationally renowned Music Gallery, as well as the visitor favourite, and famously over-stuffed, walrus in the Natural History Gallery (pictured, below).

A walrus at the Horniman Museum. Photo: Tine Hvidsten

Here is Jo Hatton, Horniman’s Keeper of Natural History, talking about the history and appeal of that very big and very odd-looking creature:

The Relic trail is free at the Horniman Museum and Gardens.