Shining Lights
12 December 2010
When I first heard about Shining Lights, I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about it. How interesting could an exhibition about lighthouses be? Very, as it turns out!
The exhibition opened at the National Museum of Scotland the day after I went on maternity leave, back in October, so I hadn’t seen it yet as this week was my first visit back since then. With my sister and the baby in tow, or rather, she had us in tow, we spent over one and a half hours in the exhibition - although almost half an hour of that was spent with colleagues cooing over the baby^^
Shining Lights tells the story of Scotland’s lighthouses and also marks the 200th anniversary of the Bell Rock, the oldest surviving rock lighthouse in the world. It’s a relatively small gallery space, but admission is free and the exhibition design utilises the space very well. Uber-sized iconic photography and quotes from literature scattered around the gallery, a short introductory film, and a case with sea charts and navigational equipment from the 16th - 18th century set the scene. There then follow three sections, and to get the most out of the exhibition it’s recommended to follow them in chronological order.
The first section looks at early lighthouse history, including what you need to build a successful lighthouse (a constant beam of light, lenses and reflectors to transmit it over a distance, a unique flashing sequence to make it identifiable) and the duties of an 18th century lighthouse keeper. Several notable figures from the 17th to 19th century are introduced, and two interactives let visitors engage more with some of the lighthouse design concepts: one lets visitors try out the stability of two different architectural types of lighthouse, while the other invites them to explore reflection and retraction through different combinations of mirrors, prisms and lenses.
The second section is an ode to the Bell Rock, which was completed in 1810. It includes paintings of the Bell Rock by JMW Turner and A Macdonald of Arbroath (who also painted the walls of the lighthouse!) The Bell Rock was designed by Robert Stevenson, whose family subsequently designed and built almost every other lighthouse in Scotland.
The final section looks at the most recent history of Scotland’s lighthouses, with a further focus on the Stevenson family who dominated the lighthouse scene from the early 19th to mid 20th century, and eventually designed and produced lighthouses not only in Scotland but around the world. One major factor of this period was the automation of lighthouses, which began in 1894. Power sources moved from paraffin to electricity, and remote control, radio and radar eventually made lighthouse keepers redundant in 1998. As well as two films looking at lighthouse keepers and lighthouses today, there are two further interactives in this section: an interactive map showing when and where major lighthouses around Scotland were lit, and an AIS (automatic identification system) website with a live feed, where visitors can explore the types of ships sailing on the Scottish coast, where they are travelling to and from, and what cargo they are carrying.
And with that the exhibition comes full circle from the chronometers and astrolabes at the beginning of the exhibition. So, if you have some time to spare (and if you don’t, then you should make time^^), why not head down to the National Museum of Scotland and check out Shining Lights - you’ll find it illuminating!
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(Just a wee reminder that although I work for the National Museum of Scotland, this is a personal blog and all views and recommendations expressed here are my own. This review is based on personal visiting experiences family in my own time.)
