Today's museum combines the original natural history museum, the older of the two buildings in the picture, with a newly constructed history museum. From the inside it is all one building and very well integrated. There is a great feeling a space despite the huge number of objects on display.

This is looking at the old building, what used to be the outside of it, from inside the new building, which is now joined with it. The join up works very well and reminds me of the extension to Clontarf Castle and of the extension to the old Wexford town hall. Beautifully integrated jobs.

This Columbia Printing Press was designed by an American, George E. Clymer, in 1813 to print newspapers. It didn't prove popular in the USA but caught on in Britain. This one was made in Edinburgh around 1860 by D & J Grieg, when Edinburgh was a major centre of the publishing industry. It was purchased by the Museum in 1865 and used to print labels for nearly 100 years until 1964. Beautiful piece of machinery.

This gibbet was built in 1564 and was known as "The Maiden", arising from a prolongued period shortly after its construction during which is was not used. During its lifetime, 1654 to 1710, it was used to execute more than 150 people.

As I was passing down one of the corridors, a framed flag hanging down from the ceiling caught my eye. It looked both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It took me a while to realise that it was a Union Jack minus the cross of St. Patrick. It is a combination of the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew and was the Scottish Union flag between 1606, when Scotland was joined with England and Wales to form the Kingdom of Britain, and 1801 when Ireland joined the Union and St. Patrick's cross was incorporated into the flag.

Some Scots, however, objected to the cross of St. George taking precedence and flew their own flag, including over Edinburgh Castle, with the cross of St. Andrew in the prominent position.

Finally a copy of the effigy of Mary Queen of Scots on her tomb in Westminster Abbey.