The Sammy Ofer Wing Opens

13 July 2011
The brand, spanking, shiny new Wing at the National Maritime Museum opens to the public tomorrow, 14 July, and should be added to your must-go-and-visit list as soon as possible.

If you haven't got a list, start one now. Write down the names of some places you've already visited, so you can cross them out and feel good about yourself, (a bit like a To Do list) then write in big letters Go To The Sammy Ofer Wing at the National Maritime Museum.

I know this is a good idea because I went for a look around today and it's fantastic. The entrance is down a long water-featured slope which opens out to Greenwich Park and into a bright and spacious entry hall with a smart cafe to your left.

Directly in front of you is the permanent Gallery - Voyagers. It's a long, elegant room dominated by The Wave, a "dynamic, wave-like structure featuring bespoke video projections and a specially-designed soundscape", according to the Museum.

It's actually hard to tell what it is because words and pictures roll across it in a mad, beautiful rush that melds and changes all the time, just like the sea itself. I loved it.

There's also a wallful of objects and personal testimonies telling the story of Britain's involvement with the sea over the last 500 years, including Nelson's last letter to his daughter and the toy pig that survived the Titanic.

Downstairs is the new Wing's first exhibition, High Arctic, which "uses a combination of sound, light and sculptural forms to create an abstracted arctic landscape for visitors to explore."

Again, I loved this and spent a long time wandering - I won't say too much so you can find out about it for yourselves. They give you an ultraviolet torch when you go in - make sure you point it everywhere you can think of - it does stuff...

Upstairs there's a bright and perky brasserie, with extra outdoor balcony seats, all of which overlook the park and the paths up to the Royal Observatory. The Caird Library is also on this floor, in another long and scholarly room lined with books and filled with study areas, IT and helpful librarians.

Beyond all of this lies the rest of the Museum, for goodness sake, stuffed with historical objects, paintings, Nelsonian relics, small boats, barges, models and lots of hands-on games for calming frisky kids.

By the way, I took the not very good picture of High Arctic and about six of The Wave, all of which were rubbish, so you'll just have to go and see it for yourself, won't you?

---