"I'm a Consulting Detective" ... I Dabble With Poisons a Good Deal": The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes Portrait done by Sidney Paget, 1891, for the Strand magazine. Wikipedia
"You see," he explained, " I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stick it with such furniture as you choosse. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these has has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."
— Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet
Footprints, splatter patterns and the powers of observation mark the journey through The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes, opened at the Center for Science and Industry, Columbus, Ohio. The interactive experience combines science with history and culture to bring to life the historic underpinnings of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's rich and vibrant stories. The exhibit continues until September 8, 2014.
Museum visitors will learn how Sherlock Holmes, a scientific expert ahead of his time, used seemingly trivial observations of clues others missed to solve some of his era's most mysterious crimes. His practices and techniques, created in the mind of doctor-turned-author Conan Doyle, changed the way police work was conducted and remain in practice today. The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes features original manuscripts and period artifacts, investigative tools influenced and used by Sherlock Holmes, and interactive crime-solving opportunities. Guests will be transported into Sherlock Holmes' London to solve a crime in a world filled with innovation and experimentation – and just receiving its introduction to his ground-breaking methods.
"The Conan Doyle Estate can't remember an undertaking as involved and exciting as this one," says the Estate's US representative Jon Lellenberg: "Museum visitors will experience the scientific and literary ideas that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes, and Holmes' methods for investigating and solving crimes as the world's first consulting detective, and they will visit their two worlds, including the very rooms in which all this took place."
"COSI is excited to be the second host of this one-of-a-kind exhibition building on the compelling deductive reasoning of the favorite character, Sherlock Holmes," said David Chesebrough, Ed.D, president and CEO of COSI. "Guests will be able to immerse themselves into the world of Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street and solve an apparent crime using the deductive thinking Holmes is known for."
Exhibition guests will learn about the practices of Sherlock Holmes, the world in which Conan Doyle drew from to develop his stories, and the history of forensic science. The galleries in the exhibition include:
- Dr. Conan Doyle's Study – Conan Doyle, a scientifically educated physician, was a curious and tireless investigator his entire life. Guests will discover his world first as a medical student at Edinburgh University, then as an apprentice at Royal Surgeons' Hall, next as a practicing physician in Southsea, Portsmouth, and finally as a creator of literary genius who moved to London in the early 1890s and became a full-time author. On display will be an original manuscript, letters, and illustrations through which guests will gain perspective on the experiences that influenced Conan Doyle in creating Sherlock Holmes.
- Science and History – Sherlock Holmes solved mysteries using observation and solid scientific experimentation, something real-world detectives (police or private) had not fully embraced. Guests will participate in experiments of their own by exploring the developments in science and technology in the 1890s — developments that are still highly relevant today. Supported by forensics expert and crime historian E. J. Wagner, author of The Science of Sherlock Holmes, the exhibition digs into real forensic studies in order to demonstrate the link between the Sherlock Holmes stories, detective science and the world of today.
- Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street – Visit Sherlock Holmes' and Dr. Watson's sitting room at 221B Baker Street, London, where their investigations began and concluded looming large in popular imagination around the globe ever since the first Sherlock Holmes tale, A Study in Scarlet, in 1887. Poet Vincent Starrett said of the famed room: "Here dwell together still two men of note / Who never lived and so can never die . . . Here, though the world explode, these two survive / And it is always eighteen ninety-five."
- Become a Detective – Exchange the museum map for a book full of clues while hot on a trail to solve a remarkable murder. Using their own powers of observation, visitors can crack a new Sherlock Holmes mystery written exclusively for this exhibition by Daniel Stashower, the award-winning Conan Doyle biographer (author of Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle and co-editor of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters) and the author of new Sherlock Holmes stories as well.
- Culture of Sherlock – Pop culture enthusiasts will enjoy the exhibition's final gallery, housing a robust collection of all things "Sherlockian," ranging from vintage Sherlock Holmes-themed card games, comics, and magazines, to radio scripts, and movie and television show props and costumes. Featured are hero props from the Warner Bros.' current Sherlock Holmes movies set in the Victorian era, alongside costumes, props and behind the scenes tools from the hit CBS television shows Elementary and the BBC's Sherlock, both of which set Sherlock Holmes in the present day.
Upcoming Destinations:
St. Louis Science Center; opening 10/09/2014 — St. Louis, MO., Perot Museum of Nature & Science
Opening 02/12/2015 — Dallas, TX; Discovery Science Center
Opening 06/11/2015 — Santa Ana, CA
Denver Museum of Nature & Science; opening 10/15/2015 — Denver, CO
Editor's Tip: The Gutenberg Press has 121 of Arthur Conan Doyle's books to read: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/69
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