Passing Time at the British Museum

The first academic experience of our journey began yesterday at the steps of the British Museum. With a map in hand, I entered the expansive building. At this point in the day, my body was feeling entirely jet-lagged. Little sleep on the plane and another full day meant that the museum map became harder and harder to interpret with each passing minute. Yet, I opened it anyway and tried to find an exhibit that intrigued me. I skimmed through the titles until I found myself stopping to locate an exhibit called "Clocks and Watches." The name itself thoroughly piqued my interest and I knew I had to find a way to get there, despite my confusion with the museum layout.

After spending 15 minutes wandering around completely lost, I finally approached upon rooms 38 and 39 of level 3. My eyes lit up as I saw the clocks covering the walls and heard the familiar sound of ticking. I traveled around the room, taking in all of the history within each clock. As I passed through the middle of the exhibit, I saw a huge set of gears turning within a glass case. I read the description on the accompanying plaque and found out that the piece in front of me was the Cassiobury Park Clock and was being used to explain how clocks function.

The Cassiobury Park Clock is a turret clock that was made in 1610 and installed in the clock tower in Cassiobury Park. It has 5 crucial elements that make it work as described by the image below:

Since our instruction for this museum visit was to individually examine a piece that intrigued us for 15-20 minutes, I knew that this would be the piece I would choose. I watched the gears twist and turn as I contemplated the concept of it. This clock is just a set of metal gears and rope, and yet it stands for what gives structure to society. Time is what keeps us moving forward and what numerically organizes our days. It's what causes us to be jet-lagged and to decide when we will perform daily tasks. The ticking of a clock requires energy just as our heart requires energy to beat. Each single part works together to transfer this energy into the seemingly simple task of keeping time. But yet, if this clock taught me anything, it is that time is complex.

-Chelsea Weber