IRELAND - DUBLIN'S WAX HEROES / IRLANDA - HÉROES DE CERA DE DUBLÍN

Hi my dear friends, do you like Museums? Today we are going to know  a bit more about a Wax Museum, in Dublin. I hope you'll like it and you'll go and visit it!

Hola mis queridos amigos, ¿os gustan los Museos? Hoy vamos a saber un  poquito más sobre el Museo de Cera de Dublín. ¡Espero que os guste y que vayáis a visitarlo!

Information: from Speak Up magazine.

Photos: www.mibauldeblogs  / www.tripdavisor  /  www.conociendo/  www.porconocer.

IRELAND  -  DUBLIN'S WAX HEROES

During the Renaissance, wax modelling was a respected art form. Today, there is something a bit old-fashioned about wax museums.  Yet even in these times of sophisticated entertainment, they remain popular.

Dublin's National Wax Museum is certainly helped by its location.  Since 2009, the Wax Museum has been based in an imposing historic building in the Temple Bar district, in the heart of the city.

EDUCATIONAL

Wax museums are...educational.  In Dublin the visit starts in a room with figures of the country's famous writers -Ireland has produced four Nobel Prize winners. From the Writers Room, a squeaky door leads down into the vaults where gold reserves and arms were kept in the past.  A ghostly voice accompanies visitors into the first of the rooms where the safes used to be.  Here the story of Ireland is told in simple language.  We meet St Patrick, the Vikings, VIPs from the Tudor period such as Queen Elizabeth I, rebelds against British occupation, and the peace process agents in Northern Ireland.  Upstairs there is an extensive interactive exhibit on Irish contributions to science -from the inventor of the rechargeable battery to the first person to artiticially split the atom.

FUN

Wax museum are...fun.  Here, the myths and legends of Ireland are presented in a lively, interactive way.  In one large room visitors can walk around between big names in music and show business, such as U2.  On the upper floor you can record a karaoke song.  In the cafeteria a wax figure is eternally reading a newspaper.

BIZARRE

Wax museums are definitely entertaining, but can be...well bizarre!  The Horror Room greets visitors with a barking werewolf guarding a quiet vampire. You can take a selfie being attacked by Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street. And -probably not for everyone- a 2€ coin gives you the opportunity to "electrocute" a death row inmate.

In some ways, wax museums seem to belong to another era, and Dublin's is no exception.

VOCABULARY

-SQUEAKY: chirriante  /  -TO LEAD: llevar, conducir  /  -VAULT: cámara acorazada  /  -SAFE: caja fuerte  /  -TO SPLIT: dividir  /  -UPPER: superior  /  -TO BARK: ladrar  /  -WEREWOLF: hombre lobo  /  -DEATH ROW: corredor de la muerte  /  -INMATE: preso.