London Museums Are Buddying Up For Picture Swaps On Instagram

Never let it be said that Londonist doesn't inspire people. When we rounded up the best London museums to follow on Instagram, we even inspired the museums themselves to get creative. As a result, the ten museums that made our list have partnered up with each other this week for the first #MuseumInstaSwap.

People from each museum visited their partner museum to photograph objects that have similarities to objects in their own collections. Throughout this week, you can follow the #MuseumInstaSwap hashtag on Instagram (and Twitter too) to see what they dug up.

South Kensington neighbours Natural History Museum and V&A Museum have been popping across the road to take a look round:

The @natural_history_museum's building is a work of art in its own right. Here we look at its Romanesque #architecture and #terracotta #interiors. #MuseumInstaSwap Visit vam.ac.uk to find out about the V&A + @riba Architecture Partnership to promote the understanding and enjoyment of architecture

A photo posted by Victoria and Albert Museum (@vamuseum) on Aug 24, 2015 at 4:56am PDT

Medical science experts Wellcome Collection managed to find parallels between their own collection and the wealth of maps at London Transport Museum:

10 London museums have paired up on @instagram this week to connect over stories and themes. Our partner is the dynamic @ltmuseum. Maps of London in the @ltmuseum like this one remind us of a brain, both in terms of the aesthetic and the network of channels that allows the city/brain to function. Cities and brains are organised in similar ways: in the same way evolution has shaped the brain, we have shaped our cities, increasing organisation and efficiency. As they grow larger, both cities and brains become more densely interconnected in order to function. Follow #MuseumInstaSwap to discover some uncanny links between collections across the city. Click the link in our profile to find out more. #museum #InstaMuseum #art #science #brain #map #anatomy #connection #network #city

A photo posted by Wellcome Collection (@wellcomecollection) on Aug 24, 2015 at 6:20am PDT

When the Imperial War Museum and the British Museum got together, there was always going to be some history of London during the war. But did you know that the British Museum was used as part of the 'Prisoners of War Information Bureau' during the First World War?

In the photo archives at @imperialwarmuseums we discovered that the British Museum was used as part of the 'Prisoners of War Information Bureau' during the First World War. The bureau, based at 49 Wellington Street in London, compiled a register of all foreign enemies, combatant and civilian, who were interned in any part of the British Empire during the war. The property of these prisoners of war was stored at the British Museum, where they were catalogued and, in the event of the POW’s death, returned to their friends and relatives. This photo shows the (mainly female) staff undertaking this colossal task in one of the Museum’s store rooms. It is such a moving, untold story, that shows both the human cost of the conflict and the administrative machinery of the war effort. Discover more connections between London’s museums using #MuseumInstaSwap this week. © IWM (Q 27710)

A photo posted by British Museum (@britishmuseum) on Aug 25, 2015 at 3:16am PDT

The Science Museum and Design Museum cover most aspects of objects between them:

#Repost @designmuseum for #MuseumInstaSwap How has design improved the way we communicate with each other? This switchboard shows where operators would work to establish connections. #DesignMuseum #design #ScienceMuseum #science - 10 London museums have paired up on @instagram this week to connect over stories and themes. Follow #MuseumInstaSwap to see @sciencemuseum through the @designmuseum lens.

A photo posted by Science Museum (@sciencemuseum) on Aug 24, 2015 at 10:45am PDT

No trip to the Horniman Museum is complete without a photo of the Horniman walrus. Royal Museums Greenwich has plenty of walrus-related artefacts in its own collection:

A visit to @hornimanmuseumgardens wouldn't be complete without saying hi to this guy. Lots of #walrus related material entered our collection as a result of 19th century trade with the Inuit but none has its own Twitter account! #MuseumInstaSwap

A photo posted by Royal Museums Greenwich (@royalmuseumsgreenwich) on Aug 24, 2015 at 8:59am PDT

If you find yourself in a museum over the bank holiday weekend, you can get involved too. Share photos of items that you think would work well in a particular museum. Find out more here.

#MuseumInstaSwap is taking place until this Sunday — follow the action on Instagram and Twitter.