Our Favourite Photos From #MuseumInstaSwap Week

This week, 10 of our favourite London museums have been buddying up to share photos of each others' collections, objects and buildings for #MuseumInstaSwap.

The reason? We named them the best museums to follow on Instagram, and you know, sharing is caring and all that. So they paired up and got snapping to point out their favourite parts of each others' collections. Here are some of the best:

Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum

Most people are aware of Eadweard Muybridge's photographic studies of horses in motion, but did you know his work also looked at a range of other animals? Our first #MuseumInstaSwap for #ThrowbackThursday looks at Muybridge's 'Ostrich Walking' from his 1887 Animal Location series, on display in @vamuseum's Photography gallery. This study of a modern dinosaur reminded us of some of the work our scientists are carrying out to determine the way the extinct animals may have moved. #bird #ostrich #history #TBT #Muybridge #NaturalHistory #Museum #VandA #vamuseum #NHM #vamcollections #MuseumInstaSwap: 10 London museums have paired up on @instagram this week to connect over stories and themes. Our partner is the inspiring @vamuseum. Follow #MuseumInstaSwap to discover some uncanny links between collections across the city.

A photo posted by Natural History Museum (@natural_history_museum) on Aug 27, 2015 at 3:31am PDT

We encourage to look at the ceiling when visiting an art institution … but also to look down when the floor is equally beautiful @natural_history_museum #MuseumInstaSwap Did you know that some of the mosaic floors at the V&A were made by 'lady convicts' in Woking Prison? Museum staff jokingly gave the mosaic a Latin name, 'opus criminale'.

A photo posted by Victoria and Albert Museum (@vamuseum) on Aug 27, 2015 at 3:26am PDT

Wellcome Collection and London Transport Museum

A complete Underground map with the lines mapped out using a ticket issued at each station. On display @ltmuseum, made by @mike_dipre. We’re fascinated by objects and the meaning we attribute to them, regardless of their function. In our Alice Anderson exhibition, items have been tightly bound with copper wire, preserving their outline but removing their function. Divested of purpose these objects appear suspended in time. We can’t help feeling the same way about these. Once an essential tool or currency for moving about the city, the tickets are now mementoes of the past and tangible objects of memory. A collection of tickets retained by passengers as souvenirs of a journey or experience take on another role after their original function has ceased. They have become objects in their own right. 10 London museums have paired up on @instagram this week to connect over stories and themes. Our partner is the great @ltmuseum. Follow #MuseumInstaSwap to discover some uncanny links between collections across the city. Click the link in our profile to find out more. #museum #instamuseum #tickets #memory #souvenir #memento #object

A photo posted by Wellcome Collection (@wellcomecollection) on Aug 25, 2015 at 7:45am PDT

Today for #MuseumInstaSwap we're looking at mementos, memory and possessions. This display item represents their collection of artificial limbs. You might wonder what prosthetics have to do with transport, but for us the connection was obvious. Transport for London’s Lost Property Office has been in existence for over 80 years. In that time they have collected and cared for all of the things that passengers have left behind. You may be surprised to learn that among those things have been a number of false teeth and prosthetic limbs. One would think these are not the kinds of things that are easy to forget! Other bizarre lost property items - among the usual umbrellas (over 10,000 per year) and mobile phones (over 20,000 per year) - have included a stuffed puffer fish, a samurai sword, human skulls, breast implants and a lawnmower. #DidYouKnow the computer system used by the Lost Property Office is called Sherlock, after the Lost Property Office's fictional Baker Street neighbour. London museums have paired up on @instagram this week for #MuseumInstaSwap, which aims to find and reveal the connections between stories and themes within our collections. Our partner is the wonderful @wellcomecollection #instamuseum #museum #medicine #lostproperty

A photo posted by London Transport Museum (@ltmuseum) on Aug 25, 2015 at 3:17am PDT

Imperial War Museum and British Museum

Today for #MuseumInstaSwap we're in the @britishmuseum photo archive. This time 76 years ago they began the evacuation of large parts of their collection to locations around the country - including Aldwych Tube in London and Aberystwyth Quarry in Wales - to protect them from damage during anticipated air raids. In 1939 the Museum and the National Library of Wales started work on a bombproof tunnel at Aberystwyth. This photograph shows the quarry in use, quite a different location!

A photo posted by Imperial War Museums (@imperialwarmuseums) on Aug 24, 2015 at 3:31am PDT

In the First World War Galleries of @ImperialWarMuseums there are many stories of what life was like for ordinary civilians. These ration books show how staple foodstuffs like meat, butter and sugar were carefully distributed in the UK, where hunger caused by naval blockages was a serious threat on the home front. The government introduced rationing in London early in 1918 and extended it nationwide by the summer. People now got fair shares of food and although supplies were limited, nobody starved. British civilians defied German expectations by accepting this state intrusion into their daily lives. Discover more stories from London’s museums with #MuseumInstaSwap MuseumInstaSwap

A photo posted by British Museum (@britishmuseum) on Aug 26, 2015 at 7:52am PDT

The Science Museum and Design Museum

After a fascinating visit to the @designmuseum, we're sharing our photos all this week for #MuseumInstaSwap. Find out more tomorrow. #stairs #architecture

A photo posted by Science Museum (@sciencemuseum) on Aug 23, 2015 at 1:49pm PDT

#MuseumInstaSwap How has design improved the way we communicate with each other? This switchboard, part of the Enfield Telephone exchange 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 Design Museum (@designmuseum) on Aug 24, 2015 at 5:42am PDT

Horniman Museum and Royal Museums Greenwich

Our first #MuseumInstaSwap pic is of the iconic clock face @royalmuseumsgreenwich to the Horniman clock tower here.

A photo posted by Horniman Museum and Gardens (@hornimanmuseumgardens) on Aug 24, 2015 at 4:02am PDT

It's the final day of our #MuseumInstaSwap @hornimanmuseumgardens. Luckily the sun's finally come out as they also have a beautiful park that we're off to explore.

A photo posted by Royal Museums Greenwich (@royalmuseumsgreenwich) on Aug 28, 2015 at 2:19am PDT