Put Kate and Kylie 'in museum'

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Musuem pieces? Model Kate Moss (above) and singer Kylie Minogue

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• Model Moss tops celebrity museum poll

Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue and the iPod should be preserved in museums as icons of our time, according to a survey published today.

They were among the top answers when members of the public were asked which famous faces and everyday objects best represent Britain in 2007.

Meanwhile, the Routemaster bus, the telegram, the corset and the wind-up gramophone were chosen as the museum pieces which should be brought back into everyday use.

The survey was carried out by the Campaign for Museums to mark Museums and Galleries Month. Supermodel Kate Moss topped the list of celebrities who should become museum pieces.

She was deemed more influential than Nelson Mandela, who was ranked in second place.

Celebrity Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty was joint third with Harry Potter author JK Rowling.

Doctor Who actor David Tennant, singers Kylie Minogue and Lily Allen, 007 heart-throb Daniel Craig and environmental campaigner Al Gore were also picked, while Chancellor Gordon Brown just missed out on a top 10 place.

Prime Minister Tony Blair was not mentioned. Male respondents put Shetty in first place, while the over-65s chose Mandela.

Asked which everyday modern object should be preserved as a museum piece, top choice was the iPod.

The travel Oyster Card was second, followed by the low energy lightbulb and the "blog", or internet weblog.

Botox also appeared in the list. The survey of nearly 1,400 people also asked which current museum piece should be brought back into everyday use.

The London Routemaster bus, scrapped in 2005 and replaced by the unpopular "bendy buses", was the runaway first choice.

The steam train, the rocking horse, the telegram, the corset and the wind-up Gramophone were also chosen.

Asked which historical figure should be brought back to life, Leonardo da Vinci was number one, ahead of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare.

Loyd Grossman, chairman of the Campaign for Museums, said: "Museums and galleries play a vital role in both preserving and shaping the nation's identity and in keeping the past alive.

"The results of the survey offer an insight into how we perceive ourselves and how we would like to be remembered in the future - although whether Kate Moss will bear comparison with Leonardo da Vinci remains to be seen!"

Survey Results

Which person would you preserve and put in a museum to represent 2007?

1 Kate Moss
2 Nelson Mandela
3 Shilpa Shetty
3 JK Rowling
5 David Tennant
6 Kylie Minogue
7 Lily Allen
7 Daniel Craig
9 Al Gore
10 Gilbert and George

Which object in a UK museum or gallery would you bring back into everyday use?

1 Routemaster bus
2 Steam train
3 Rocking horse
4 Telegrams
5 Corset
6 Wind-up Gramophone
7 Ink pen
8 Penny Farthing bicycle
9 Pocket chain/watch
10 Slate board

What everyday object from today should be preserved in a museum to reflect the identity of 2007?

1 iPod
2 Oyster card
3 Low energy light bulb
4 Blog
5 Nintendo Wii
6 Hybrid Fuel Car
7 Takeaway coffee
8 Blackberry
8 Packet of cigarettes
10 Botox

Which historical figure represented in a museum would you bring back to life?

1 Leonardo da Vinci (Science Museum)
2 Elizabeth I (National Portrait Gallery)
3 William Shakespeare (National Portrait Gallery)
4 Gandhi (National Portrait Gallery)
5 Jane Austen (Jane Austen Centre, Bath)
6 John Lennon (National Museums, Liverpool)
7 Marilyn Monroe (Tate Modern)
7 Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Brunel Museum, London)
9 Cleopatra (British Museum)
9 Charles Darwin (Down House, Kent)

 

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