Manchester Museum

I really hate to leave bad reviews, especially for something that is free to the public, but as a resident of Manchester I was so disappointed in my recent visit, after waiting so long for the reopening.

My first issue was not much has changed, yes there is an extension which currently houses the Mummy exhibition, some much needed accessible toilets and a picnic area, but that’s about it. The picnic area is in the old cafe area and is much too small for its purpose. The rest of the museum is exactly the same, still very difficult to navigate with a wheelchair or pram, tiny lifts, exactly the same curation with old style displays and very little interactive elements, which I naively thought would all be overhauled in the renovation. The only addition I could see were some fairy lights.

The whole museum bottlenecks at the end where the shop used to be, with no means to exit so you have to fight your way back through the tiny stairwells or wait an eternity for a lift that lets about one pram and four people in at a time. At this point we were told by staff they could open the door to have us exit, but we would then have to rejoin the queue to retrieve our belongings from the lockers. Firstly this is very poor customer service and secondly the very same member of staff that said we would have to rejoin the queue, was seen letting people who had already been in the museum back in without queuing. With seven kids we decided to fight back through the bad layout and crowds to avoid having to stand outside in the rain again with very tired children.

The new shop is also poorly laid out, very crowded and difficult to navigate. Nothing was priced and the lady at the till seemed to be getting fed up with many constantly asking what price an item was.

I’m so disappointed to be writing this as we have been eagerly awaiting this museums reopening, but the extensive changes and cost seem to have been poorly spent and not worth it.

Manchester Museum is free entry, so I would recommend a visit if you are at a loose end because there are some interesting exhibits. I found the section on Manchester’s historic ties with China and South Asia particularly interesting.

There is also a vivarium with a range of amphibians, which seemed to be really popular with families.

Despite some of the interesting features, there were lots of bottlenecks and narrow staircases so it took a long time to get around given how busy it was. I would suggest a rethink of the layout to allow people to enter and exit the building more easily.

Also, we got lost a few times so more signposting please!

Not bad given that it’s free, but I’ve been to far superior museums.

I have been many times when I was younger but this was my first time in quite a few years. Granted they are doing building work, I assume to make more space for exhibits, it means that currently the space is limited so all the Egyptian section I remember as a child is nowhere to be found. The vivarium has grown in size which is lovely but I was a little bit distressed with the behaviour some of the larger reptiles showed. If you have children then it’s probably worth a visit for a free activity but as nothing much had changed in several years we were in and out in half an hour.

The Manchester Museum is a fun museum with great exhibits that has some small but embarrassing problems.

The Museum's big pull obviously is Stan the Tyrannosaurus Rex (replicated from the real Stan in Abu Dhabi). Stan is dated at 66 million years old. Right next to Stan is a small model Stegosaur exhibit, the notation given also dating to 66 million years making the T.Rex and Stegosaur contemporaries according to the museum.

Unfortunately, in reality, Stegosaurs date from 140-155 million years ago. No Stegosaurus ever met a T.Rex and T.Rexes are closer in time to humans than they are to Stegosaurs. This information is not hard to verify, I've known about it since GCSE Geology 25 years ago. The absolute minimum any museum should be achieving is correct dating.

I went on a friday morning when it was relatively quiet and even so it was starting to fill up by midday - I can certainly see how it could turn into a scrum, especially with lots of kids.

The top floor has a gallery where the museum is looking to display things in new ways and that this is a work in progress, which is fair enough. But of the numerous cabinets, only 3 or 4 are partially filled and the room is empty. Work in progress in a museum is fine, empty space and empty cabinets is just not. It feels unfinished and lazy and unprofessional and undermines what is being attempted. I do wish that all art professionals would read Peter Brook's The Empty Space.

Do I think the staff at the museum are lazy and unprofessional? No. I enjoyed my time there, the permanent exhibits are great, there's clearly thought going in to innovation and the floor staff were very friendly and helpful. No problem with them But I do think that things could be stepped up a gear at the museum. It feels like the management is just a little too cosy and relaxed when these are such small issues that can be easily corrected and could push the museum to much greater heights. A defined one way system, at least at the entrance, would sort out scrum crowding issues. Double checking the information on exhibits, especially the dating as multiple reviewers have now spotted basic dating errors, checkable on wikipedia in 2 seconds, roping off empty cabinets or unused rooms. The museum is great and it might seem uncourteous to criticise a museum that has free entry. It's just not currently the very best version of the museum that it could be and if I can spot easy solutions to those problems from in off the street, then the managers need to ask themselves what they are currently being paid for. A bit of dedicated focus on the visitor experience would work wonders here.

We’ve visited the museum countless times and have always had a really enjoyable trip.
This was no different.
However, with the “Ancient Worlds” section closed for refurbishment, it meant that our trip was quite short.
The museum is very much animal focused now with the latter being removed! Obviously fantastic for children, and my 5 year old had no complaints!
However, I do feel there is a little something missing.
On the plus, they have really thought out Covid situ. One way system and booking online.
Which meant it was nice & quiet, and we weren’t rushed through any of the displays.
Thoroughly enjoyed, but if not an animal lover then maybe not for you until refurb finished!

Manchester museum is probably the second best free museum after the one in Bolton in the Uk and well worth a visit but. food and drink in the cafe is massively expensive and they only seem to have vegan food available (my partner cant eat 99% of it due a soya been allergy). Get here early if you have booked an exhibition as the queues to get in are really long. We queuued for 45mins.

Smart renovation and wonderful displays. My 4 year old was mesmerised by the exhibits, especially the dinosaurs and golden mummies of Egypt exhibition. However, as the museum had just re-opened and it was half term, it was incredibly busy and we found navigating with a baby in a buggy very difficult. We spent a lot of time waiting for lifts (of which there are only 2) and struggling to move through the crowds. Other buggy and wheelchair users we spoke to were also frustrated by the queues for the crowded lifts. Perhaps some of the £15 million renovation spend should have been directed towards accessibility and more lifts. We used the new indoor picnic area, which was a great resource and nicely decorated. The toilets were very crowded and dirty by midday though. Gift shop was reasonably priced and had a nice selection. In summary, a wonderful and fun day out in beautiful surroundings with inspiring exhibitions. This is an amazing free resource. However more thought needs to be put into accessibility for buggys and wheelchairs etc. Some crowd management was perhaps needed today also. I would love to revisit on a quieter day.

This is on par with the natural history museum in London for its great depth of artefacts… the friendly staff and the fact it’s free!

Wonderful afternoon to be had exploring the exhibits… especially the Egyptian mummies which are on display

Would recommend a good few hours here to have a wander round at pace. Can imagine it’s quieter through the week but even with kids running everywhere it’s a great time

Visited with my 3 year old today and it’s nothing special, nothing really interactive for young children or much for them to do.

If you have a pram you’ll spend most of your time waiting for lifts. Most of the displays are average at best .. wouldn’t recommend driving a long distance to visit

My whole experience was a little tainted at the start. Parking is a bit of a challenge to find and while I was driving around in circles ( very poor parking signage) I went down a side street and ended up on Oxford Road where there is now a vehicle prohibition. I’m sure I will be getting a fine, exacerbated by the fact it’s a rental car and I’m from Canada. Should be a good credit card bill. Onto the museum. It’s actually free to get in but I made a contribution to visit the Egyptian mummies exhibit which is quite good! They did have a chronology poster that showed the Vesuvius eruption at 47 instead of 79 which is a bit strange for a serious museum. Some really good local finds in the archeology section. The social justice slant of some other exhibits wasn’t for me. It all felt very accusatory and preachy. I go to museums to explore our shared past, not the struggles of modern day refugees. It was quite moving to see the two casts from Pompeii, one of a female and the other a dog but not much information on them for something so iconic. Some missed opportunities at the Manchester museum. It needs to get back to basics and ditch the ‘struggle against colonialism and the patriarchy’ stuff and just educate us on those who came to Manchester before us.