Manchester Museum

Who we are

Manchester Museum's collection is made up of 4.5 million items from the natural world and human cultures. Housed in a series of impressive Gothic style buildings at the heart of The University of Manchester, the Museum was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1885. The Museum, part of the University of Manchester, uses its collections of objects from anthropology to zoology, to promote understanding between cultures and develop a sustainable world. Manchester Museum offers a wide range of facilitated, hands-on sessions that use the collection to enhance the curriculum. The programme runs from Early Years through to Post-16 and beyond and covers topics such as the ancient Egyptians, the history of empire and environmental sustainability, linking to a wide range of subjects including Science, History, Citizenship and Art. They work closely with university academics and researchers to ensure pupils have access to current research happening here on the campus and see that what they learn in the classroom has genuine real world application. Many of the facilitators are current university researchers and are always happy to share their enthusiasm for their subject with your students as well as their own stories as to why they chose to go into higher education. A visit to the Museum can also be self-led by teachers and the Museum’s learning staff are always happy to offer suggestions for bespoke visits for specific classroom projects or school topics. The learning programme is designed to enhance your work in the classroom – sessions often involve object handling with real museum objects, a completely unique experience that prompts lots of questions and new lines of thought from students. Sessions are creative and allow plenty of opportunity for pupils to make choices, consider arguments, personalise the experience and their learning and make connections from the collection to their own lives. A visit to Manchester Museum is a memorable experience, one in which pupils have fun but also an amazing opportunity to come up close to objects linked to topics they are learning about in the classroom; anything from a fossil dating back millions of years, to an ancient Egyptian mummy or a fascinating display of insects from around the world.