Why go

The University of Manchester’s museum is one of the best free days out in the city. Behind a neo-Gothic front on Oxford Road it mixes natural history, archaeology and living cultures, and it has reinvented itself in recent years with new galleries made with communities in Manchester and beyond. Children come for the dinosaurs; adults tend to stay for the South Asia and Chinese culture galleries.

What to see

  • Fossils and Dinosaurs. Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex and April the Tenontosaurus, on the ground floor.
  • Egypt and Sudan. Stories of the people of north-eastern Africa from around 3000 to 30 BCE.
  • South Asia Gallery. A partnership with the British Museum on South Asian and British Asian culture.
  • Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery. Personal stories of migration and friendship.
  • Living Worlds and Minerals. How people depend on and affect nature, and the stories behind the rock and mineral collections.
  • Magic Place. A winter digital funhouse where your movements shape the lights and sound, from 28 November 2026 to 17 January 2027.

Plan your visit

The museum is closed on Mondays. It opens 10am to 5pm on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10am to 9pm on Wednesday, and 8am to 5pm on Saturday. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. On Saturdays, 8am to 10am is Quiet Time, when only the Belonging Gallery, Archaeology, Egypt and Sudan and the Chinese Culture Gallery are open, along with the shop and café. The museum closes early at 5pm on 16 December and 4pm on 17 December.

The Vivarium, with its live frogs and reptiles, and Nature’s Library are closed until May 2027.

The museum is about a 14-minute walk from Oxford Road station and 17 minutes from St Peter’s Square tram stop, and many buses run along Oxford Road. Bus gates operate on Oxford Road from 6am to 9pm, so drivers should use the university car parks; Car Park D on Booth Street West (M15 6FH) is the closest.

Tickets and saving money

Everything is free, including exhibitions. You need to book in advance for Magic Place. The café on the ground floor opens 10am to 5pm when the museum is open.

Accessibility

The museum publishes an access page and an Easy Read guide, and a mobile-friendly museum map is available on its website. Contact the visitor team on 0161 275 2648 with specific questions.

Nearby

The Whitworth art gallery is a short walk south on Oxford Road, and the university campus around University Green has cafés and bars.