Why the Bristol Museum is a must-visit destination for all ages

Upon entering the museum, one of the first sights that greets you is a biplane hanging from the ceiling. This is the Bristol Boxkite, a replica of the 1910 aircraft that was built from original plans for the 1964 film Those Magnificent Men And Their Flying Machines. The Boxkite hangs from the impressive arched glass ceiling of the front hall, also known as the Winterstoke Hall, which leads through to the Wills Hall and its grand double staircase. Leading off these two halls are the ground floor exhibition rooms.

The South West Wildlife exhibit offers a glimpse into the wildlife of the wetlands around Bristol and environs, including a freshwater aquarium. The ground floor is also home to the museum’s archaeology collections from ancient Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome, including genuine mummies and Assyrian wall decorations. The Curiosity gallery contains artefacts from all around the world and a special discovery area for younger children, where they can learn about the stories behind some of the museum’s ancient wonders.

There are also regularly changing exhibitions in some of the galleries downstairs, so make sure to check in advance to see what’s on. The ground floor also houses the museum’s excellent café and gift shop, for refreshment breaks and souvenirs that include Wallace & Gromit gifts, books on Banksy and prints by local Bristolian artists.

One of the stars of the first floor of the Bristol Museum is Alfred, the gorilla who commands the attention of visitors to the World Wildlife Gallery, an exhibition of endangered or extinct animals. After meeting Alfred, younger visitors can compare their hand size to his and learn more about these giant apes and other animals and how they’ve adapted to their environments. This gallery is also home to a brilliant specimen of a Tasmanian tiger, which is officially extinct, even though some Tasmanians may beg to differ. The tiger isn’t the only impressive extinct creature on the first floor, as evidenced by Theco, the Bristol Dinosaur, and scelidosaurs, the best-preserved dinosaurs ever found in Britain.

We then move from animals to minerals, with a glittering display of crystals and gemstones, while the geology section has some truly remarkable fossils displaying creatures from millions of years ago. Head to the first floor’s balcony for an even better view of the Boxkite that hovered above your head when you entered, and journey around the balcony for a trip through Bristol of times since past. 

Bristol Museum & Gallery hosts temporary exhibitions that tend to last from six months to a year. Past highlights include a ‘surprise’ Banksy exhibition that arrived with no fanfare, but quickly became a roaring success. If you’re visiting in 2017, look out for the Pliosaurus exhibition and meet Doris, the only specimen of her kind in the world. If you want a museum experience with a touch of intrigue, keep an eye out for the museum’s regular murder mystery nights.