Accessibility
The Museum
Step free, with an automatic door.
Lift access to all floors.
Accessible toilets located throughout the Museum.
Guide and hearing dogs are welcome and water bowls are available from the Information Desk.
Available from the information desk:
Free wheelchairs available to borrow.
Tactile maps (with Braille and large print labels) - includes a tactile tour and description of floor surfaces (also available as word documents at the bottom of this page).
Large print maps.
Large print and Braille copies of our events & exhibitions guide.
To be added to our large print or Braille events & exhibitions guide mailing list, please phone 0161 275 2648 or email museum@manchester.ac.uk
Audio guides
Audio guides featuring a general description of the whole Museum and detailed descriptions of the Fossils (Pre-historic Life) gallery are available from the Information Desk. To download the audio guides to your iPod or other portable MP3 player before your visit, visit our Audio Guides page.
Collections and exhibitions
Object handling tables: these can be found around the Museum daily between 11am and 3pm. You can handle objects from our collection and raised images of objects from our collection, all explained by our Museum volunteers.
Tactile maps and tactile tour: our tactile maps include a tactile tour of the Museum, which is also in a word document at the bottom of this page.
If you would like to handle objects that are not part of the tactile tour, please let us know before your visit and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
If you would like to find out what galleries and facilities are on which floor of the Museum, please see the Museum Map and What's on which floor PDFs at the bottom of this page.
Transport and parking
Disabled parking spaces: there are a limited number of disabled parking spaces outside the main entrance. From Oxford Road turn onto Booth Street West by the Royal Northern College of Music. Immediately after passing Manchester Business School on your left, turn left towards the multi-storey car park. At the security barrier state that you wish to use the Museum's disabled parking spaces. Go straight on and turn left at the T-junction. Parking spaces are on the left near the front entrance to the Museum. If these spaces are full, there are disabled parking bays in Booth Street West Car Park D. See the how to get here PDF below.
Bus: the Museum is served by many bus routes, including the 41, 42, 43, 48, 111, 85, 86, 147 and 250.
Train: the nearest train station is Oxford Road.
For further directions and public transport information:
For directions from the train station and bus stops see the How to get here PDF at the bottom of this page.
Visit our Maps and Travel page.
For local bus and rail information (including wheelchair accessible buses) phone the Greater Manchester Public Transport Information Line on 0871 200 22 33 or visit http://www.gmpte.com/
Henshaws Society for Blind People
Staff, volunteers and visually impaired service users at Henshaws Society for Blind People visit us regularly, as they consider the Museum to be a good place to visit for people who are blind or have a visual impairment.
"It is rare to be allowed to handle exhibits in a museum - but Manchester Museum make this possible, and with an audio guide with description. We always receive a warm welcome from the staff. That's why we visit so often and are always willing to contribute to the museum's efforts surrounding accessibility for people who are blind or visually impaired."
Mary Gifford, Henshaws' Art Galleries and Museums Co-ordinator
"It's one of the best trips we've had. It's good to experience such a privileged and extreme choice of exhibits and the staff here always enhance the experience, because they are friendly and inclusive. The way they present and impart knowledge really shows they have great pleasure in sharing what they know. Their enthusiasm for their subject comes through in a really accessible way."
Karin McGuire, Henshaws' service user