Free self-led visits

Cost: Free

To ensure that school groups are able to make the most of their museum visit, we require all school groups to book in with us.

Free self-led visits include:

• Access to galleries
• Free tickets to visit our Special Exhibition Wild (until summer 2025)
• Coat storage
• A reserved 30 minute lunch slot in our picnic area (full day visits only)
• Hazard ID & Risk Assessment documents.

Full day self-led visits:

Bring your class for a full day visit to the museum! We have 3 different timetables available every day, all including a scheduled 30 minute lunch slot in our picnic area. Book your full day self led visit now.

Small group full / half day visits: (maximum 12 pupils):

We encourage smaller groups (maximum 12 pupils) to book in with us for a full day visits so that we can provide you with a timetable that will meet your needs. Booking enquiries for groups of 12 pupils or fewer can be made using our small groups booking enquiry form.

Afternoon (half-day) visits:

If you wish to bring your group for an afternoon visit after lunch (arrival from 1.30) please complete our booking enquiry form.

BOOK A FULL DAY SELF-LED VISIT

Free Resources

We have produced a detailed Gallery Guide to support teachers to make the most of their visit to the museum. You can access this free resource along with our museum map here.

The Big Question: Where do objects belong?

This free resource supports students to think critically about where ancient objects ‘belong’. You can use this to support a visit, particularly if you’re interested in identity, belonging, migration and movement topics. Access the resource booklet here.

Decolonise! Trail

Our Decolonise! Trail is an invitation to reflect on the Museum’s past, present and future. It is an intervention with stops along the trail to disrupt the white, Eurocentric, colonial worldview that has shaped the museum’s presentation of history. Along the trail you will address questions such as: How did the collections in this museum get here? Whose stories are told across the galleries? How do museums shape our understanding of the world?

Find out more about the trail here.

Download pdf Decolonise! Trail

Careers Support

Cost: Free 

We are pleased to offer a limited number of Digital Careers Assemblies; bringing together a panel of curators, conservators, and other members of staff from across the museum. After an introduction to careers in Manchester Museum, staff members will share their own career journeys and experiences, before handing over to a Q&A session with students.

Please contact barinur.rashid@manchester.ac.uk with your preferred date(s), time(s) and topic(s) and we will try to accommodate your request.

Sign up to our Secondary & Post-16 e-newsletter to hear about our new programmes and offers as we launch them.

Museum Careers Resources

Cost: Free

We have produced a series of free online Careers Resources to offer practical advice and shed light on the types of museum careers that are available to you. These resources capture the breadth of roles that museums offer and provide advice and guidance to support students to seek and apply for roles in the sector.

Work Experience Placements

Manchester Museum offers two set work experience weeks in July to support Year 10 and Year 12 students to gain experience of museum work and develop transferrable skills within the workplace.

For more information about work experience at Manchester Museum and how to apply for a placement in July 2025, please visit our Work Experience page.

Please note that the deadlines for Y10 and Y12 work experience in July have now passed. We will be opening applications for July 2026 placements in September.

Carbon Ruins Manchester

Cost: Free

Manchester Museum is delighted to offer our Carbon Ruins Manchester programme for KS3 & KS4. Carbon Ruins offers a creative and hopeful way to approach the pressing issue of climate change.

The year is 2050 and you are the curator of an exhibition, Carbon Ruins. The exhibition celebrates our achievement of net zero emissions and contains objects from the Fossil Era back in the 2020s; telling the story of how they fell out of use or were replaced by something else. Your task is to select an object from the Fossil Era that represents the change that has happened to reach net zero, and to create a label that tells the story of that change.

Carbon Ruins Resources

Please visit our dedicated Carbon Ruins Manchester site to find out more about the programme and access our free resources.

Things to know before you visit

Getting here   

There is a drop-off point for coaches outside the museum on Oxford Road. Minibuses can park at Cecil Street car park. The museum is also on a major bus route and a short walk from rail and tram stops. Plan your visit here.

There is limited disabled parking available for school group transport. Please contact school.bookings@manchester.ac.uk to discuss this or include this information in your booking or enquiry.

Space for everyone   

• All of our programming has been made with SEND in mind.
• We are working on video tours and additional information to support students with SEND and help them prepare for a visit to the museum.
• Our lifts offer step-free access to all museum spaces.

Please let us know of any access requirements when you book your visit. More information on accessibility can be found here.

Risk assessments and group visits  

• Our Museum Hazard ID document and General Site Risk Assessment are available to support you to produce your own risk assessment for your visit. You are welcome to arrange booking a site visit ahead of your school visit to carry out your risk assessment and we are happy to arrange for you to meet a member of the team. Please email school.bookings@manchester.ac.uk to arrange this.
• Teachers (or other accompanying adults) remain responsible for the general health and safety of children during their visit. Teachers (or other adults) should remain with their primary and secondary school groups at all times.
• The minimum adult to pupil ratios that we recommend for schools visits is: 1:6 for Early Years & KS1; 1:8 for KS2, 1:15 for KS3, KS4 & Post-16. Note this excludes adults providing 1:1 support.

Facilities  

• View the museum map here and the map for schools (including the Zones referred to on your timetable).
• There is a picnic area on the ground floor next to the Main Hall. Space will be allocated for school groups through the booking process.
• The Museum Shop is full of souvenirs inspired by our collections and prices start from 50p. You can pre-book goodie bags starting from £3 per child after you have made your booking.
• There is a water fountain in the Welcome Area.
• We are able to arrange for storage of coats, bags and lunches for school groups through the booking process.
• We have lots of toilets throughout the museum including a fully accessible Changing Places toilet and all-gender toilets.

Find more information to help plan your visit