Great 'Free UK Museums & Galleries' Hunt

Museumfan

Good to see so many families are getting out to all our wonderful museums and galleries! Kids in Museums, a charity, is pushing for them to be more family friendly. They have lots of tips and info on their website, a great manifesto, and organise the Guardian's Family Friendly Museum Award. Just google Kids in Museums to find their website.

sadler2121

Petersfield Museum and the Flora Twort Gallery both have free entry (Petersfield Hampshire). It is a local history Museum, art gallery (showing work from the local artist Flora Twort + temporary exhibitions) and historic costume display.

Also the Education Officer regularly runs activities for kids which are free (or they just ask for a voluntary donation!)

They have a facebook group which has updates on special events.

grpics

RAF Cosford aerospace museum is still free to get into, but they have recently started charging £3 for parking!
As there is no other realistic way of getting there, I view this as a stealth style entrance fee! :mad:
It's also stopped me dropping in now and again to use the cafe.

katrina_suzanne

Most of the events and exhibitions for the Manchester galleries and museums are updated on the Creative Tourist site - loads of free quirky events listed in the city guides - go to creativetourist.com/city-guides/2 for the exhibitions coming up.

(you'll need to copy & paste into your browser)

Jelliebeen

Don't know if anyone has mentioned the brilliant Pitt Rivers in Oxford. Free for both kids and adults. Full of finds, such as shrunken heads! http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/

It's an annexe of the Natural History Musuem in Oxford, also free and great for kids. http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/

Friendly_2

Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Bantock House Museum are both great venues in this area to visit for free with Bantock House Museum additionally being set in 43 acres of parkland which is also free to visit. Also, as been previously mentioned, Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is fantastic. You do have to pay for the car parking now but the cafe serves hot, cheap, wholesome food and the site is massive with plenty to do all day so I do not feel cheated to have to pay for the car parking which is per car and not per person any way - just fill the car up with people to keep value high :rotfl:

yorkshire_lass_3

If you decide to visit the Ulster Museum in Belfast please allow plenty of time if you need to find parking space as it's no easy task. Also be aware that it's closed on Mondays.

Bob_B_2

West Midlands Police have museums at Birmingham and Coventry. The museums deal with the social development of policing and highlight some of the more notorious cases, together with exhibits. They host Open Days throughout the year normally during the school holidays/half terms.

To find out check the website via google

hsbondgirl007

My top 5 alternative FREE places to go in (and around) Glasgow....

The Lighthouse - Scotland's centre for Architecture and Design, Free on a Saturday

Queens Park Glasshouses, includes the reptile house

GOMA - Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square

The Hidden Gardens, Tramway Theatre (next to Pollokshields East Train station, 1 stop from Central on the Newton Line)

Calderglen Park and mini zoo, featuring Meercats and Marmosets! East Kilbride

oldnewhand

A wet fortnight camping in South Wales found many free museums. It seems it's only the privately owned attractions that cost in this forward thinking country. Swansea was good but the Big Pit coal mine at Blaenavon was a fantastic experience. http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/