London is undisputedly home to some of the best museums in the world. This includes iconic institutions such as the V&A and the Natural History Museum, as well as hidden gems like the Postal Museum. There are also many newer venues, for example, the Vagina Museum and the Migration Museum.
But to only focus on the best museums of the capital city is to miss out on an enormous range of captivating museums across the United Kingdom.
From leading art galleries and stunning period buildings to living history museums, historic ships and fascinating science museums, here is our list of the best museums outside of London that the UK has to offer, in alphabetical order.
1. The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford
By far the oldest entry on our list of the best museums in the UK outside London, the Ashmolean‘s first building was founded in 1683. This makes it Britain’s first public museum. The University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology, it holds a large and wide-ranging collection spanning a time period from 8000 BC to the present day. This covers everything from Egyptian mummies to contemporary art.
Its significant collections include Pre-Raphaelite paintings, majolica pottery, and English silver. It also holds a strong collection of Greek and Minoan pottery and antiquities from Ancient Egypt and Sudan. The Ashmolean has also exhibited work by the humanoid AI robot artist, Ai-Da.
In 2016, the Ashmolean opened new galleries of 19th-century art.
Speaking to blooloop in 2016, the museum’s director Dr Alexander Sturgis said:
“It’s often been described as a collection of collections. It’s got these pockets of huge significance and depth in terms of collections. But because the collection is so various, people have special relationships, often with particular parts of the museum. In some ways, it feels like lots of small museums as well as being this one great institution.”
In 2023, the Ashmolean took the decision to remove the name of the Sackler family from its buildings, galleries and job titles. The changes follow accusations that the family has profited from the US opioid crisis.
2. The Beatles Story, Liverpool
Liverpool’s The Beatles Story is located on the city’s Royal Albert Dock. It tells the story of the much-loved band and explores its connection with the city.
Visitors can enjoy recreations of locations and scenes that played a pivotal part in the band’s journey. For example, the Casbah Coffee Club, Mathew Street, The Cavern Club and Abbey Road Studios. The museum also exhibits numerous Beatles artefacts, like John Lennon‘s glasses and George Harrison‘s first guitar.
The Beatles Story attracts an international audience and also offers multimedia ‘Living History’ guides with every ticket purchased. These are available in twelve different languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Korean.
As one of the UK’s best museums outside of London, it has won several awards in recent years. This includes receiving the ‘People’s Choice’ award in 2017 and 2018 at the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards, ‘Best Pop Culture Visitor Attraction’ at the LUXlife 2022 Hospitality Awards, ‘Individual Attraction of the Year’ at the UKInbound’s Annual Awards for Excellence 2022, and ‘Best UK Museum’ at Tiqets’ Remarkable Venue Awards 2024.
3. Beamish Museum, Beamish
Beamish was established in 1972 and was one of the pioneers of the open-air museum concept. Its creator, Dr Frank Atkinson, found inspiration from his visits to Scandinavian folk museums in the early 1950s. He wanted to create an open-air museum in the same style for the North East.
The museum’s website explains: “[Atkinson] realised the dramatically-changing region was losing its industrial heritage. Coal mining, shipbuilding and iron and steel manufacturing were disappearing, along with the communities that served them. Frank wanted the new museum to “illustrate vividly” the way of life of “ordinary people” and bring the region’s history alive.”
In 2021, Beamish received a Capital Kickstart Fund award of £975,500 from the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund. The funding supports the museum’s Remaking Beamish project. This includes the addition of a 1950s town and 1950s farm, as well as an expansion of the 1820s area. The 1950s town will include houses, shops, a café, and a playground. Old miners’ homes will also become a centre for people living with dementia and older people.
Samantha Shotton, COO at Beamish, told blooloop: “It’s very exciting. It’s been a decade-long project. With help from everybody who buys a National Lottery ticket, the National Heritage Lottery Fund contributed over £10 million. So, it became a £20 million project. We have delivered around 21 different exhibits through that, which is fantastic. We’ve done a little bit of everything.”
In 2024, the museum opened a recreated cinema, a toy shop, and a tavern as part of the project.
4. Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon
Big Pit was a working coal mine from 1880 to 1980. It then reopened as a visitor attraction, Big Pit National Coal Museum, in 1983. Its goal is to preserve the Welsh heritage of coal mining.
Big Pit’s acclaimed underground tour gives visitors a chance to see what life was like for coal miners, as they descend 300 feet to explore a section of original underground workings. A real miner guides visitors during the experience, and they wear the same equipment as the miners. This includes helmets, cap lamps, belts, batteries and a ‘self-rescuer’. There is also a multi-media tour of a modern coal mine with a virtual miner.
Big Pit is part of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, a World Heritage Site, and run by Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.
5. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is home to a collection of international importance covering fine art, archaeology, metalwork, ceramics, local history, jewellery, natural history, ethnography, and industrial history. It also holds a significant collection of paintings from the 14th to the 21st century. This includes the world’s largest collection of works by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones.
The museum has been undergoing a major refurbishment, including essential work to the heating, electrics, lifts and roofing. In April 2022, the museum temporarily reopened to the public. Refurbished spaces including The Round Room gallery, Industrial Gallery, Bridge Gallery and Edwardian Tearooms opened in 2024.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is run by Birmingham Museums Trust, which also operates eight other museums around the city.
In 2021, Linda Spurdle of Birmingham Museums Trust, and Yarden Yaroshevski of StikiPixels, spoke to blooloop about the Occupy White Walls (OWW) project. This draws artworks from the Trust’s collections into a game centring on a virtual art gallery.
6. Black Country Living Museum, Dudley
Covering 26 acres, the Black Country Living Museum is the largest open-air museum in the UK. The collection of rebuilt historic buildings is located in the centre of the Black Country, 10 miles west of Birmingham.
As they explore the reconstructed shops, pubs and houses, visitors interact with historic characters. These actors help to show what it was like to live and work in one of Britain’s first industrialised landscapes. The Black Country Living Museum was also the location for parts of the hit TV show Peaky Blinders.
In the Forging Ahead project, the museum has recreated a 1940s to 1960s town. In 2024, it opened three new shops on its high street. Each was created with support from the Black Country community which donated items including Airfix models, birthday cards, motorcycle helmets and rucksacks.
Speaking about the Forging Ahead project, Andrew Lovett, the museum’s chief executive said:
“It was about taking us back into living memory; that was a big thing. Until we did Forging Ahead, you had to be in your eighties to have a living memory of the later things that we’d got on site. I’m sitting above a motorbike shop here, and outside my window is a great row of buildings set in the 1930s. That was the latest bit. You’d have to be in your eighties-plus to remember that era. We wanted to get closer to more people’s living memory.
“We have been developing buildings, shops, and stories that go through into the forties, the fifties, and the sixties, coming a little closer to contemporary modern life, to make the joining up of dots of history a bit easier.”
7. The Burrell Collection, Glasgow
The Burrell Collection consists of nearly 9000 artefacts and was a gift to the city of Glasgow in 1944 from Sir William Burrell and his wife Lady Constance.
The collection spans 50 countries and 6000 years of history, from 4000 BC to the turn of the 20th century. Objects include medieval art, furniture, Islamic art and artefacts from ancient Egypt and China, as well as Impressionist works by Degas and Cézanne, modern sculpture and more.
The museum is located in an award-winning modernist building in Pollock Country Park. In 2022, it reopened to the public following a six-year, £68 million refurbishment project, cementing its position as one of the UK’s best museums outside London. This work increased the size of the museum by 35%. A key goal was to preserve The Burrell Collection for future generations by enhancing the site’s accessibility and sustainability.
Companies that worked on the project include Event, Leach and BECK.
The Burrell Collection was the Art Fund’s 2023 Museum of the Year.
8. David Livingstone Birthplace, Blantyre
The David Livingstone Birthplace in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a museum dedicated to the Scottish explorer. It launched on 28 July 2021 after a £9.1m regeneration project which sought to re-ignite the story of David Livingstone and re-interpret it for a new generation.
Ahead of the grand opening, the Grade A-Listed building was refurbished and a new exhibition was added, with a clear focus on exploring multiple narratives. There is also a renovated cafe and retail space and a vibrant activities programme.
In 2021, Grant Mackenzie, interim museum director, spoke to blooloop about the project, and the importance of telling the full story:
“He was born here, he worked in the mill, and lived in one room with six other people. He worked extremely hard to become a doctor. Livingstone was self-educated and walked eight miles into Glasgow at three or four in the morning each day, and back again, then did some more work. He is, in many ways, a positive role model.”
“There is, though, the other side of the story; some of the activities that he did and the explorations in which he took part in Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, were allied to Western powers colonising the countries.
“It wasn’t something he was planning, but there was an inevitable impact. What we’ve tried to do is widen the story out a bit, and put it more in a world context. In doing this, the interpretation taps into current issues, including Black Lives Matter, and discussions around how we look at people like Livingstone.”
9. The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
The Fitzwilliam Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of over 500,000 works of art, masterpiece paintings and historical artefacts.
It is the largest and oldest museum of the University of Cambridge, with collections such as ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and medieval works. Visitors can also see paintings dating from the European Renaissance to the 21st century, as well as prints and drawings, coins and medals, and ceramics, among other artefacts.
The museum was founded in 1816 ‘for the increase of learning’ and is recognised across the world as an institute of research and conservation.
In 2024, the museum exhibited Venus and Mars (1485) by Botticelli as part of the National Gallery’s 200th birthday celebrations.
Also in 2024, the museum reopened five of its galleries following a major rehang. The new exhibitions present a thematic view of its collections.
10. The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield
Yorkshire’s Hepworth Wakefield takes its name from the famed English artist and sculptor, Barbara Hepworth, who was born and brought up in the city. Located on the historic waterfront and designed by David Chipperfield Architects, it opened in May 2011. It was the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year in 2017.
The Hepworth Wakefield shows exhibitions of international modern and contemporary art, alongside its permanent galleries that explore Hepworth’s art and working process.
It also holds Wakefield’s collection of modern British art, which used to be housed in the original Wakefield Art Gallery.
This collection includes works by Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron, L.S. Lowry, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. Plus, it holds work by contemporary artists like Frank Auerbach, Maggi Hambling, Anthea Hamilton, Martin Parr and Eva Rothschild.
The building’s design takes inspiration from both the riverside setting and the city’s industrial past, resulting in a striking and sculptural concrete structure. Visitors can also enjoy the free Hepworth Wakefield Garden, designed by internationally renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith. This is home to outdoor sculptures and hosts frequent events.
11. Jorvik Viking Centre, York
The Jorvik Viking Centre is located on the site of one of the most famous discoveries of modern archaeology. Between the years 1976 and 1981, archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust revealed the houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-age city of Jorvik as it stood nearly 1,000 years ago. The museum opened in 1984.
The experience transports visitors to Viking-era Britain, as they explore the reconstructed streets and experience life in 10th-century York. Smell also plays an important part in this immersive experience, as Rachel Mackay explains:
“Smell conveys an atmosphere none of us has ever experienced: the York of over 1000 years ago. As the visitor travels through a recreation of Jorvik, they experience the smells of a Viking settlement; both foul and fragrant.”
The Jorvik Viking Centre also triggered a shift change in the way cultural attractions approached the visitor experience, according to Continuum Attractions’ Juliana Delaney, who was part of the team that worked on the development of the museum’s visitor experience:
“This was a museum that never presented itself as a museum. It always was somewhere where everybody felt comfortable coming and enjoyed themselves. As the very best teachers know, when you enjoy your lesson, you learn so much more…Soon people were saying, ‘We want a Jorvik here’.”
12. M Shed, Bristol
Next up on our list of the best UK museums outside of London is M Shed, a museum all about Bristol. M Shed invites visitors to explore the city’s places, people and stories. It is housed in a 1950s transit shed on Bristol’s historic wharf.
M Shed’s exhibits explore the history of Bristol from prehistoric times to the modern-day. It is curated in collaboration with communities across the city, who have shared their stories and experiences. The museum also holds collections of objects, art and archives that help to bring these stories to life.
There are three main galleries: Bristol Places, Bristol People, and Bristol Life. Outside, there are also Working Exhibits. The neighbouring L Shed store is home to thousands of items from the industrial, maritime and social history collections.
In summer 2021, visitors to M Shed could see the toppled statue of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston. This was displayed for the We Are Bristol History Commission’s public engagement about the future of the statue and plinth, in which nearly 14,000 people shared their views. The statue was placed on permanent display in January 2024.
13. Manchester Museum, Manchester
Manchester Museum, which is owned by the University of Manchester, closed to the public in August 2021 to undertake the final phase of its ‘Hello Future’ transformation project. It reopened in February 2023.
The £15 million project seeks to build understanding between cultures and work towards the creation of a more sustainable world, according to Manchester Museum’s director, Esme Ward.
Speaking to blooloop in 2022, she said:
“It used to be called the ‘Courtyard Project’ because it was focused on building a two-storey extension in the courtyard. This project is so much more than that, so we told our visitors what we were trying to do.
“We talked a lot about the values… and we asked them what we should call the project. A young lad, probably about seven or eight, said, ‘Why don’t you just call it ‘Hello, Future.’ I love it. Visitors always have the best lines. It so beautifully summarises the sense of possibility.”
With more than 4.5 million objects, Manchester Museum is the largest university museum in the UK. It is a major visitor attraction for the city and also serves as a resource for academic research and teaching. Its collection spans archaeology, anthropology and natural history.
14. The Museum of Making, Derby
The Museum of Making opened in May 2021 and reimagined Derby Silk Mill in an £18 million redevelopment. It has already cemented its place as one of the UK’s best museums outside of London. The museum is located within the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site and is operated by Derby Museums.
The Museum of Making’s displays were developed in collaboration with the local community. These showcase Derby’s 300 years of innovation, design and manufacturing.
Tony Butler, executive director of Derby Museums, says: “The Museum of Making tells the story of our industrial and creative past, but it is also a hub for modern makers through the facilities and support on offer.”
The visitor experience, he adds, is “designed to encourage people to understand how things are made, think about materials and their uses, have access to skills, knowledge and equipment that might otherwise be unavailable.”
The Creative Core worked alongside the team at Derby Museums to design and co-produce the new museum with local communities. The new design uses the museum’s extensive collection of over 30,000 objects to spark curiosity and creativity in visitors. This gives them a space to develop new skills through direct interaction with made objects.
The Museum of Making was a finalist for the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022.
15. National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth
The National Maritime Museum Cornwall sits next to the harbour in Falmouth.
The museum opened in 2003 and was designed by architect M. J. Long, who was selected following a competition held by RIBA. The design echoes the boat builders’ sheds which used to sit by the harbour.
The new museum is a result of a partnership between the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and the former Cornwall Maritime Museum in Falmouth. It manages the National Small Boat Collection, which came from the National Maritime Museum in London. The museum also holds its own collection of Cornish and other boats.
The National Maritime Museum Cornwall says it is “A place to enrich your understanding of the sea and Cornwall.
“Through our exhibitions programme, we aspire to bring new and diverse perspectives to maritime issues, and highlight their relevance to the present day. We also bring rare objects from around the world to Cornwall to tell local, national and international stories.”
It has won numerous awards, including a Silver Award for Best UK Heritage Attraction at the British Travel Awards, Silver in the Cornwall Tourism Awards, and The Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Award.
16. The National Railway Museum, York
Like other entries on our list of the UK’s best museums outside of London, The National Railway Museum is part of the Science Museum Group.
The National Railway Museum tells the story of rail transport in the UK, exploring its impact on society. Guests can view the national collection of historically important trains, including the Mallard, the Stirling Single, the Duchess of Hamilton and even a Japanese bullet train.
The National Railway Museum won the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001.
In 2022, the museum submitted a planning application for its new Central Hall. This will feature a new welcome area for guests alongside additional gallery space and will be located between the Great Hall and Station Hall. Central Hall forms a key part of the museum’s Vision 2025 plans, which will see it transformed into a modern and inspiring 21st-century attraction.
Judith McNicol, director of the National Railway Museum, told blooloop:
“I realised I could use Vision 2025 to inspire through using the past, homing in on the innovations that have changed the world as a springboard to look at what’s happening today, and the challenges of the future, particularly the sustainability credentials that the railways can deliver in terms of mass transport.”
In 2023, the museum opened its interactive family attraction, Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery. This new space was credited with a 10% increase in visitors at the museum that year.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government approved a £15 million investment in the National Railway Museum’s transformative masterplan and Central Hall project in 2025.
17. National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, UK
The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, part of the Science Museum Group, reopened on 8 January 2025 having closed in June 2023 for a major refurbishment. Its £6 million ‘Sound and Vision’ project includes two new permanent galleries, a new passenger lift, and improvements to the main entrance and foyer.
The museum’s reopening weekend featured film screenings and model-making workshops, and celebrated in collaboration with Aardman. Visitors could also explore the museum’s revamped foyer. This features a redesigned shop and the Media Café, along with a new passenger lift.
The museum’s reopening coincided with the start of Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture. Its debut temporary exhibition, David Hockney: Pieced Together, went on show on 15 January.
18. Perth Museum, Perth, UK
The new Perth Museum will reopened in March 2024 following a £27 million renovation project.
The centre is home to one of Scotland’s and the UK’s most important historical artefacts, the Stone of Destiny, which has been used to crown kings and queens in the United Kingdom for over 700 years. Popularly known as the Stone of Scone, the artefact returned to Perthshire after more than 700 years to become the focal point of the new museum, where visitors can see it for free.
In addition to the Stone, the new museum features notable loans and exhibitions from both the UK and internationally, as well as Perth & Kinross’s Recognised Collections of National Significance.
Highlights include a NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Society) Banner designed by members of the Perth Suffrage Society in the early 1900’s, a 3,000 year old boat made from a single tree, and a cast of Miss Ballantine’s salmon, a 29 kg (64lb) specimen caught in 1922, which remains the heaviest British rod-caught salmon on record.
The museum is located in an Edwardian building that was used for everything from political gatherings and wrestling fights to marketplaces and concerts. Renowned architecture firm Mecanoo has turned this historic location into a significant tourist destination, and the Museum includes a shop and café, spaces for learning and events, and a significant programme of temporary exhibitions.
19. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth
One of the maritime entries on our list of the best UK museums outside London is Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. This is home to several important historical vessels, such as the Mary Rose, the HMS Victory, the HMS Warrior and HMS M.33. The complex also includes the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, is one of the Royal Navy’s most famous warships. It is now a living museum that shows what life was like in the Georgian Navy. A plaque on the deck shows the spot where Nelson fell.
The Mary Rose is the only ship of its kind on display in the world. It was the flagship of Henry VIII before it sank in 1545, and was on the seabed until the raising of the remains in 1982. The state-of-the-art Mary Rose Museum opened in 2016, featuring around 19,000 artefacts recovered in one of the most challenging archaeological excavations in history.
20. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter
The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) in Exeter, Devon, was founded in 1868. It is home to a diverse collection covering archaeology, zoology and anthropology, as well as fine art, geology, and more.
In December 2011, it reopened after a £24 million redevelopment project that took four years to complete. During this time, the museum repaired the building and completely redesigned the exhibits. This project also saw the addition of a new entrance and the construction of a purpose-built off-site collections store.
Following the refurbishment, the Art Fund named RAMM the 2012 UK Museum of the Year.
“RAMM’s world-class collections and ambitious programming ensure that the museum is a place of discovery which encourages everyone to be curious, and inspires us to shape a better future,” says a statement on the museum’s website.
RAMM also offers a wide range of community outreach programmes. These include creative workshops, culture cafes, family activities, learning courses, discussions, object-handling sessions, performance events and more.
21. The Royal Pavilion, Brighton
Visitors to the seaside city of Brighton and Hove can’t miss the Royal Pavilion, an ostentatious building close to the Palace Pier. The historic house was built in 1823 as a seaside pleasure palace for King George IV. Its style combines the grandeur of the Regency era with a design that takes inspiration from both India and China, resulting in something truly unique.
In June 1850, the Royal Pavilion became the property of the people of Brighton, after the city paid £53,000 for the former palace. However, upon taking possession, the locals found that the Pavilion had been stripped of all of its furnishings which remained the property of the Crown.
Over the next century it was used as a venue for balls and celebrations, as an early iteration of Brighton Museum, the offices of the local Mayor, and even as a hospital during WWI.
Original items from the royal collection have gradually been returned over the years. By the late 1960s, the building was being presented as a restored palace, but restoration work continues to this day.
22. Science and Industry Museum, Manchester
Part of the Science Museum Group, this popular museum in Manchester is one of the best in the UK outside of London.
The Science and Industry Museum is on a mission to inspire its visitors by exploring some of the ideas that have changed the world, from the Industrial Revolution to the present day. Given this content, its location on the site of the oldest surviving passenger railway station, in the heart of the world’s first industrial city, is significant.
As well as looking at the past, the Science and Industry Museum also runs a contemporary science programme, connecting the past and the present. As part of this, it runs the biennial Manchester Science Festival. This highlights current research and also promotes the area’s history of innovation.
In 2019, the museum unveiled plans for a multi-million-pound restoration programme, which is currently underway. This will see crucial restoration work taking place, as well as the addition of new spaces including a holiday property.
“We are bringing to life the story of the site, inspiring the innovators of the future to power the next (green) industrial revolution and creating a more sustainable museum,” says a statement on the museum’s website.
From October 2021 to March 2022, it hosted ‘Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope’, an exhibition created with support from Cancer Research UK. This explored the revolution in science that is transforming cancer care.
In 2025, the museum launched an open competition for an architect and lead designer for its Wonderlab gallery, expected to open in late 2027.
23. St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff
Another living museum on our list of the UK’s best museums outside of London, this site is operated by Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales and is dedicated to chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Welsh people.
Since 1948, St Fagans has re-erected more than forty original buildings from a variety of different historical periods. This includes houses, a farm, a school, a pub, a chapel and a Workmen’s Institute. Visitors can also discover traditional crafts and activities in the site’s workshops, where craftsmen demonstrate their skills and sell their produce.
St Fagans completed its £30 million Making History redevelopment in 2018. This involved opening new galleries, improving the visitor experience, and restoring and recreating buildings. In 2019, the Art Fund named it Museum of the Year.
Speaking after the announcement in 2019, Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund Director, said St Fagans “lives, breathes and embodies the culture and identity of Wales…This magical place was made by the people of Wales for people everywhere. [It] stands as one of the most welcoming and engaging museums anywhere in the UK.”
24. Titanic Belfast, Belfast
Titanic Belfast tells the story of the iconic ship, as well as the stories of sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic. It is located on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city’s Titanic Quarter, where the RMS Titanic was constructed from 1909 to 1912. It has won numerous awards, including the World’s Leading Tourism Attraction Award at the World Travel Awards in 2016.
Titanic Belfast reopened in March 2023 with four new themed galleries and a huge, illuminated scale model of the RMS Titanic.
Judith Owens MBE, chief executive of Titanic Belfast, told blooloop:
“Bringing this fabulous replica Titanic model to life through light and giving visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the dreams and stories of the passengers [is] very powerful. Facts and details are fascinating, but personal stories connect emotionally.
“By combining both, the reimagined Titanic Experience focusing on the pursuit of dreams [adds] a whole new dimension to the ship that has captivated people from around the world for 111 years.”
25. W5, Belfast
Last but certainly not least on our list of the UK’s best museums outside London is W5 (whowhatwherewhenwhy). This is an award-winning Science & Discovery Centre located in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It first opened in 2001, and two decades later it underwent a major £4.5 million redevelopment, starting in April 2019 with the doors reopening in October 2021.
Mather & Co worked in partnership with interactive design specialist Aivaf on the project. W5 is now home to eight new interactive zones, and Mather & Co and Aivaf developed two new gallery floors of exhibits, interactives, and engaging audio-visuals to stimulate science learning. Mather & Co also introduced theatrical theming and graphics, alongside the cutting-edge interactives.
The Access Group provides its Access Gamma solution to the museum.
Celebrating the reopening, Catherine O’Mullan, Chair of W5 said: “This is a momentous moment for W5 and our staff. Our transformative re-development has delivered a truly world-class visitor attraction that Belfast can be proud of. Science has never had a more important role in our society.
“Inspiring the next generation of great minds is at the heart of our vision for W5. Our new, immersive experiences will help us to capture imaginations and ignite interest in science and discovery for many more years to come.”
Top image: Museum of Making
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