A smiling adult watches a young child play with colourful building blocks in the museum's activity space.

Museum Explorer Trails

Choose one of our themed gallery trails to explore our permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. Trails are suitable for all the family and free to pick up from the museum shop.

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Museum Explorer Backpacks

Borrow one of our backpacks to become a museum detective! Use the clues and cards to uncover Oxford’s exciting history.

Sensory Backpacks

Our sensory backpacks have everything you might need to help you enjoy our museum: ear defenders for when it gets noisy, a mini torch for when it’s hard to see, a magnifying glass for little details, an animal puppet to keep you company and a timer for making sure you can see everything you want to!

Sensory Backpack

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Dressing up

Drop by our dressing up counter to try on historic fashion and measure yourself up for the latest in historical styles!

Crafts at home

Can’t make it to the museum? No problem: check out our museum TikTok for some historical crafts you can try at home!

 

Holiday Fun

We hold family events every holiday and half term – check out our What’s On page to see what’s coming up next!

What's On
Two women lead an Indian dance workshop for a crowd of dancing children and adults.
An older woman waves a red streamer in front of a young child wearing a bird mask and tutu. Other people mill around in the background.
Adults and children sit around a table engaging in a workshop craft activity in the museum's basement activity space. There are many different craft items including pieces of paper and fabric on the table.
Children and adults sit around activity tables in the museum's activity space. A person in a blue t-shirt leads the workshop in the middle of the room. A projector screen at the back of the room shows a powerpoint slide with bullet point text and an image of spider.
A child's hands reach for a glue stick to stick together a paper bead on a bracelet. The table is covered with different pieces of colourful paper.
Two young children engage with the museum's interactive archaeological dig pit. They are using brushes and silicone trowels to excavate items buried beneath fake dirt. One child in a red tshirt leans in for a closer look.
A child sat at a table cuts and sticks pieces of collage paper as part of an activity.
A young girl smiles at the camera wearing a toga made out of paper.

FAQs

Are you accessible for guests with SEND?

We do our absolute best to make all our guests feel welcome – however, we are constantly improving! If there is anything we’re missing or any way we can make you feel more welcome, please let us know (museum@oxford.gov.uk). Alternatively, you can call us at 01865 252 334. For further information about access at the museum, please look at our Access at the Museum page.

We offer a free SEND backpack to borrow at the front desk – this includes ear defenders, a fidget toy, a magnifying glass and mini torch and a puppet companion.

All guests are welcome to our workshops. We try to make our workshops as free flow as possible with self-led activities and more freedom for guests to interact with materials and objects as they wish. We also offer relaxed sessions for our set-time events, during which sessions are longer to enable a flexible start and end time, background music is not played, more sensory activities are on offer and our Learning Studio is available as a quiet space if needed.

Do you have baby changing?

Yes! There are baby changing facilities located in the accessible toilet on the ground floor of the Town Hall.

Are you breastfeeding-friendly?

Yes! Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your experience more comfortable.

Do you have accessible toilets?

Yes! There are accessible toilets located on the ground floor of the Town Hall.

Do you have a café?

Yes! Our café is located within the Town Hall and offers a range of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, baguettes, cakes and other snacks. It is open 9.30am-4.00pm on weekdays and from 10.30am to 3.00pm on Saturdays.

Is there anywhere I can leave my pram?

You are welcome to leave your pram while you browse our museum. However, we cannot accept responsibility for prams or their contents: they are left at the owner’s risk.

Do you have an accessible entrance?

Yes! Our accessible entrance is located on the corner of St Aldates, opposite the Sainsburys. Press the door buzzer and someone will let you in.

Is there lift access in the museum?

Yes! There is lift access to both our Museum Makers space and to our galleries.

Is there anywhere we can eat our picnic lunch?

Yes! Christ Church meadow is just a five-minute walk away. Alternatively, you can enjoy the Westgate’s mini-meadow: it’s free and undercover.

Where can we park?

There is allocated parking at the Westgate car park (just 15 minutes from the museum!), which has 30 Parent and Child designated parking spots and 50 Blue Badge bays (approx. 10-15 mins from the Museum). There are also 3 disabled parking spaces on the High Street (opposite King Edward’s street). The Park and Ride service is also available from Seacourt, Peartree, Thornhill and Redbridge Park and Ride stations.

Is there a bus stop?

Yes! There are multiple bus stops covering different routes directly outside our museum! Check the Oxford Bus Company website to find your route.

Is there a gift shop?

Yes! Our shop staff and team of volunteers are on hand to welcome you and answer any questions you might have. Pop by the shop for historical souvenirs at pocket-money prices.

If you have any questions before your visit, please don’t hesitate to contact us

01865 252334museum@oxford.gov.uk
A street sign which reads 'Museum of Oxford, We're Open' with an arrow pointing to the left towards the entrance is displayed on a busy street on a summer's day.
Plan your visit
The Museum of Oxford's main gallery, a warmly lit space filled with objects in cases and on open display. In the foreground, there is a platform lift to take visitors down from a small platform at the front of the gallery.
Access at the Museum
A young girl, aged around three, happily raises her paint-covered hands in the air. Her parent can be seen smiling in the corner, raising her hands too.
Family events