Out & About - World Museum in Liverpool

Fancy a day exploring somewhere new? Head for Liverpool.

I have never thought much of Liverpool and by default it was never a destination for anything. So when we all had some sort of cabin fever we decided to go explore and what a surprise! It was nothing like what I had in mind. What I encountered was not the dodgy place I had heard of in the past, but a well built city with modern buildings and cool infrastructure.

If you must visit anywhere in Liverpool, visit the World Museum, especially if you have children. With a Cafe, shop, toy shop and five floors worth of exhibitions there is something for everyone. Their displays vary from a small aquarium to a planetarium via ancient and modern world history. For children the experience is very dynamic and tactile. This is not the sort of museum where everything is behind glass cases and you can only look and read about it. There are buttons to press, videos to watch, things to touch, a world to explore. My daughter loved it! The exhibitions are also short so it is just the right length for any children (or adults) with a short attention span.

On the top floor you will find the Planetarium and a space exhibition little and big boys will just love! The museum updates the talks in the planetarium to fit the current season so you can go outside and look for the constellations they were talking about. I don't know about you, but I didn't realize how many "different stars and constellations" we have depending of the time of the year we are in. There is also a healthy dose of education as to light pollution.

I have a really cute story about that museum. On the second floor there is an exhibition rightfully called "Bug House", where there are different live insect to look at (including an amazing ant colony walking over a robe while being filmed and counted in a per second basis - just fascinating!), but there are also preserved insects in glass cases fitted inside big drawers that the children can open and look at very closely. They are grouped by category and there is a corner with drawers full of butterflies. This little girl, she must have been only about 4 or 5 years old, opened the first drawers sighed and said with sad little eyes: "Aw! They've killed all this butterflies!" Then she closed the drawer and opened the next one. Again with sad little eyes she sighed and exclaimed: "Aw!" She proceeded with this little ritual through all five or six drawers while her parents were completely oblivious to what she was going on about. It was a really sweet and ever so slightly humorous thing to watch. Very cute indeed!

The best thing about this museum is that it's free! We are only a small family of three but I can see entrance fees taking their tool in a big family. However, while you are there and in appreciation for the fabulous activities you are enjoying for free, make a donation. Even a small one will help keep the place ticking and providing educative value entertainment for other families.

We all loved it and I highly recommend it.

Ambient: *****

Price: £

Children: Absolutely!

To check the rating system click here. 

World Museum

William Brown Street

Liverpool LE 8EN

Tel: 0151 478 4393