Part of the University of Manchester, the Manchester Museum is the largest university museum in the UK. It holds 4.5 million objects, and attracts around 350 000 visitors each year. The Museum developed from the collections of the Manchester Natural History Society and the Manchester Geological Society in the mid-nineteenth century. Its present site, opened to the public in 1888, was developed as part of Owens College (the forerunner of the University of Manchester), with distinctive neo-Gothic buildings designed by Alfred Waterhouse and his successors; the Museum has been expanded repeatedly, and was significantly modernised in 2000-03. In recent years, early galleries have been comprehensively redeveloped to produce the Living Worlds, Ancient Worlds and Nature's Library displays. The Museum plays a key role in delivering the University's social responsibility agenda and is heavily used for student teaching. This tour presents the opportunity to find out more about the building and the collections with a member of the Museum’s staff. 

There is no charge for this walk. Numbers will be limited to 15 people, so please register in advance. You can do this at any time before the Congress by emailing tours@ichstm2013.com with your details; or you can sign up in person at the Congress Events Desk.

For current activities at the Manchester Museum, please see the website at www.museum.manchester.ac.uk or follow @McrMuseum on Twitter.

For the history of the Manchester Museum, start with Samuel J M M Alberti, Nature and Culture: Objects, Disciplines and the Manchester Museum, Manchester University Press, 2009.