The World Museum is located on William Brown Street in Liverpool city centre. It is the oldest of the museums and galleries in Liverpool and is home to treasures from around the world, including antiquities, botany, ethnology, zoology, geology as well an impressive aquarium, bug house and Planetarium.
The World Museum is a Grade II listed building that was built to house Liverpool’s natural history and archaeology collections, which originally started with a donation from the 13th Earl of Derby. (
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The World Museum is operated by National Museums Liverpool. It opened on 8th March 1853 in the Ropeworks district of Liverpool. The 13th Earl of Derby left his natural history collection to the town of Liverpool when he died in 1851. When the museum first opened it showed a tiny part of the Earl of Derby's collection, some paintings, models of Liverpool, and samples of imports that had been shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. In 1857 the curator installed aquarium tanks in the museum - the second public aquarium in the world.
The museum moved to its present site on William Brown Street in 1860, when William Brown (1784-1864), a wealthy Liverpool merchant, banker and politician, offered to finance the building. He originally offered £6,000 for the building, but actually spent more than £20,000 on it. The new museum and library building were handed over on 18th October 1860 to the Mayor of Liverpool. The museum was renamed the Liverpool Free Public Museum, and it opened to the public a year later on 18th October 1861.
The museum expanded with collections and displays of life sciences, earth sciences and human cultures from around the world. The museum's planetarium, said to be the first in the UK outside London, opened to the public on 22nd May 1970.
In April 1986 it was one of a group of museums and galleries that were 'nationalised' under the new organisation, National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, now called National Museums Liverpool.
The museum's ground-breaking Natural History Centre opened on 1st August 1987. It was the first hands-on centre in a museum and has been imitated across the globe.
On 29th April 2005 it was renamed World Museum and a new aquarium, refurbished galleries and a new entrance were opened.
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Today the museum is famous for its great collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences, its history of innovation and a family-friendly experience.
It offers visitors;
Millions of years of the Earth’s history through thousands of exhibits and hands-on activities.
Travel to distant continents and ancient civilisations in amazing journey through time galleries.
The Weston Discovery Centre, which offers a range of activities and interaction to provide a fascinating insight into human history throughout the ages.
The Planetarium where you can meet IQ, Scooter and Nat in Fly me to the Moon, a fantastic adventure for young space fans aged four and over. Or, join Coyote in a fast-paced, fun show that explores lunar phases, eclipses and other puzzles in Earth, Moon and Sun, aimed at visitors aged six and over.
You need to buy tickets for the Planetarium at the information desk on your visit.The museum also has a café and shop facilities.
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