Collections

Our collections

Manchester Museum’s collections are far more than a series of objects in glass cases.

They tell rich stories about what it means to be human, build connections between cultures and help us to better understand some of the most pressing issues of our time.

As one of the UK’s largest university museums, we provide a home for around 4.5 million objects across a variety of subject areas, but these aren’t our collections, they’re yours.

We look after them for the benefit of all and that’s why much of our work is focused on making collections more accessible, using them to connect communities with their cultural heritage, to foster understanding and belonging, and to underpin research that has a positive impact on the lives of people.

As part of this, it’s important we are honest about the origins of collections, in order to acknowledge harm but also encouraging healing. Although Manchester Museum was borne of civic pride, it was also borne of Empire, colonial violence and extraction, so while the collections housed here can undoubtedly spark joy and celebration, they can also cause pain.

Our work on repatriation, restitution and indigenisation aims to recognise this. All of the collections at Manchester Museum are open to the possibility of unconditional return to communities of origin, but we have also worked hard to remove barriers to access by taking collections to schools, care homes and places of worship, putting our work at the heart of communities.

Through collaboration with those communities, we hope to use these incredible collections to better inspire future generations and ensure the Museum remains a rite of passage for future young Mancunians.

What will you find in our collections?

Manchester Museum houses a wide range of collections, including Egypt and Sudan, Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Entomology, Archery, Botany, Living Cultures, Zoology, Numismatics, and the Vivarium.

Our outstanding collection of Egyptian and Sudanese objects – one of the largest in the UK – illustrates both everyday life and preparations for the afterlife. The homes of the ancient Egyptians do not generally survive, but our collection includes exceptionally well-preserved everyday objects from a pyramid-builders’ town known as Kahun which are nearly 4,000 years old and give a glimpse into how ordinary people lived. The museum also houses an important collection of gilded mummy masks and realistic painted images known as ‘Faiyum Portraits’, dating back to the Graeco-Roman Period (around 300 BCE to 300 CE).

The Vivarium is recognised worldwide for its conservation work. A recent success story, and a landmark moment in the museum’s history, was the captive breeding of the variable harlequin toad (also known as Atelopus varius). The breeding of the variable harlequin toad is the result of an inspiring partnership project between the museum, Panama Wildlife Conservation charity (PWCC) and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester.

We also care for a collection of around 100,000 fossils, including one of the most important collections of Ice Age animals in Europe, particularly from Creswell Crags, which has helped transform our understanding of climate change.

With an estimated 2.5 million specimens, Manchester Museum’s Entomology collection is thought to be the third largest entomological depository in the UK. As well as housing a comprehensive collection of British insects of all groups, highlights also include the collection of tortoise-beetles which is the second best in the world; the collection of earwigs containing almost a half of the species described worldwide; the collection of butterflies and moths, including the comprehensive collection of the swallowtail butterflies accounting for almost 90% of the world fauna, and a significant worldwide collection of spiders.

The history of our collections

The future of our collections

In 2019, as part of the Return of Cultural Heritage project led by AIATSIS, we were the first museum in Europe to unconditionally return secret, sacred and ceremonial material to communities of origin (the Aranda People of Central Australia, the Gangalidda and Garawa Peoples of North West Queensland, the Nyamal People of the Pilbara and the Yawuru People of Broome).  The University of Manchester, as our governing body, believes by taking this approach – unconditional repatriation – the museum will become more inclusive and relevant to the communities it serves both locally and globally. As one of my university colleagues said, “we’re educating the next generation of global citizens and this is social responsibility in action”

More recently, we have committed to opening up our collections to communities where there is a link with their cultural heritage, allowing them to lead decision-making on how collections are best used for the benefit of future generations. This can be seen most prominently in our sector-leading work on repatriation, restitution and indigenisation