List of museums in the West Midlands facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The West Midlands in England is home to many amazing museums! Museums are special places where cool objects are collected and looked after. These objects can be about art, science, history, or different cultures. Museums let you see these collections and learn new things. This list also includes art galleries that are open to everyone.

Museums in the West Midlands
Defunct Museums
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Museums in the West Midlands

Here's a list of museums you can visit in the West Midlands:

Birmingham Museums

Aston Hall
- Location: Aston
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: This is a beautiful 17th-century Jacobean-style mansion. You can explore rooms filled with old furniture, paintings, and other cool items from the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery collections.
Aston Manor Road Transport Museum
- Location: Aston
- Type: Transport
- Summary: This museum is currently closed but plans to move to a new location. It's all about old cars, buses, and other transport.
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Art
- Summary: This art gallery and concert hall is part of the University of Birmingham. It has a great collection of British art, French impressionist paintings, sculptures, and more.
Birmingham Back to Backs
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: Run by the National Trust, these are the last surviving "back-to-back" houses in the city. They show what life was like from the 1840s to the 1970s.
Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Military
- Summary: This place used to test small guns and bullets. It has a museum with old weapons and tells the story of how they were made. You need to book an appointment to visit.
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Multiple collections
- Summary: This large museum has many different things to see! You can find art, learn about local history, see decorative items, old coins, costumes, and ceramics.
Blakesley Hall
- Location: Yardley
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: This is a Tudor timber-framed farmhouse from the late 1500s. It's another branch of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery.
Cadbury World
- Location: Bournville
- Type: Food
- Summary: Discover the sweet history of chocolate and the famous Cadbury company! It's a fun place to learn how chocolate is made.
Centre of the Earth
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Natural history
- Summary: This is a nature centre that teaches people about the environment.
The Drum
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Art
- Summary: This arts centre focuses on Black British and British Asian arts.
Ikon Gallery
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Art
- Summary: This gallery shows modern art from today's artists.
International Project Space
- Location: Bournville
- Type: Art
- Summary: This is a modern art gallery that is part of the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts.
Lapworth Museum of Geology
- Location: Edgbaston
- Type: Natural history
- Summary: Run by the University of Birmingham, this museum has amazing collections of fossils, minerals, and rocks.
mac
- Location: Edgbaston
- Type: Art
- Summary: This is a big arts centre with a theatre, cinema, cafe, and a gallery for exhibitions.
Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Historic site
- Summary: This museum is an old jewellery-making factory. It's a branch of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery and shows how jewellery was made long ago.
New Hall Mill
- Location: Walmley
- Type: Mill
- Summary: This is an 18th-century watermill located in New Hall Valley Country Park. You can learn how it used to grind corn.
The Pen Museum
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Industry
- Summary: Learn all about the history of pen making in Birmingham! See different kinds of pens, early typewriters, and Braille machines.
Periscope
- Location: Edgbaston
- Type: Art
- Summary: This is an art gallery run by artists, showing modern art and hosting events.
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Art
- Summary: This gallery shows artworks made by its members.
Sarehole Mill
- Location: Hall Green
- Type: Mill
- Summary: This 18th-century water mill used to grind corn and make metal. It also has a 19th-century bakehouse and exhibits about local resident J. R. R. Tolkien. It's a branch of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery.
Selly Manor
- Location: Bournville
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: These are two timber-framed houses from the Tudor period.
Soho House
- Location: Handsworth
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: This is the late 18th-century Georgian home of famous industrialist Matthew Boulton. It's another branch of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery.
Thinktank
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Science
- Summary: This science museum explores future technology, space travel, and how science affects our daily lives. It also covers the city's industrial and transport history.
Tyseley Locomotive Works
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Railway
- Summary: This is a railway depot with workshops, old engines, and railway items. You can visit on special open days.
VIVID
- Location: Birmingham
- Type: Art
- Summary: This gallery focuses on media arts.
West Midlands Police Museum
- Location: Sparkhill
- Type: Law enforcement
- Summary: Discover the history of police work in the region! See old uniforms, vehicles, photos, badges, and other cool police items.

Black Country Museums

Avery Historical Museum
- Location: Smethwick
- Type: Industry
- Summary: This museum has a collection of weighing machines and other old tools. It's located at the Avery Weigh-Tronix headquarters.
Bishop Asbury Cottage
- Location: Great Barr
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: This 18th-century cottage was the childhood home of Francis Asbury, who became the first American Methodist Bishop.
Black Country Living Museum
- Location: Dudley
- Type: Living museum
- Summary: This amazing museum is like stepping back in time! It's a recreated 19th and early 20th-century industrial village with historic buildings moved from other places. You can see old trams, fun fair rides, shops, and industrial displays.
Bilston Craft Gallery
- Location: Bilston
- Type: Art
- Summary: This gallery shows modern crafts and decorative arts.
Haden Hill House
- Location: Cradley Heath
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: This is a Victorian gentleman's house, decorated just like it would have been in that time.
The Lace Guild
- Location: Stourbridge
- Type: Textiles
- Summary: This museum has a collection of old and new lace, and other items related to lace making.
Stourbridge Glass Museum
- Location: Stourbridge
- Type: Glass
- Summary: This museum is all about glass, which is a very important part of Stourbridge's history.
Locksmith's House
- Location: Willenhall
- Type: Locks
- Summary: This museum is dedicated to a family who made locks and shows off locks made in the local area.
National Motorcycle Museum
- Location: Bickenhill
- Type: Transportation
- Summary: See a huge collection of British motorcycles here!
New Art Gallery Walsall
- Location: Walsall
- Type: Art
- Summary: This gallery has sculptures and paintings by famous modern artists, including many works by Jacob Epstein.
Oak House
- Location: West Bromwich
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: This is a half-timbered farmhouse from the late 1500s, with furniture from the Tudor and Jacobean periods.
Red House Cone
- Location: Wordsley
- Type: Art
- Summary: This used to be a glassworks! Now it has exhibits of old and new glass, and you can even watch glass-making workshops.
Tipton Community Heritage Centre
- Location: Tipton
- Type: Local history
- Summary: Located in the town library, this centre tells the story of Tipton's local history, industries, canals, and social life.
Walsall Leather Museum
- Location: Walsall
- Type: Industry
- Summary: This museum is in an old Victorian leather factory. It shows the history of making leather and saddles in the local area.
Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery
- Location: Wednesbury
- Type: Multiple collections
- Summary: This museum has fine art, decorative arts (like Ruskin Pottery), toys, games, and local history exhibits.
Wightwick Manor
- Location: Wightwick
- Type: Historic house
- Summary: Run by the National Trust, this is a Victorian manor house with beautiful Arts & Crafts designs inside and Pre-Raphaelite art.
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
- Location: Wolverhampton
- Type: Art
- Summary: This gallery has fine art and decorative arts from the Georgian and Victorian eras, Pop Art, and Asian decorative arts.

Coventry & Solihull Museums

Berkswell Museum
- Location: Berkswell
- Type: Local history
- Summary: This museum focuses on the history of the local area.
Coventry Watch Museum
- Location: Coventry
- Type: Horology (watches)
- Summary: This museum is being planned to tell the story of watches and watch-making in Coventry. They currently offer exhibitions.
Coventry Music Museum
- Location: Coventry
- Type: Music
- Summary: This museum celebrates the musical history of Coventry.
Coventry Transport Museum
- Location: Coventry
- Type: Transportation
- Summary: See many British-made road vehicles here, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles.
Earlswood Village Museum
- Location: Earlswood
- Type: Local history
- Summary: This museum tells the story of Earlswood's local history.
Herbert Art Gallery and Museum
- Location: Coventry
- Type: Multiple collections
- Summary: This museum has art, local history, culture, natural history, and covers Coventry's medieval, Victorian, and modern history.
Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Museum
- Location: Coventry
- Type: Automotive
- Summary: See historic Jaguar cars and racing cars here.
Midland Air Museum
- Location: Baginton
- Type: Transportation
- Summary: This museum has a collection of aircraft and includes the Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre.
Priory Visitor Centre
- Location: Coventry
- Type: Archaeology
- Summary: Learn about the history and see artifacts from St Mary's Priory.
Solihull Gallery
- Location: Solihull
- Type: Art
- Summary: This is an art gallery in Solihull.
Warwick Arts Centre
- Location: Coventry
- Type: Art
- Summary: This is a large arts complex at the University of Warwick, hosting events in music, drama, dance, comedy, films, and visual art.