Colchester + Ipswich Museums

Highlights

• Travel from the open sea through the salt marshes and beaches to the more familiar urban environments of the park. Discover what rocks lie beneath your feet with a look at local geology and find out what lurks in your garden.
• Our Geology and Climate gallery opened in 2009 and follows the geological history of the area and looks at the issues of global warming and associated climate change.
• Learn more about the stag beetle in a display dedicated to this fascinating insect. Find out about their lifecycle, threats to their survival and what you can do to help.
• Lift the flaps and crawl through the tunnel in the Underground display to discover creatures who live beneath the ground. Meet Firefly our fox and feel the coarse hairs of her coat......but please be gentle!
• Peer through the window and see how many Night Visitors you can spot.
• Finally, check out some of Colchester's park life and a section on the wildlife of The River Colne.
   

Temporary Display (17th January - end of May 2012)

Minerals and more..!

Come and see the new temporary display and learn about some fascinating minerals. We have found some of the most interesting specimens from the collections and brought them out of the stores for you to enjoy. From the sparkly fluorspar crystals to the vibrant pink cinnabar, there are plenty of unusual minerals on display.

Children

The museum is a perfect chance to give the children a quick break from shopping. It is popular with children because of its focus on animals and the local area - both the familiar and the unexpected - did you know that mammoths and hippos used to roam around the area?

Other features for children include:

• Resource trolley - contains books, magnifying glasses, trails and more! Launched 17 January 2012
• Crawl-through badger set
• Interactive microscope - look at your own objects or find something interesting in the resource trolley Launched 17 January 2012
• Bird cam Launched 17 January 2012

In the summer holidays we host Go Live! week where we have live animals in the museum (a small charge applies for this event).