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The Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough

Updated: May 3

Address: Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, TS56LA


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(This write up is from our visit in October 2022, temporary exhibitions will have changed)


I visited here with my husband and our two boys (Leo-4 months, Kamron-6) and my husbands son, my stepson (Damon-13). Our visit was mainly to check out the temporary Egyptian Exhibition including the play area, the lost mummy trail and the Halloween VR Ride.


PARKING AND TRANSPORT


We arrived by car, there was a small car park to the front of the museum in front of Albert Park but this had limited spaces and was restricted to 2 hours. There were two disabled bays and around 6 standard bays.

You could also park at the back of the museum in their private car park or on the street next to it called Park Road South. There are no time restrictions on the street. We parked in the front and then moved the car later to the back of the museum.



If you are wanting to arrive by public transport then the main railway and bus station is around a 20 minute walk away. There are local bus stops right outside too if you are wanting to to complete your journey from the bus/train station or from elsewhere in the local area. Plan and check your route on these local bus websites.


ARRIVAL INTO THE MUSEUM


On arrival into the museum the first thing I spotted was there is a book exchange unit to swap books which I thought was lovely, and you could just pick up a book to take home and leave a donation which we did as Kamron still enjoys his bedtime reading! The Victorian style tearoom was also just as you entered just before the reception and shop area.


As they had an Egyptian Exhibition in the museum when we visited there were lots of items for sale in the shop matching this theme too as well as lots of


We checked in at reception, advised we have the Halloween VR ride booked (gifted to us) and the receptionist confirmed it was upstairs and gave us directions for when it was our timeslot. We also picked up a lost mummy trail for £1 from the reception to complete whilst going round the museum. They also had activity packs for sale for £2 to take home to enjoy. The trail kept Kamron and Damon busy and interested in looking at all the museum displays to find the letters underneath the hieroglyphics to eventually decode where the mummy was located.



DOWNSTAIRS EXHIBITION AREAS


Downstairs there were various different areas covering local history including an archaeology area, world war 2 area, a religious area and also an area to represent some old buildings including a butchers, a shop and a cinema which had a small screen showing a Halloween movie on it. There was even an area dedicated to the history of the local transporter bridge. I imagine for many locals this Museum is a huge trip down Memory Lane! The kids liked the archaeology area which you arrive to first. There were some drawers with historical items in and you had to guess which era they belonged to, ofcourse they got the McDonald's soft toys one correct. And Damon did pretty well guessing the rest too! They also enjoyed the quiz on one of the interactive tablet screens to test our knowledge on the transporter bridge.

There was even a room full of all sorts of stuffed birds and animals and displays full of representations of the birds eggs. We made up a game for the boys to find the smallest and largest egg and what bird they belonged to and to find the bird too, they enjoyed this as like typical brothers they like to compete! We spent a good while in this room.


On our way around we even spotted some 'talking' pumpkins set up in one of the exhibition areas for Halloween, this was another fun added element.



Throughout the museum they had screens with little games and quizzes to do to test your knowledge which I thought was a great idea to get kids interested.


Once we had explored downstairs we stopped for a quick break in the tearoom so that Leo could have his feed. The cafe was very helpful in warming his bottle. This was set up like a Victorian style tearoom and had lots of Halloween decorations up, it looked fab. We didn't purchase any food as we had bought a picnic to have later on. We then headed upstairs after Leo was settled again.



UPSTAIRS EXHIBITION AREAS


Upstairs, there were even more rooms to explore. There was a room with lots of interesting displays and information on dinosaurs, rock crystallisations, meteorites, the universe and also early humans showing how the skull shape has changed over time. It was also in this room that the VR ride was located so we stopped off here to go on the ride. It lasted around 5 minutes I would say, and it was a Halloween themed ride taking you on a rollercoaster style ride with pumpkins and ghosts popping up around you. It was very mild nothing too scary, Kamron (6) wasn't scared by it at all and he's not been on many scary rides and experiences or watched anything even slightly gory. They both enjoyed it though and would have gone on again (small charge and recommended to prebook, this is also a temporary attraction for Halloween).



Other areas upstairs included a room with

animal displays and a huge exhibition area full of beautiful Linthorpe art pottery and many amazing designs from British Designer, Christopher Dresser.



TEMPORARY EGYPTIAN EXHIBITION AND PLAY AREA


They also had the temporary Egyptian exhibition upstairs too. The kids enjoyed this one and reading about mummies. There was also an interactive Egyptian play area next to this too with some games including pairs, a decoding game with hieroglyphics, spot the difference and some blocks to build a miniature pyramid. Then there was an Egyptian market area with some scales to weigh the toy food and see if you could get it to balance-boy Botha enjoyed having a go at this, there was also a little market and role play dressing up area. We spent a bit of time in here for Kamron to play.



HOME TIME AND FINAL THOUGHTS


After we had explored everything, we decided to head over to Albert park for some fresh air, our lunch and for the boys to play in the park. Albert park seemed huge from what we saw! We didn't stay in the park long but would definitely head back to enjoy it more.


It's a great idea to combine with the museum as I would say the museum would be just a couple of hours with kids unless they are really into their history and read and explore everything to detail. There's definitely enough interactive elements and interesting things to look at though for a few hours from a child's view point.



What I did find great though is the interactive tablet sized screens throughout the museum to keep the kids involved and to test their knowledge. The lost mummy trail was also great for keeping them busy too, they got a stamp on their certificate at the end for completion. This trail was part of the temporary Egyptian exhibition but they are always putting on different family activities including different trails throughout the year.


The museum had a lot more there to look at and covering much more on local history than I expected. I would go back again to explore the permanent exhibition areas a bit more as there was lots of interesting information and we didn't get chance to read it all properly with having the kids there. Our focus was more on the temporary Egyptian Exhibition and VR Ride mainly.


ACCESSIBILITY


The museum is fully wheelchair accessible. There is a ramp at the front entrance with automated double doors. The lift upstairs is towards the back of the building straight through the first half of the exhibition areas. The toilets including disabled toilets and baby changing facilities are also located next to the lift on the ground floor.

I would say that the dressers tearoom may be a bit of a tight squeeze for wheelchair users although it is still possible to get in and seated with assistance if it's not overly busy.


COST?


The museum is completely FREE to visit but there is also a donation box near the reception area too if you wish to donate. Some temporary attractions or activities as part of a temporary exhibitionincluding the VR ride and lost mummy trail I mention in this blog are payable, but just a small cost.


FOOD AND DRINK


The Victorian style Dressers Tearoom offer paninis, scones, cakes, daily specials, children's meals, soups hot drinks and cold drinks. Prices ranging from £2.30 for cakes/snacks to £5.30 for paninis with salad. The daily specials may be slightly more.


Thankyou for reading and I hope you have found this helpful :) Please feel free to share with your friends and family.


(Ad-Gifted Visit)





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