Discovery Museum
The Discovery Museum is situated in the old Co-operative Wholesale Society building on Blandford Square, a beautiful building that is well suited to housing a museum. The inside of the museum is light and airy, with plenty of room to hold a large number of exhibits and interesting artefacts.
The museum has been made accessible throughout. The approach to the main gate and courtyard from the car park and footpath is tarmac.
At the main gate/archway, there is a gentle slope to the main entrance which is concrete paving lined with cobbled stones and in-built up-lights. The main entrance is on the right, which is an automatic inwards-opening door which leads to another set of double automatic opening doors.
The museum has three public lifts and stairs providing access to all floors. All lifts have voice announcers and Braille indicators. All floors have level access with ramped access from lower ground to ground in the Turbinia Atrium.
Stairs have raised tactile indicators on the handrails. Part of Newcastle Story has a raised track floor to guide you around. Large static visual and touch orientation maps are available on each floor of the museum to help you find your way around. the museum is also a registered Safe Place.
Since its launch at the current site in 1993, the museum has been home to countless exhibits, and it currently houses several exciting ones. These include ‘Enigma’, telling the tale of how the North East played a part in cracked codes in wartime, and ‘All the fun of the fair’, celebrating 135 years of the Hoppings.
On the ground floor you'll find the temporary exhibition space as well as Newcastle Story which takes you on a journey through the city from the Roman times to the early millennium. The ground floor is also home to Tyne & Wear Archives and the museum gift shop.
The second floor is home to Turbinia Cafe where you can enjoy a refreshing drink and snack overlooking the Turbinia and Story of the Tyne gallery. You can also see some of the steam engines of the collection in action as well as exploring the world of science in the interactive Science Maze.
Also on the second floor is Destination Tyneside, the UK's only permanent dedicated gallery telling the story of migration of those who have made Tyneside their home.
Opening Hours
Monday - Friday
10am - 4pm
Saturday & Sunday
11am - 4pm
Free entry
Donations welcome
Click here for additional accessibility information about this venue with our friends, DisabledGo.
Comments
Excellent access and disabled facilities
Great place have taken many groups with access needs and always suprised how accessible this place is!
Visit and discover!
The FANE museum group visited the Discovery Museum in February 2018, and a great time was had by all. We found the accessibility of the museum to be excellent and well suited to different needs. The museum staff were very helpful, happy to answer all our questions about the exhibits and also to give us directions around the museum. We spent around 2 hours in the museum, but could’ve stayed for longer so make sure you leave enough time during your trip to visit all the interesting exhibits!
We also paid a visit to the café on the second floor. The food was lovely and there was lots of room to sit and take a break. There was a large range of food and drink to suit all dietary requirements, such as for those who follow a vegetarian or diabetic diet. The café staff were also very helpful, and the food was served quickly.
Finally, we visited the very well stocked gift shop, which was full of fun presents, toys, books and historical artifacts to suit all budgets. We all had an excellent time at the museum, and would recommend it to everyone!
Very accessible in terms of wheelchair access due to frequently placed lifts and large open doorways. In most areas fairly quiet and calm without particularly bright lighting. The experience is very interesting and educational with its specific focus on the history of newcastle and displays of many artifacts. Overall a very intriguing place to visit, with a good selection of food and drink in the cafe and ample souvenir opportunities.