The Garstang Museum now available five days a week

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Members of the public, school groups, academics and students will be able to visit the Garstang Museum of Archaeology any day of the working week, after its restricted opening hours were changed to a visit-by-appointment system.

Following a major refurbishment in 2014, the Garstang Museum was open to the public between 10am and 4pm on a Wednesday. At the beginning of February 2018, these opening hours were extended to include the same times on a Thursday.

But analysis of visitor numbers found that the volume visiting dropped following the change, from more than 1,400 between February 1 and June 30 2017, to less than 1,200 visitors between February 1 2018 and June 30 2018.

In total, 2,465 people visited the Garstang Museum in 2017, 70% of whom arrived as part of an organised event or tour.

In response, the University of Liverpool’s Museum and Galleries team is switching to an events and visit-by-appointment system, with the aim of providing more flexibility to academics, students, researchers and interested members of the public who wish to access the collections.

There are a number of museums with a similar profile that have adopted this approach, including Glasgow University’s Anatomy Museum, Staffordshire University’s Betty Smithers Design Collection and a number of independent specialist museums.

Crucially, the Garstang Museum will:

  • Still offer student placements, alongside the development of paid internships within the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology (ACE)

  • Deliver greater academic access by being available to visit five days a week – Monday to Friday - rather than two.

  • Increase focus on developing more special events using the successful Light Night model

  • Continue to run exhibitions using Garstang materials and artefacts through the University’s Victoria Gallery & Museum

Professor Lin Foxhall, The Rathbone Chair of Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the University, said “This is an exciting and welcome development.

“The revised opening hours will enable us to target potential audiences more effectively, to attract greater numbers of visitors, while expanding the use of the Museum for teaching, training, student experience and research.”

To arrange a visit to the Garstang Museum, please contact us at garstang@liverpool.ac.uk or ring 0151 794 6793.