Floor plans

The Welcome Desk can be found immediately to the right as you walk into the entrance area.

You'll find our small shop next to the Welcome Desk.

The Waterhouse Cafe is located in the tiled central hall.

Access to the galleries and museum is to the left of the Welcome Desk, past the Cafe hatch, where stairs and the lift can be found on the left hand side.

You'll pass items from our collection as you climb the wide steps, including large sculptures and animal skeletons from our zoological collection. 

Gallery one

A right turn at the top of the stairway leads you along the balcony to Gallery one, which houses large wooden and glass cabinets which are used to display objects.

The room is quite light and has three decorative tiled pillars.

Gallery two

Gallery two is also quite light in feel and has a decorative wooden fireplace carved with animals.

A glass doorway then takes you through to the remaining galleries, all housed along one corridor.

The corridor area through the glass doors has reduced light levels. This area has long cased clocks which intermittently chime. This area is air-conditioned.

Gallery three

This is a small gallery which has items from the University of Liverpool’s Special Collections, which traces the history of the building. Light levels are reduced to protect the objects on display from light damage.

Gallery four

This is a small gallery, which may have reduced light levels, depending on the objects on display when you visit.

Gallery five

This is a slightly larger gallery, which has large cabinets down the centre of the room. This gallery is painted in a dark green colour and may have reduced light levels.

Gallery six

This is a more spacious gallery that is generally lighter in feel.

Gallery seven

A smaller gallery space often used as an annex to Gallery 6. Light levels can be low.

Gallery eight

This gallery houses the John James Audubon exhibition. These works contain images of birds and animals, which some visitors may find distressing. There is also some taxidermy on display.

There is a short animation with audio and music in this gallery, which requires light levels to be low. There is a large print transcript of the audio on gallery.

Quiet area

There is a quieter area available through the double red doors at the end of the Red Wall along the balcony. There is a small sofa and reading material available for visitors who wish to take time out of the busier areas.

Leggate Theatre

If using the stairs, turn right at the top and walk through the glass doors. If using the lift, press button L2. Turn right out of the lift then a left around the corner to the glass doors. Once through the glass doors turn immediately right and the Leggate Lecture Theatre is straight ahead.

The Leggate Theatre is the original lecture theatre for the Victoria Building. The seating is in steep tiered rows and the steps can be narrow for some visitors so please do take care in this area.

Museum

The Museum can be reached by walking straight ahead if coming up the stairs. If using the lift, press button U2. The landing area just before the museum doors contains taxidermy items from our zoological collection.

The Museum houses items from the University of Liverpool’s collections and for conservation purposes, the lighting levels are low.

The items on display include items and equipment from the Dentistry department as well as zoological specimens in jars, which some visitors may find upsetting.

The Museum, dependent upon the current exhibition, may also have audio content.

The Museum is used on a regular basis for Family Craft Workshops. These take place between 1pm and 4pm on the last Saturday of the Month and on Thursdays during school holidays. School visits can also take place in the museum.