Planning Your Visit - Learning: National Museum Cardiff

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We hope you enjoy your visit to National Museum Cardiff. The following information will support your visit.

Finding us:

Click here for directions and visitor information. National Museum Cardiff is located within the civic centre. Parking in our Visitor Car Park is available for a small daily charge. Admission is FREE.

Booking:

All group visits please book in advance.

List of useful numbers:

• Education Department: (029) 2057 3240 (schools and colleges)
• Events Office: (029) 2057 3148 (general information about Museum events)
• Marketing Department: (029) 2057 3471 (special interest groups)
• National Museum Cardiff Shop: (029) 2057 3478

Opening times:

10am-5pm, Tuesday-Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays. Please note the offices are closed at weekends and bank holidays.

General Information

On Arrival

Coaches can drop and collect groups directly outside the front entrance. Please sign in as a group leader at the Reception Desk and bring your confirmation of booking with you. The group leader must give the total number visiting when signing in. The meeting point for all facilitated visits is the Main Hall unless other instructions have been given.

Toilets

These are located off the Main Hall at basement level.

Disabled access

An access guide is available here or by telephoning (029) 2057 3149.

Photography

Photography for personal use is allowed in all of the galleries except where this symbol is displayed. We ask all visitors who take photographs to sign a form at the admission desk.

Mobile phones

As a courtesy to other visitors, please do not use your mobile phone when in the galleries.

Drawing in the galleries

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Art materials in normal use are not harmful to the galleries and displays, however, sharp edges of boards and pointed pens and pencils can damage frames, unglazed paintings and sculptures on open display. Colouring materials and adhesives can cause damage if accidentally dropped onto works of art, objects, walls or floors.

Please take the following precautions:

• Please keep all paints, crayons, pencils, pens and pastels etc. away from the walls, objects and works of art. If you are using paints, charcoal and pastels please provide your own floor protection.
• Please keep all drawing boards and clipboards away from works of art and display cases.
• Do not use fixatives and adhesives in Galleries 8 and 9, where works of art on paper are displayed. In all other galleries they must not be sprayed near the works on display and the surrounding floor must be protected.

Display changes

If your visit is to view specific works of art, specimens or artefacts, do check they are on display by phoning the Education Department. Conservation work, loans and redisplays mean that works sometimes get moved.

Special facilities for school groups

Cloakroom

The Cloakroom for school groups is at basement level. Please ask a Museum Assistant for directions. It is advisable to leave all coats and bags in the cloakroom. Please do not leave valuables in this room.

Sandwich Room

The Sandwich Room is available by prior booking. Half-hourly slots are available for groups of up to 60 at a time.

Please do not consume food and drink other than in the Café, Restaurant or Sandwich Room. If the weather is fine you might want to picnic outside in Gorsedd Gardens. The road outside the Museum can be busy - please take care when crossing.

The Museum Shop

There is a dedicated children's shop with toys, educational material and activity kits. A wide range of books, prints and postcards is also available. We ask all schools to please help with supervision by ensuring that children visit the Shop in small groups at any one time.

Preview visits

These are available for teachers or group leaders wishing to familiarise themselves with National Museum Cardiff. Please telephone to make arrangements beforehand if you want to speak to a member of the Learning team on the day of your preview visit.

Health and Safety

This is your museum. It is a place to explore and discover. To make everyone's visit a pleasure, we ask that certain rules are respected:

• We ask that all children and young people under the age of 14 be supervised at all times.
• Please do not run in the galleries, and take care when walking up and down the stairs.
• Please do not touch objects, specimens or paintings, and avoid leaving fingerprints on the glass cases. You are invited to touch rocks and minerals in the Evolution of Wales Galleries, and Glanely Discovery Gallery is dedicated to handling and accessing objects and specimens.

Our Health & Safety information can be downloaded here.

In an emergency

Fire

An alarm will sound in the event of a fire. On hearing the alarm your group should evacuate the building by following the signs to the nearest fire exit. You will receive instructions from the Museum Assistants.

First aid

If First Aid attention is needed please contact one of the Museum Assistants, who will then summon a trained member of staff.

Lost children

Children separated from their group should inform a Museum Assistant if they are lost. The Museum Assistant will contact the group and arrange for the missing child to be escorted to the Main Hall where they can be collected by an adult from the group.

Any other emergency

In the event of any other emergency please contact a Museum Assistant.

What will we see?

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Glanely Discovery Gallery

A hands-on gallery where state-of-the-art facilities and explainers will help you to examine items from the Museum's collections and participate in a host of special events and workshops.

Art

Discover five hundred years of magnificent paintings, drawings, sculpture, silver and ceramics from Wales and across the world. A major collection of French Impressionist paintings is displayed alongside the work of Welsh artists, past and present, and the incomparable porcelains of Swansea and Nantgarw.

Evolution of Wales

The Evolution of Wales exhibition maps a 15,000 million-year history - from the Big Bang to the Earth's formation 4,600 million years ago and the appearance of humans.

Wales drifted away from a South Pole location 700 million years ago, leaving the changing climate and environment recorded in the rocks. Fossil corals are clues to a tropical climate, while the eroded highlands tell us ice sheets covered Wales not so long ago.

Natural history

A visit to the Natural History Gallery takes you on a tour of the wonderful and diverse habitats that make up the natural environment of Wales. Explore the story of the wide variety of plants and animals that inhabit these places, from the seashore of Pembrokeshire to the highlands of Snowdonia.

Look at some of the amazing insects found in tropical forests, including our nest of live leafcutter ants, and discover the impact humans have made on the seas and oceans.

Archaeology & Numismatics

Uncover the history of Wales from the first peoples 250,000 years ago to medieval and more modern times. From the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages, Roman and Early Christian times, explore our links with the distant past.

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Behind the scenes at National Museum Cardiff

Library

National Museum Cardiff houses a major research and reference library. Individuals can, by prior appointment, arrange to use this resource. The Library is open Tuesday-Friday, 10am-5pm. Please book three days ahead of your proposed visit by telephoning (029) 2057 3202. Please be specific with respect to your request. Books cannot be loaned.

Prints & Drawings Study Room

Over 28,000 works on paper are stored and cared for here. These include drawings, watercolours, prints and photographs. Individuals and groups of students (max. 10) can visit the Study Room by appointment. Please book directly by contacting the Curator, Prints & Drawings Study Room on (029) 2057 3232.

Reserve Collections

Pre-booked visits by individuals and groups can be arranged to view items in the Reserve Collections. Please contact the curatorial department directly:

• Archaeology & Numismatics: (029) 2057 3229
• Art: (029) 2057 3104
• Biodiversity & Systematic Biology: (029) 2057 3220
• Geology: (029) 2057 3213

We very much hope that you will enjoy your visit to National Museum Cardiff. Please let us know how we can improve your visit - you can send your comments to us here.