About
The Great North Museum: Hancock stands as one of North East England's premier cultural destinations, combining natural history, archaeology, and world cultures under one spectacular roof in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne. Operated by Newcastle University and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, this award-winning museum emerged from a major £26 million redevelopment completed in 2009, transforming the historic Hancock Museum building into a state-of-the-art public museum that houses collections from several former Newcastle institutions.
The museum's extensive collections span natural history specimens including an impressive array of taxidermy showcasing wildlife from around the globe, geological specimens revealing Earth's deep history, and interactive exhibits exploring biodiversity and evolution. The natural history galleries feature everything from enormous elephant skeletons to tiny insects, polar bears to tropical birds, fossils spanning millions of years to contemporary environmental displays. Interactive elements throughout engage visitors of all ages with hands-on activities and multimedia presentations that bring scientific concepts to life.
Archaeology represents another cornerstone of the museum's identity, with outstanding collections from Hadrian's Wall providing unparalleled insights into Roman Britain's northern frontier. The museum houses significant finds from excavations along the Wall, including military equipment, personal items, religious artifacts, and reconstructions showing how soldiers and civilians lived at this edge of the Roman Empire. Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome galleries display remarkable artifacts including mummies, hieroglyphics, classical sculpture, pottery, and jewelry that illuminate ancient Mediterranean civilizations.
World cultures collections showcase ethnographic material from across the globe, celebrating human creativity and diversity through traditional arts, ceremonial objects, textiles, and everyday items from Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas. With free admission welcoming over 400,000 visitors annually, the Great North Museum: Hancock serves as an accessible gateway to natural wonders and human history, inspiring curiosity, learning, and appreciation for our natural world and cultural heritage.
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Highlights
Hadrian's Wall Gallery
The museum's Hadrian's Wall gallery showcases one of the finest collections of Roman artifacts from Britain's northern frontier, drawn from decades of archaeological excavations along the Wall and its forts.
The centerpiece is a stunning reconstruction of a Mithraeum (temple to the god Mithras) based on finds from Carrawburgh fort, complete with replica altars, sculpture, and atmospheric lighting that evokes the mysterious rituals performed by Roman soldiers. Original artifacts include military equipment such as armor fragments, swords, and cavalry harness fittings; personal items like combs, shoes, and writing tablets revealing soldiers' daily lives; and religious objects showing the diverse beliefs practiced along the Wall.
Interactive displays explain the Wall's construction, purpose, and the multicultural society that developed in its shadow. The gallery powerfully conveys what life was like for Roman soldiers, their families, and local British populations living at the edge of the empire 2,000 years ago.
Ancient Egypt Collection
The Ancient Egypt gallery transports visitors to the Nile Valley with an exceptional collection spanning 5,000 years of Egyptian civilization. Star exhibits include genuine mummies with detailed information about mummification processes and ancient Egyptian beliefs about death and the afterlife. The collection features canopic jars, amulets, shabti figures, and funerary equipment that accompanied the dead on their journey to the underworld.
Hieroglyphic inscriptions are decoded throughout the gallery, helping visitors understand this ancient writing system. Daily life objects including pottery, cosmetics containers, jewelry, and children's toys reveal how ordinary Egyptians lived, worked, and played. Stone relief carvings, statues of gods and pharaohs, and decorated coffins showcase Egyptian artistry and craftsmanship.
Interactive elements allow visitors to try their hand at writing hieroglyphics and explore virtual reconstructions of temples and tombs. The gallery successfully balances spectacular treasures with educational interpretation, making ancient Egypt accessible and engaging for all ages.
Living Planet Gallery
The Living Planet gallery celebrates Earth's extraordinary biodiversity through spectacular natural history displays combining taxidermy, fossils, and interactive technology. Dramatic dioramas showcase animals in their natural habitats, from African savanna elephants and lions to Arctic polar bears and penguins, each carefully posed to demonstrate natural behaviors.
The gallery explores ecological themes including adaptation, evolution, predator-prey relationships, and conservation challenges facing wildlife today.
Taxidermy specimens represent species from every continent, including rare and extinct animals that visitors might never otherwise encounter. Complementing the animals are geological displays featuring fossils spanning Earth's history, minerals demonstrating the planet's diversity, and interactive exhibits explaining evolutionary processes.
The gallery emphasizes humanity's connection to and responsibility for the natural world, with contemporary conservation messages integrated throughout.
Particularly effective are the scale comparisons, such as elephant skulls next to tiny shrews, that help visitors appreciate nature's variety and wonder.
Natural History Collections
Beyond the main Living Planet gallery, the museum houses extensive natural history collections spanning botany, zoology, entomology, and geology with regional, national, and international significance. The collections include over 250,000 zoological specimens representing mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates from around the world, many collected during historic expeditions.
Entomology collections contain hundreds of thousands of insects including spectacular butterflies, beetles, and other arthropods.
Geological collections feature rocks, minerals, and fossils documenting Earth's 4. 6-billion-year history, with particular strength in Carboniferous period specimens from the North East coalfields. Regional natural history collections document North East England's wildlife, geology, and landscape evolution from Ice Age to present day.
While much of the collection remains in study storage, rotating displays bring research specimens into public view, and behind-the-scenes tours occasionally allow deeper exploration. These collections support ongoing scientific research by university researchers and visiting scientists, maintaining the museum's role as both public attraction and active research institution.
Collections
Hadrian's Wall: Edge of Empire
Comprehensive exploration of Rome's northern frontier through artifacts, reconstructions, and interactive displays
Ancient Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs
Mummies, hieroglyphics, and artifacts spanning 5,000 years of Egyptian civilization
Living Planet
Natural history spectacular featuring taxidermy animals from around the world in dramatic habitat dioramas
Greece and Rome
Classical Mediterranean civilizations explored through pottery, sculpture, and everyday objects
World Cultures
Ethnographic collections celebrating human diversity across Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands, and Americas
Natural History Collections
Geology, fossils, and regional natural history documenting Earth's history and North East England's landscape
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.
Nearby Museums (5 within 6 miles)
North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers
Industrial Heritage
Newcastle upon Tyne — ~11 min walk (0.6 mi)