The Leeds City Museum offers an exciting, fun and interactive day out for all the family. There are six galleries for you to visit as well as temporary exhibitions which change seasonally.
Walk on a giant map of the Leeds Metropolitan District and explore the different communities and places of interest in the city in the Leeds Arena. Watch films made with local community groups about life in Leeds today; from dance to food, Leeds Festival to Haaj and faith in the City.
Spend time relaxing on the Leeds Arena balcony which overlooks the giant map and enjoy the rolling films suspended from the ceiling - showcasing iconic images and famous landmarks in the city.
With 6.5 billion people living in the world today there are thousands of cultures spread over the world's five continents. The 'World View' gallery's opening exhibition focuses on Africa. This will run until 2013.
The African displays look at migration, colourful crafts and textiles, masks and masquerade costumes, musical instruments and an 'Africa Now' display. Have fun trying on the traditional African costumes and masks and even have a go at playing the drums.
Life on Earth explores our planet's history over the last 540 million years. Discover all the different types of life on earth and even experience the sights and sounds of a rainforest. Use the interactive displays to feel the skin of a python, catch as many ants as you can and even dig for some fossils!
From a 3000 year old Egyptian mummy to Roman statues and Greek pottery the Ancient Worlds gallery explores the civilisation of the ancient world. Discover clues to everyday life and death through the objects people left behind thousands of years ago. Make your own Roman mosaic or try your hand at being an archaeologist and reconstruct a pot.
If you are an enthusiastic collector you will really enjoy the Leeds Collectors gallery, next to the shop on the ground floor, which looks at what and why people collect. It showcases items from seven great Leeds’ collectors as well as changing displays of collections from more current day collectors. We have a rolling programme in this gallery, inviting local collectors to display their fantastic collections over a 6 month period. and have displayed some of the most weird and wonderful collections! Visit our You Tube channel and look through the videos in the Collector's cabinet playlist to listen to interviews with these collectors and find out how and why they managed to collect such masses of material and why.
Find out how Leeds has been shaped by its landscape and its people from pre-historic times to the modern day in the expansive Leeds Gallery. Objects on display include Bronze Age jet beads, an Iron Age pipe made from a sheep’s leg bone, the Castleford milestone, Roman objects from Adel and Dalton Parlours, and fragments of the Anglo-Scandinavian cross from Leeds Parish Church. Explore the city's history with hands-on and audio-visual displays and see how fashion, housing, music, sport and even shopping have transformed the look of the city.
