National Museums Liverpool Blog - On this day in 2005

Continuing our celebration of World Museum's 150th anniversary, today we are looking back to 2005 when we had some exciting new developments completed at the museum...

Lloyd Grossman and visitors at the museum re-opening.

On this day in 2005, the new entrance, atrium, displays, cafés and shop opened at the World Museum and here is one review that was from Liverpool’s Nerve magazine:

'The refurbished £35 million museum now promises a view of the world 'from the oceans to the stars'. Access has been much improved; the entrance is now at ground level instead of up dozens of steps. This leads into the stunning new glass atrium where the old museum connects to the extension in the former John Moores University building, where most of the new galleries are located. The renovation has also seen the reopening of galleries that had been closed since the museum was bombed in World War II. The old mish-mash of exhibits has been replaced by clearly defined new sections: 'Space and Time', 'Natural World', 'Human World', and 'Earth'.

Additions to the museum include a new bug house and aquarium with marine and insect life better displayed than before while the Weston Discovery and the Clore Natural History centres offer the chance to get 'hands on' with exhibits from the human and natural world respectively - always good for getting kids interested. Exhibits are further brought to life by the Treasure House Theatre, which puts on live performances in relation to the exhibits. Meanwhile the new World Cultures gallery contains a selection of the antiquities brought to Liverpool by its international traders. This does a good job of explaining not only the differing cultures of the world but also how the city developed due to its international connections.

Large parts of the museum - such as the ancient civilisation and rainforest sections - have hardly changed at all in twenty years; they are still mainly objects in glass cases with little cards. However, the museum hopes to continue re-development as more money becomes available.

This is a much more user-friendly Liverpool Museum, with things explained in a way that's interesting, fun and easy to understand without being dumbed down.'