Getting Around

Accessibility at the Museum

Mobility Aids

Bringing a mobility aid

Visitors are welcome to bring their buggies, prams, or mobility scooters, but please note that we are unable to store them on your behalf. Visitors must keep their buggies with them at all times whilst inside the Museum.

Borrowing a wheelchair

The Museum has two manual wheelchairs available for use by Museum visitors, please ask a member of staff if you would like to borrow one. We do not have a booking system for these wheelchairs, but if you would like to check their availability during your visit, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone (01865 272950) or email (foh@oum.ox.ac.uk).

Borrowing a stool

The Museum has lightweight foldable stools available to borrow from a rack on the Ground Floor of the Museum. You can find them near the North staircase, around the corner from the DNA model.

A rack of stools available to borrow, around the corner from the DNA model
A close-up of the rack of stools, which are black and foldable

Flooring

The floor of the Museum is predominantly tiled. There is some carpet in the centre aisle of the Main Court and there are wooden floors in the Ellen Hope Gallery (the First Floor entry/exit to the lift).

Please note that the Museum is an historic building, meaning that floors and staircases can be uneven in places. This particularly applies to the south staircase.

Seating

Chairs with backs and armrests can be found throughout the Main Court on the Museum's Ground Floor.

A blue chair in front of a pillar in the Main Court
A rack of stools available to borrow, around the corner from the DNA model

There are also built-in benches in the corridors on the Ground Floor and First Floor.

The Museum also has lightweight foldable stools available to borrow.

Please ask a member of staff if you need help finding a seat.

Lifts

Passenger Lift

There is a passenger lift that connects the Lower Ground, Ground, and First Floors. The lift is located very close to the accessible entrance and wheelchair-accessible toilet.

The lift entrance is 80cm wide. The lift will accommodate wheelchairs although it is not large enough for wheelchairs to turn within it. All lift buttons are at an accessible height for wheelchair users. The lift has tactile buttons, audio and visual information, and a hearing loop. There is a handrail on one side of the lift.

A short corridor with an arrow pointing into a corridor toward the right

The passage to the passenger lift, as seen from the accessible entrance on the Lower Ground Floor

The entrance to the lift which has metal doors and a button panel on the right hand side

The entrance to the lift on the Lower Ground Floor

The entrance to the lift on the Ground Floor, marked with a white arrow

The entrance to the lift on the Ground Floor can be found next to the shop

The door of the lift as seen from the Ground Floor

Ground Floor view of the lift doors

The Ellen Hope Gallery, as seen from the lift. It is a room with blue walls and displays about insects.

The Lift exits the First Floor in the Ellen Hope Gallery

The interior of the lift with metal walls and a lino floor

The interior of the passenger lift

The buttons in the lift which are, in descending order, First Floor, a blank button, Ground Floor, Lower Ground Floor, & a horizontal row of three buttons at the bottom: alarm button on the left, a close button in the middle, and an open button on right

Lift button panel

 

Stair Lift

There is also a small inclined wheelchair stair lift at the North end of the Museum. Please ask staff for assistance if you would like to use this. The lift platform is 100cm long and 77cm wide. It has a maximum weight capacity of 225kg. The stair lift connects the Ground Floor with the north Lower Ground Floor where you will find baby change facilities, a toilet suitable for ambulant disabled people, as well as standard male and female toilets. However, we recommend using the accessible toilet facilities at the south side of the building, which are accessible via passenger lift and are more spacious.

The stair lift is on the right hand side of the North staircase when viewed from above

 

Pushchairs

You are welcome to bring your pushchair into the Museum, as our wide aisles (built for Victorian ladies in crinolines!) make it easy to get around. If you require lift access, you can enter at the right-hand side (south side) of the Museum and use the lift there. Unfortunately, we are unable to store pushchairs, so please keep them with you during your visit.

Coats and Bags

Unfortunately, the Museum does not have a cloakroom to store coats or bags, so please keep your belongings with you during your visit.

Guide Dogs and Assistance Animals

The Museum welcomes visitors with assistance animals. If you are visiting with an assistance animal, please note the following:

  • We request all assistance animals to be on a lead where possible and expect them to not wander freely throughout the Museum.
  • We politely request that assistance animals wear a harness or jacket whilst in the Museum to help identify them to staff and visitors.
  • If you are planning to make a visit with an assistance animal other than a dog, we would be grateful if you could contact the Museum in advance to let our Visitor Experience team know to expect you: foh@oum.ox.ac.uk

Sadly, the Museum can’t accept visits from pets because ‘passenger’ insects that travel in, or live on, animals pose a threat to our taxidermy specimens.