Go on a journey through Suffolk's past from the Iron Age to Romans and Saxons. This museum gives a fascinating insight into the town and surrounding area's intriguing past. Discover more about past civilisations across the globe, you can even take a trip down the Nile in the Egyptian Gallery!
Victorian Natural History Gallery
The Victorian cabinets are lined with exotic foreign animals arranged in their zoological classification. They are watched over by hunting trophies and the only complete mounted specimen of a rare sub-species of giraffe. Alongside are the first gorillas ever seen in Britain, an Indian rhinoceros and a large diorama of African animals built in 1906.
The Ogilvie British Bird Gallery
Our vast collection of British birds on display is considered to be one of the most important and complete in the country. Fergus Menteith Ogilvie (1861-1918) was a 'sportsman-naturalist' with a great enthusiasm for the study of birds and orchids which he carried out with thoroughness and scientific insight.
Suffolk Wildlife Gallery
Come and see our life-sized model of a woolly mammoth who will guide the visitor through what happened after the Ice Age. What animals lived here then? When did humans and our familiar British animals come to live here? Are they British species or invaders? See the bear, wolf and boar of wild Britain before the land was farmed.
British Mammal Gallery
This gallery hosts a display of beautifully set Victorian dioramas of British mammals in their natural habitats. Also find out about the distribution of mammals throughout Suffolk.
Suffolk Geology Gallery
The geology of Suffolk from 70 million years until 10,000 years ago is displayed in the geology gallery. Chalk fossils sit alongside East Anglia's famous crag deposits, phosphatic nodules, glacial erratics and boxstones. Come and see the teeth of the extinct giant shark Megalodon from the Eocene period. Also displayed are the rich Pliocene and Pleistocene marine fauna for which East Anglia is known, some of which occur nowhere else in the world.
Ipswich Museum has a lively and engaging year-round events programme.
Discover what's on in our museum from April - September 2019.
Check out our Events Calendar for more information.
Ipswich Museum houses extensive collections behind the scenes which are available for study, research and inspiration. These include extensive and fascinating archaeology, social history and natural history collections.
Visits are welcomed and available by appointment.