Exhibitions
Carboniferous Monsters
Opens Saturday 5 April 2025
Step back to the Carboniferous period, 100 million years before the dinosaurs. Visit tropical forests and swamps teeming with bizarre and ferocious ancient monsters, some of which had larger teeth than T. rex. Meet the dinosaurs’ distant ancestors, the very first reptiles, the largest creepy-crawlies ever to live, and prehistoric animals unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!
Come face-to-face with scorpions the size of dogs, millipedes the length of crocodiles, and giant meat-eating dragonflies the size of seagulls. This blockbuster national touring exhibition features stunning 350 million year-old original fossils, reconstructed giant prehistoric animals, and skeleton casts from museums around the world, many of which have never been displayed in the UK before.
This incredible exhibition is on display at Mansfield Museum.
It shows what this area was like 300 million years ago and explores how the remains of these prehistoric plants were the source of the carbon which formed coal. Discover how these ancient forests and swamps are linked to fossil fuels that powered the industrial revolution and the climate change we’re facing today.
Suitable for prehistoric monster fans of all ages!
Abracadabra: A Magical Experience
This summer, Mansfield Museum invites visitors of all ages to discover a world where magic, mystery, and imagination come vividly to life
Abracadabra: A Magical Experience, a spectacular touring exhibition, opens on Saturday 12 July, offering a fascinating journey through the power of words, symbols, and belief.
This immersive and educational exhibition explores magic in all its forms — from theatrical illusions to ancient rituals and cultural practices from around the world. Visitors will be transported into a world where language holds power, objects tell stories, and the boundary between the real and the imagined begins to blur.
Abracadabra brings together a remarkable collection of objects rarely seen by the public. On display will be iconic showbiz props, magician’s costumes, and personal items from performers past and present. These artefacts, usually locked away from view, will be united in a visually stunning and thought-provoking exhibition.
But this is more than a celebration of stage magic. The exhibition also delves into the esoteric and mystical: from fortune-telling and scrying mirrors, to voodoo dolls and divination tools. It invites visitors to explore how people across time and cultures have used symbols, language, and ritual to make sense of the world around them.
Whether you're intrigued by witches and wizards, fascinated by the psychology of illusion, or simply love a good story, Abracadabra has something for you. It’s an experience designed to entertain, inform, and inspire — perfect for families, schools, and curious minds of all ages.
Abracadabra: A Magical Experience is a temporary touring exhibition, Mansfield Museum is proud to host this remarkable show and bring its wonder to the local community.
The exhibition opens on Saturday 12 July. Admission is free.
Running for a limited time only — don’t miss your chance to explore the real magic already in our lives.
Have you ever heard of a Bornean Bristlehead or a Rhinoceros Hornbill? If not, you can now meet them face to face at Mansfield Museum's newly opened natural history gallery, which celebrates feathered friends from around the globe.
The permanent display, A World of Birds, reinterprets the museum’s rich and internationally significant Joseph Whitaker bird collection. This collection contains 3,000 bird specimens, including some species that are critically endangered and on the brink of extinction.
MADE IN MANSFIELD
An exhibition celebrating Mansfield’s industrial past and present: objects, photographs and oral recordings from Metal Box, Mansfield Brewery, Shoe Co. and other important local companies.
BUXTON WATERCOLOURS
The Museum's collection of over 130 Albert Sorby Buxton watercolours are a unique and valuable record of the face of Mansfield at the turn of the century.