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!
Money Talks: Stories From Coins
Opens Saturday 5 April 2025
What is Money?
Most of us use money every day, so this seems like a simple question but it’s actually quite difficult to explain in words!
Money can be lots of things: coins, banknotes, digital transfers, credit, gold, bank cards, cheques, or even promises. Whatever form it takes, though, money is a way of exchanging wealth.
Without money, we have to barter if we want something. Both the seller and the buyer must agree that what they are exchanging is a fair swap. This takes a lot of time and trust. Money is a way to make this easier. Money items already have an agreed value and can therefore be automatically exchanged for that value of goods or services. On top of that, the value of money is guaranteed by someone in power, usually the ruler of the territory. So, the pound coin in your pocket today is guaranteed by King Charles III to be worth one pound sterling in all the areas of the UK under his rule.
Messages in the Money
Money has been used for thousands of years to make everyday purchases quick and easy. This means that money changes hands often and circulates around a wide area. Official money items, like coins and banknotes, are usually marked with designs, to prove that they are real and guaranteed. These designs will be seen by thousands of people as the money passes through their hands. The designs on money are therefore one way for governments to send messages to their people. Throughout history they have been used to proclaim important events, confirm religious ideas, and reinforce the image and legitimacy of the ruler.
This exhibition at Mansfield Museum is therefore about reading money! You will see some beautiful treasures of the historic money collection held by the museum and can also explore the stories revealed by the currency.
What messages are hidden in your own wallet?
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.