wiltshire museum

Very enjoyable day at this excellent museum. Far more interesting and informative than the Stonehenge visitor centre, and with plenty of activities for kids to do.

Museum is small but very well laid out, with clear bite sized exhibits that give good interpretations and explanations. I especially appreciate the fact that the artefacts found in excavations of the barrows in the area are displayed and interpreted extremely well. It's perfect for both adults and children. I think it is extremely underrated and more people need to visit. Forget Stonehenge! There's barrows and avenues near here and the museum beats that appalling visitor centre at Stonehenge by miles.

Thank you for your review. Unfortunately we do not have the space for a cafe, though we do have a coffee machine that can be used when we do not have a school group or meeting in our lecture room. Our lift does, in fact, reach all four main floor levels of the Museum. As our museum is made from 5 different buildings and 25 different floor levels, the layout is confusing and you may not have seen how this works. We encourage anyone we think may find the lift helpful to ask for help!

What a fascinating place. I had not realised just how much history this area has. This museum has it in bite size chunks with dressing up clothes for the children. We spent a long time going from area to area, century to century - viewing artefacts and information in different formats. Our ages ranged from 10 to 70 - there is something for everyone. It brings history alive.

The museum is worth way more of a visit than nearby Stonehenge, not least as most of Stonehenge's most interesting finds are located here ! The museum is well laid out in a lovely Victorian building ( unlike Stonehenge's new minor airport terminal visitor centre) and in a very pretty village.

A great museum with integral displays, especially after visiting Stonehenge! A lot more welcoming than the new Stonehenge visitors centre.

- Bright, attractive, up-to-date displays- Plenty of interactive activities for children (or big kids)- £5.50 for adults, £4.50 for students. I thought this was quite pricey for a regional museum, but by the end I felt that it was worth the money- Beautiful, impressive artefacts. I particularly enjoyed the attention paid to the prehistoric archaeology, which is often left forgotten in a corner in other museums

The Gold From The Time Of Stonehenge exhibition was interesting, and the rest of the museum was worth a long visit. We will probably be back, and I will recommend it to others.

Very comprehensive museum, ranging from the prehistoric to recent memorabilia. It is located in a rambling building of some charm, and everyone will find something of particular interest there. Children will be amused.

Thank you - we like being called 'great'! The Museum is free for children, but I am afraid that as an independent charity, we do have to charge. However, we hope that we give good value for money as our visitors certainly seem to enjoy their visit!

Thank you for your kind review. I am very pleased that you enjoyed your visit!

Thank you for your comments. The Museum is run by an independent charity, and is not run by the local Council. We are very grateful for our public funding, but this is equivalent to 8p per head of population in Wiltshire. This compares to the £1 we all pay in our taxes for the British Museum and the average of similar local authorities to Wiltshire of £4.80 per head.We are very aware of the cost to families and so have made sure that children are free so that parents and grandparents can budget accordingly.Our galleries include the nationally important Gold from the Time of Stonehenge as well as the Story of Devizes galleries and additional galleries about the story of the County and also featuring special exhibitions.This week is half term, and we have been busy with families who have left us some lovely comments in our Visitors Book and on Tripadvisor.We try very hard to give value for money, and still try hard to make ends meet. We support the work of the Museum from our reserves, as it costs more to run the museum than the amount of income we have each year.

An excellent view back in time with beautiful artifacts and timeless pieces from man's industrious past. A beautiful and entertaining experience.

After visiting Stonehenge and being disappointed by the whole experience..especially the lack of exhibits in the newly opened visitors centre, we began looking for other Museums in the area that have Bronze age/Neolithic finds on display. Whilst there we saw adverts for several other Museums in the area but upon enquiring most were shut due to time of year..apart from The Wiltshire Museum. Considering Devizes is only a small Market Town the Museum was very impressive for the quantity/quality of exhibits from the Stonehenge era and you could spend as long as you wanted admiring them without the crowds..all for £5.50pp with under 16's free :)

I visited the Wiltshire Museum with my friend (a local) last year, and my infant son. The staff were lovely and very helpful, including directing me to a lovely spot out in the back garden (generally reserved for staff I believe) where I could nurse him in peace and privacy. I appreciated that a lot.Once we got inside, we found a wealth of information on the surrounding countryside, and lots of fun little touches to the place that make learning all the more enjoyable for the young and young at heart! Dress ups, interactive screens and things to build/touch- it was all enjoyable and I think certainly worth the time/entry fee invested.There is a nice little gift shop you can purchases items from on the way out- where I only wished I had more money to spend! The dollar is never very favourable against the pound, unfortunately for my pockets...At any rate, an enjoyable and pleasant visit! Would recommend.