The Ulster Museum stands in the Botanic Gardens on the south side of Belfast. Northern Ireland’s largest museum and part of National Museums Northern Ireland, it’s home to a vast trove of treasures spanning archaeology, history, art and the natural sciences.
Founded in 1821 and occupying its present location since 1929, the museum was known as the Belfast Municipal Museum and Art Gallery before becoming the Ulster Museum in 1962. Between 2006 and 2009 it underwent a massive revamp, giving it an impressive new atrium, white walls, glass walkways and airy exhibition zones.
What to See at the Ulster Museum
Visitors to the Ulster Museum can explore a diverse range of permanent and temporary exhibitions that tell the story of the people, landscapes and natural life of Northern Ireland, and give intriguing cultural and historical insights into other parts of the world.
History buffs can roam the History Department to view artefacts and photographs charting Ireland’s and Ulster’s past. Other must-sees include the Archaeology and Human History zones, where you can see the mummy of Princess Takabuti, Neolithic stone axes, treasures recovered from the 16th Century Girona Spanish Armada ship and more.
Wildlife enthusiasts will love the Nature Zone with its interactive exhibits, zoological displays and animal specimens, including a magnificent preserved Tasmanian tiger.
Other attractions include the Art Department with over 12,000 paintings, ceramics and silver objects dating from the 17th Century, and assorted dinosaur bones from across Europe and Asia, including a near-complete Edmontosaurus skeleton.
The Ulster Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays 10am-5pm and admission is free.
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