Went with my children on a Sunday and had a great time. Aquarium was interesting. The museum is small but dense and the building it sits in is impressive. Some very interesting exhibits and interactive installations for the kids. Would definitely go again. Parking was free (Sunday only). Watch out for attendants though and follow the rules(park in bays etc)Didn't cost us a penny the whole day.

I had the pleasure of spending some time here recently. It was amazing. For a town museum it was absolutely amazing. There were so many things children and adults could so. I avoided the dressing up chest nothing on my size!😀. The refurbishment is done to a very high standard. It is still a work in progress. I was absolutely delighted. So many things made to explore. There were children visiting and they were discussing in a group about their learning. The staff are friendly and welcoming. There are folding chairs for convenience. A small gift shop. The film of Bolton then and now was great. Done so well. I'd definitely say it is worth going to and enjoying. The gallery of Bolton painters and sculptures was a surprise. All in all excellent.

Brilliant fun for all. Great building Lots to look at Really enjoyed the visit. It has an aquarium also. Fun things to do. Games Fuzzball Educating Phoaroahs Works of art Stuffed animals History of Bolton is fantastic Brilliant day out well worth the visit!! I will return next year as they keep adding things over time Well lit. Cool.very large space I truly good museum It is free but put a donation in as they can do alot with local money and support Try it for yourselves you will not be dissatisfied at all. Takes 1.5 hours to see all as there is lots to see and do

Took my 4 children. Some areas of the wildlife area where closed when we visited, however don't let that stop you. Great aquarium. Lots to learn in this museum from art and Bolton history to Egyptian Era which was brill! Highly recommend for a free, great day especially with the kids! 5****

A small but complete museum, with great treasure and history! We enjoyed the Egypt mummy display, the sculpture, the coffin ⚰️; learned the textile industry history of Bolton, and an aquarium at the basement floor. It's free entry and great place for kids to learn and play. There's also a library at the ground floor. 🦖🦕 🏭

great place to visit when it wet outside free also but we did drop some money in the boxes around the museum

If you haven't visited Bolton Museum recently I recommend you have a few hours there. The Egyptian gallery is absolutely superb. It now has three galleries: The entrance gallery very light with many interesting artifacts in glass cabinets The middle gallery with objects from the tombs. The final gallery is like being inside a tomb and has the famous mummy on show. Very well done.

It’s awsome museum and sea life for free you don’t have to buy tickets and booking you just go straight to that place.

Loved the fact that it was not too overwhelming like other museums. Just the right selection of things to explore. The highlight was the Egyptian section, with artifacts, stuffed animals, a short video projection they have to depict the Egyptian afterlife belief and yes the mummy 😲 There is a small aquarium downstairs too which my girls loved 😍

A lovely family experience. The aquarium is engaging and has some brilliant fish. The Egyptian exhibit is fantastic!

Good place to visit. Especially loved the aquarium cause i am crazy for fish 😂🐟 i mean the cutest mini sting rays there 😍

A variety of things to learn about ranging from the history of Bolton, to the history of Egypt. Plants and animals. A little bit for everyone to enjoy really and there's even some dressing up trunks for kids on the way around. I especially enjoyed the unknown man in the ancient Egypt section. There's also a gift shop if you want any little souvenirs such as figures, pens and toys or even homemade jewellery.

Good way to spend an hour. Shame the aquarium was not open though, but will return when it does.

Always willing to go the extra mile to help customers who are having a fish tank trauma! This is why we need to support local shops - service like this can not be found online.

Took some coral in to trade and was told I would receive give voucher by email. Week later after no email went back for coral to find it half sold but was told it bleached and had to be thrown away. A very dishonest owner who doesn’t think twice about ripping off people who shop there.

Fantastic shop couldn't thank them enough very good advice and saved me a load of cash. They definitely got a new loyal customer

This is a relatively small museum set over three floors. The attractive displays are well lit and information is succinct and mostly easy to read. The history of Bolton is well illustrated but the highlight of the museum is the Egyptian gallery. There is a wealth of artifacts and the recreation of the inside of a pharaoh's tomb is impressive. The aquarium is small but several of the species cared for are endangered. It was pleasing to see the success that the museum's breeding programme has had. Allow about 90 minutes for a visit. My only word of warning is that young children quickly realise that the upper gallery has a good echo. A pair of earplugs may help!

A very nice museum where you can look at the art and history of Bolton. The Egyptian history is also a highlight in this museum It is free of charge and the staff are nice and helpful

For a visit with children this was great. The Egyptian mummy was a bit dark for our 5year olds but they found lots of interest with the other exhibits and the aquarium. A nice children's drawing/colouring area to finish. Excellent couple of hours and for free!

The colour monster experience was fantastic, the actor playing the monster did an amazing job. The aquarium is much the same as it ever is. Several sections of the museum was closed, aside from the Egyptian exhibit, there wasn'tuch to entertain the kids, who largely found it boring. Staff in the library/museum were all very nice. For a free resource though, you definitely can't really complain

Excellent Exibition of Egyptian era with loads of interesting and valuable research information on site. Childrens love it about whole presentation. Council must invite schools to visit and get valuable information about history. Much appreciated..

Free entrance buitifull building Aquarium not so big but it's free They have lifts & also disabled lift & ramps. We found the history more interesting for us. They have a little gift shop helps with donations this was an hour tops for us mostly because we have experienced all this mostly through life.

Amazing day seeing the moon 🌝❤️ such a fun day out and even though it was really busy there was lots to get involved with. Definitely going again ❤️

Lots of interesting things to see and well laid out. Changed a lot since I was a kid, but still good fun. Didn't get into the aquarium as it had closed early and that was a bit of a let down, but enjoyable overall and well worth a visit.

Fabulous place to visit. Ancient Egypt exhibition just great, aquarium really worth to see, free Sunday parking around. Highy recommend for whole family any age.

Need enough to visit in a day really interested in the exhibits

Bit rubbish.

Good museum with lots of artefacts from Egypt. Things for children to do. Local history exhibits including potographs of mass observation of ordinary people was informitive. Small art gallery. No cafe.

We all LOVE to visit the Library and Museums. It is full of wonderful books and history, Of course we also visit the fishes in the Aquarium while we visit. It's amazing, the staff are brilliant and so helpful.

My boys love to visit. They never tire of looking at all the stuffed and pickled animals. The recent mineral exhibition was fantastic. As was the Egyptian rooms.There is an interactive play area for younger children. Lots of interesting pictures, facts and figures. Loads of local history stuff, a little shop area and a small aquarium. However, due to Covid 19 this was closed at the last visit. If you are trying to think of something 'FREE' to do on a rainy/bored day. You could while away a couple hours of child friendly time here. And, as its based in Bolton town centre, at the time of writing its free parking and lots of places to eat and drink nearby.

A lovely little museum, aquarium and art gallery set over several levels. Wheelchair access to all areas. Lots of practical hands on on stuff for children. Free entry (we left a donation in the donation box), there is a picnic area and a small but reasonably priced gift shop. There is no cafe so would advise bringing a drink with you. Aquarium is small and needs a refurbished but the museum and art gallery are up to a high standard. Activity sheets available for children.

Love this place even if its just me I love to have a good look around but my children also love this place and they are always really excited to visit our great museum and art gallery super place to visit 😊😊😊👍👍👍👍👍

Enjoyed a.visit to the museum just before lockdown 2 commenced. Very good one way systems in place.

Excellent exhbitions, I especially liked local history section. This is one of the best museums around. Highly recommended.

Great place, well worth a visit . It caters for all ages. The variety of exhibits mean you could get lost here. I was very impressed with the knowledge the attendants conveyed to.

Excellent museum,very informative,really enjoyed it. Must visit.

Excellent museum, which has access to one of the most important collection of Egyptian artifacts on the UK. The art collection has lost a several of its better exhibits, though. Very child friendly, with plenty of activities, especially in the school holidays. However, despite what it says on here this is not a fifteenth century building but was built in the 1930s, along with an excellent library, a set of offices and a disused court. The buildings were originally named the Crescent and now called Le Mans Cresent. The building is Grade II listed and is low quite popular as a location for TV dramas. It doubled as London in Peaky Blinders.

lovely however not large.

Total letdown covid overkill

Egyptology - important collection of verified Ancient Egyptian artefacts ransacked in the late 1800s

Bolton Aquarium is closed until further notice, Bolton Museum is open Tuesday - Saturday 9am to 5pm

Gem, really well laid out

Bolton Museum like is as good as Oasis' first 2 albums and Stones Roses' debut album - need I say more

We love this museum, the exhibition's are brilliant and the staff are fantastic, really knowledgeable about the exhibits

I love history, and like many, have been fascinated by the Egyptians for as long as I can remember. It's definatly the best display of the artifacts ive ever seen. A job well done.

Very good

Really good museum especially as its free. The Egyptian area was great!

Free to enter. Very good aquarium downstairs. Good Egyptian section upstairs. Worth a visit.

This is a really awesome place to visit. There's so much to see, but it can be done in lots of smaller visits. It's also the most accessible local attraction I've been to - no tied up red alarm strings, accessible toilets on most floors, lifts to all floors including the mezzanine (this is rare), helpful staff/volunteers, and ramps (although one is a bit narrow due to the building age). Really worth a visit and a donation (it's free otherwise)!

Need to update aquarium. Was a great day with mental client, we enjoyed it. Beautiful building too

Well presented exhibits.

Kids absolutely love it

Great way to spend a couple of hours, especially with kids.

🐟⚠️BETTER THE AQUARIUM⚠️🐟 I honestly adore the museum and have tons of memories there considering I go almost every weekend but when it comes to the aquarium its utterly miserable. It's small and hot and the fish look depressed. One of the fish, the big catfish, had been in the same place for atleast 6 weeks. Hes in the 3rd tank of the ones that are connected and he looks in bad shape his eyes are glazed over and its dorsal fin has dropped and if it isnt put in a bigger tank or moved to a different vasinity it's going to die. Not to mention theres a fish there in a large tank, on it's own allegedly part of a breeding program. For 1, fish cant bread without a mate and for 2 that big fish could easily be transfered to that tank with the other smaller catfish and the over fish could be moved somewhere else. I'm sorry for going on with myself but something needed to be said so I'll say it again. Better the aquarium. Not to mention that on your website it mentions under care that if a fish look unwell it is taken off of display to be treated but the fish has been there for 6 WEEKS if someone could explain it would be great.

Really interesting, educational.

Great for the kids and its free which is even better

Was a great day out even if it was raining and the decor was a little dated, the fish are beautiful and the whole experience is somewhat calming, it's clean and although there was no staff around at the time, the ones I've spoke to around the museum were all helpful and super friendly, I just wish we had something like this in Wigan, then I could visit a museum all the time, the one we have here is tiny

nice

It is worth a visit but sadly the council has sold off pretty much all of its historical assets to be replaced with some replicas. Kids enjoy it though and will take a few hours to wander around.

Quite a nice place to visit for a couple hours if you find yourself in Bolton.

Family friendly. Excellent exhibition.

Absolutely fascinating, stayed and wandered a couple of hours here, well presented museum.

Aquarium seemed like needed a good clean, didn't appear to be many staff around but alright experience for an hour or 2.

Lots to see. Liked the aquarium

So much under one roof

Fantastic collections in well laid out galleries

Aquarium need work but the museum is great

Great library and a smashing day out for the kids.

What a disgrace from what was supposed to be the best put together display of Egypt mummy's ect was a compleat let down, maybe there manager should be on display as a mummy as this was nothing close to the plans origonaly showed, compleat let down.

I’ve kept fresh water fish for a while decided I’m going to get a marine set up. Went to fit filtration for some advice, Lee was very helpful. The store was clean and have a good arrange of fish and corals. The most important part is how the fish look, all the fish were healthy not stressed and showing bright colours, will definitely be going again 👍

Nice shop good advice 👍

Best marine shop in Sheffield every time I go in they have lots of helpful advice to give me even if it's not what I want to hear

Very expensive for tanks and one member of staff just did not won't to help and there was a random voice from the back office saying something I could not really hear wile I was talking to a member of staff at the counter.. put me off going ever again

Fantastic, best range of coral I've seen and fish health is 100%

Very clean tanks, good selection of livestock. Well presented corals. Friendly knowledgeable staff. They had what I needed at a good price. Recommend a visit.

Excellent place! Very helpful, loads of products and well kept livestock.

Great shop very helpful staff with fair prices

Brillant place . Very friendly. Good banter. Go there when ime in Sheffield. Ime junas partner

Brilliant clean friendly place great stock great guys

Dad, Rod buys regular from this shop.

Best marine shop around

Brill place spot on staff

Extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Reasonably priced stock too.

Good stock, good knowledge staff, local for me

Good shop one of the best in Yorkshire

Helpful staff did not have what we're looking for unfortunately.

I live fairly local and fit filtration was recommended to me when I started in the hobby. It's a very small unit and not really an impressive setup at all and I found it very overpriced tbh. Knowledge questionable at times. I travel around the country for work and always drop into diffrent stores, so after finding out that there is far cheaper stores with a vastly better range It's hard to return. For fish, fit filtration is the most expensive store in the North of England I've visited and certainly in Yorkshire. Coral range also pricey and its only a small unit so a little limited.

Been to see Mike again today he gave us a lot of really good help and advice he really does know his stuff was nice not to be fobbed off with a-load of stuff you don’t really need. Really do recommend a visit, will definitely return

Great shop , staff are very helpful and kind. Would recommend

Got to give this shop a 5 star rating . Went in on Saturday for advice regarding starting a marine setup. The advice was second to none Those guys are very knowledgeable and what they told me compared to other shops Was just what I wanted to hear ... I got a full run down of every item that I needed and was adviced what would be best for the size of tank I was wanting.. They don't to try sell you anything you don't need just to get a sale...we spoke to a guy named Ash this guy is top notch we left the shop with what you could say a book of advice told us everything we needed to know.. We had a few other shops to get prices but after chatting to the guys in there we decided to go back and buy our first marine set up . They are even going to set it up and get it running for me .. Couldn't ask for more ... Would highly recommend Forgot to say the tanks are spotless and fish stock very healthy

Lovely place clean tanks lovely live stock berry impressed berry clean shop and tanks well worth a visit

Another Great experience at Fitfiltration, sound advice on dosing, completed water Quality tests in minutes with good advice and got me sorted with some emerald crabs to sort my bubble algae out... And as always a free coffee while I'm in store, what more could you ask for..?

Fantastic shop, Great service and especially knowledge and advice from Mike and Paul is fantastic, wide range and will always look to order in anything not stocked. My go to LFS

Great shop with extensive knowledge and selection of goods. Custom made aquariums are second to none.

Bought over priced snails, took 30 mins to acquire sifting through a bunch of dead snails to finally give me what i didnt want, just a bunch of random snails, of course 3/5 of them was dead the next day, should of known. Shop owner said he was getting specific stock in later in the week, waited all week phoned and was told "not here" so matter of fact. No sorry no nothing. No sorry for making you wait all week for nothing. AVOID! Was clean at first, its run down now, owner is vague and abrasive and doesn't value other peoples time.

Great museum! Really enjoyed the Egypt collection. Parking close to the museum is pay at metre. Would be so much better if you could park close by for more than 1 hour.

It is near the council. There is aquarium at first floor. On the second floor great Museum. You can see history of Bolton. There are items of wild nature. Kinds of birds, insects, leopard, bear... And you can find a lot of Egyptian historical objects. Mummies also.

A very interesting Egyptian section, including mummies and several objects thousands of years old. The section on Bolton's history is also interesting, and we liked the shop, particularly its range is books. Staff we encountered were friendly and helpful. We weren't impressed with some of the tanks in the aquarium, which in some cases were too sparse and in some others were too small for the size of fish.

Fabulous building in a quiet square in the heart of Bolton. Excellent access especially for those with limited mobility. Museum occupies several galleries on the first floor. Great insight into the History of Bolton and surrounding areas and some amazing exhibits. Section regarding football legend Nat Lofthouse is very interesting with loads of memorabilia regarding his playing days ! The basement contains the aquarium which is fantastic considering the space. Amazing variety of fish to see from all around the world, Piranhas being very scary looking. Fantastic place to bring the kids. Overall, well worth a couple of hours to potter around and enjoy !

I went on a tour of the archives led by Caroline. Absolutely fantastic! If you get the chance to go, you must. There are so many hidden treasures and Caroline is really enthusiastic about showing you what she has as well as answering any questions and even finding things you'd like to see.

The staff was friendly, it is really small quiet museum, perfect for quick look history of Bolton, Egypt & small aquarium

We travelled.into the archives, and were amazed at the amount and diversity. of information that is stored there. Well worth a visit, just enquire on the local history room, the staff are very helpful and knowledgeable.

Not very much inside compared to big museums. More about the local info. It was for free, so can't complain.

What a great place to take the kids on a rainy day! Lots to take in! There was a nature hunt around the whole building to keep the younger ones occupied as well as the Aquarium in the basement, housing Stingray , Piranhas and various other species! The Egypt Room so fascinating, with real Mummified bodies , ancient Egyptian artifacts and a short movie to watch! Upstairs a Colour themed exhibition and areas for interaction! Parking close by , a fab afternoon!!

The museum was exceptionally good. The aquarium was very small and not a good mix of fish.

Excellent museum. Egyptian exhibits particularly good. Shame the art gallery and natural history sections were closed when I visited.

We went there for 2 events over the weekend: a mummy tour combined with the Brendan Fraser film; a murder mystery night. Both were great fun. Highly recommended, especially when there are specific events on.

Me and the family loved it! A great little aquarium with some genuinely interesting tanks and species (who knew some fish swim upside down, I didn't!) The museum is great too, lots of interactive areas for kids, but not so dumbed down that it bores the adults. I'd happily go back without the family and spend a day learning stuff :)

We attended a Christmas "Escape from the Museum" event. Children were set 6 puzzle tasks to complete to obtain tokens. On completion the tokens were swapped for a magic key that opened the door to Santa's grotto. My little one had an absolute blast. Massive congratulations to all involved in organising the event. Truly brilliant. We've attended Bolton museum many times, it's definitely worth a visit.

Gorgeous Museum, with added library and aquarium bonus levels. Definitely going to take another trip over at some point - didn't get a chance to properly explore the collections on display. Fantast place though, with very knowledgeable staff!

Interesting & informative museum. Industrial revolution story was fascinating. Really enjoyed my time there...if we are ever in Bolton again I'd spend more time in there...

Museum was great, especially the ancient Egyptian section - very impressive and well worth a trip (although some of the facts are incorrect and need updating). Gallery was disappointing and aquarium wasn't worth the energy it took to walk down the stairs. Worth a visit if you're interested in history and haven't been before

My 9 year old son chose this museum as it showed online that they had rocks and animals. His only disappointment was that the taxidermy section was partly closed off so he could only see some things from a distance, but it was still very enjoyable. I personally enjoyed the local history sections. Definitely worth a visit.

A very nice place to visit and take your children

My first visit to a marvelous gem! My two grandchildren were thrilled with the aquarium and natural history exhibits. They really enjoyed spotting all the items on the scavenger hunt too.

Wonderful day....clean, full of stuff, fun for kids and adults, lots of information and interactive. Great afternoon!

The museum is awesome. The aquarium is not good. Overall it's a good experience.

An excellent day out. Really well put together exhibits, displayed beautifully. Everything is clear, spacious and well put together. Lots of thought has gone into making the exhibits appealing to all guests including children. Loved the story telling area and the well placed figures throughout the animals / rocks display. Really captured my kids interests with the bright colours and mix of toys with serious artwork and history. Whoever is in charge of presentation and making things child friendly has done a great job. We spent a really enjoyable few hours here with a 5yr old, 3 yr old and 1yr old. Aquarium is small but we really enjoyed visiting, a great range of fish and a clean presentable space👍

A small museum with some interesting exhibits. The top floor of the museum was closed and so was the portrait gallery which shortened the visit considerably. The aquarium was also small and some tanks looked as though they needed a good clean.

Amazing activities for children this half term. I used to go here as a child and it's still as amazing. The Egyptian section is so amazing. Really worth a trip

We visited today, Valentines Day with our daughter. Lots to see with the aquarium and the museum stuff upstairs. Aquarium was a big hit. Its small but good enough to engage young children. Also stuffed animals and other such displays. All well thought out and considered . They have activities to do for older children too so that's interesting. I would say for a free resource, it is a must visit. Very well catered.

I have visited here with my family from Manchester City Centre. This museum and library have us a good day-trip. I particularly like the exhibition about the history of Bolton.

Lovely building really nice setting, some good exhibits on show would have taken more photos but my battery died .. will be going back for more pics

This museum is a delightful gem, offering a little bit of everything to cater to various interests. It serves as a tranquil and enjoyable destination, especially for those seeking a relaxing weekend activity or an outing with kids. The best part? It's free, making it an even more enticing option. One particular highlight of this museum is the captivating section dedicated to Egypt. The displays and artifacts within this area are truly remarkable, providing a fascinating glimpse into the ancient Egyptian civilization. It's an aspect of the museum that stands out and leaves a lasting impression on visitors.

My sisters were visiting me in their home town and wanted to go. We enjoyed all of it but especially the local history room with so many displays to bring back memories and the small interactive room with items to guess and learn about. The only downside was the Egyptology display which, though beautifully displayed, has not the immediacy that it had when we were little and the one full sized mummy had absolutely no information on display at all. It was also too dark to read much of the information in the room with the 3 year old girl. I had to use my phone's light.

What a lovely little museum. Although we are not from the area, we really enjoyed our experience. The gift shop is fantastic and great prices for what is there