Hotels near the Hancock Museum

The Hancock Museum opened in 1884 and was named in 1891 after the celebrated local naturalists John and Albany Hancock. John was an ornithologist and an extremely skilled taxidermist, Albany is best known for his research into marine animals and coal-measure fossils. The museum is educational, interactive, and (most importantly) fun, designed to inspire young minds to ask questions about the natural world.

The Den section showcases animals from the seashore to the jungle, and examines how different creatures have evolved from changing environments. The Land of the Pharaohs portrays life in Egypt long ago, and there are two mummies as an example of how they thought of the dead.

Which kinds of creatures that lived then are extinct now? The Living Planet Section should help answer these questions, as well as other secrets of the Earth. In the Earthworks section visitors can learn how crystals, fossils and minerals are made, and maybe even find some treasure....

Until 9 May, 2004 the World of Dinosaurs has come to the museum, with Tyrannosaurus Rex looking for food, and other species guarding their eggs. Scientists have used fossils and skeletons to understand how these creatures lived and there is a chance to see some of them for yourself.

The museum is now owned by the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne and funded by the University of Newcastle.