Pitt Rivers Museum
University of Oxford
South Parks Road
Oxford
Oxfordshire
OX1 3PP
England
Website
Website
General enquiries
Telephone
Recorded general information, group bookings and option to speak our Receptionist
01865 270927
Fax
General fax number
01865 270943
The Pitt Rivers Museum is the University of Oxford's museum of anthropology and world archaeology. Founded in 1884 following a gift to the University from General Pitt-Rivers it retains its unique period atmosphere with dense displays of artefacts, many in the original wooden display cabinets. As a result, it has often been described as a 'Museum of Museums'.
The new extension and restored entrance which provide better provisions for the public, students and staff is now complete.
The entire collection of this museum is a Designated Collection of national importance.
Venue Type:
Museum
Additional info
Induction loop available in museum shop.
Please pre-book disabled parking spaces.
The entire collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum is a Designated Collection of national importance.
The Pitt Rivers Museum takes the world for its province, with collections of artefacts that date from earliest times to the present day and extensive photographic and archival collections. The museum is a resource of international importance for the study of human cultures and their history. Its collections span all parts of the world from prehistory to the present day and celebrate the range of human creativity and technological ingenuity.
The collections are arranged typologically with material organised not by origin or date but by function to show how, at different times and in different parts of the world, people solved a wide range of everyday problems. Every aspect of human life is presented in displays of basketry, body adornment, magic, masks, medicine, music making, navigation and textiles, among dozens of other themes. These are complemented by a number of culture-specific displays, such as that devoted to material from the South Seas collected on Captain Cook's Second famous Voyage of Discovery.
Collection details
World Cultures, Weapons and War, Toys and Hobbies, Religion, Photography, Music, Costume and Textiles, Archaeology, Agriculture
Key artists and exhibits
- The museum's displays contain an almost overwhelming variety of material from masks to magic, mummies to musical instruments. Highlights include a 40ft Totem pole, a witch in a bottle and a temporary exhibition of photographs taken in Iraq, by the renound traveller Wilfred Thesiger.
- Designated Collection
In Reverse: Where the Future Meets the Past
Goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork and jewellery students from the Royal College of Art have journeyed back into the real and imagined histories of chosen objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum. From beards for women to 3D printed fish traps, 'In Reverse' creates exciting pairings which test the line between innovation and tradition!
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free entry. Open: Mondays 12.00-16.30, Tuesdays - Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays 10.00-16.30
Website
Visiting with the Ancestors : the Blackfoot Shirts Project
What happens when museum objects go home for a visit? The Blackfoot shirts at PRM, collected in 1841, express Blackfoot culture and beliefs. In 2010, PRM staff took them home to Canada for a visit so that Blackfoot people could learn from them and strengthen cultural knowledge and identity. Blackfoot people were delighted to see these important heritage items and were inspired by them. The exhibition includes three of the shirts and quotes and photographs from the reunions with Blackfoot people.
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Admission
Free admission, donations welcomed. Open: Mondays 12.00-16.30, Tuesdays-Sundays & Bank Holidays 10.00-16.30
Website
Andrea Stultiens: The Kaddu Wasswa Archive
Dutch artist Andrea Stultiens met Kaddu Wasswa in 2008 after an introduction by his grandson, the photographer Arthur C. Kisitu. Stultiens found in the way Kaddu Wasswa had personally documented his a life a fascinating route into the Ugandan history she had been searching for. The three set out on a mission to tell Kaddu Wasswa's life in photographs, based on the documentation he had compiled over the decades. The result is a fascinating insight into both an extraordinary man's life and post-independence Ugandan society.
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Admission
Free admission, donations welcomed. Open: Mondays 12.00-16.30, Tuesdays - Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays 10.00-16.30
Website
May Half-Term Activities: Tipi Tales
Explore the American Great Plains with Native American crafts and activities.
Suitable for
- Especially for children
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Admission
Free drop-in session. Suitable for children aged 5+ but all ages welcome. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Under 5 event: I can see a rainbow
Find a rainbow of colours in the Museum and take a collection home with you!
Suitable for
- 0-4
When
2-4pm
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Admission
Free drop-in session for children under 5. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Pitt Stop: Flibbety Flub
Celebrate Alice Day by creating some nonsense art inspired by the collection.
Suitable for
- Especially for children
When
1-4pm
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Admission
Free drop-in session for children aged 5+ but all ages welcome. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Under 5 event: Shadow Puppets
Make a puppet and watch a show at this special event for under 5's.
Suitable for
- 0-4
When
2-4pm
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW.
Admission
Free drop-in session for under 5's. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Summer Holiday Activities: Bags of Fun!
Borrow a backpack full of activities and become a family of museum explorers!
Suitable for
- Especially for children
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Admission
EVERY TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY during opening hours. Free drop-in session for children aged 5+ but all ages welcome. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult. Open: 10.00-16.30
Website
Trail: Beside the Seaside
Discover the people that live by the sea with lots of sensory seaside surprises...
Suitable for
- Especially for children
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW
Admission
Free drop-in sessions for children aged 5+ but all ages welcome. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Museum open: 10.00-16.30 Tuesdays - Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays, 12.00-16.30 Mondays
Website
Pitt Stop: Guardians of the Museum
Meet the objects who protect and guard... Then make a guardian of your own!
Suitable for
- Especially for children
When
1-4pm
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Admission
Free drop-in session for children aged 5+ but all ages welcome. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Under 5 event: Fan-tastic
Keep cool this summer by making a fan in this special event for under 5's.
Suitable for
- 0-4
When
2-4pm
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Admission
Free drop-in session for under 5's. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Summer Holiday Activities: A load of rubbish...
Explore our recycling displays and make your own art and animations out of junk.
Suitable for
- Especially for children
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Admission
2.00pm - 4.00pm. Free drop-in sessions for children aged 5+ but all ages welcome. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Pitt Stop: Let's go fly a kite
Hope for a blustery autumn and make your own Chinese inspired kite!
Suitable for
- Especially for children
When
1-4pm
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Admission
Free drop-in session for children aged 5+ but all ages welcome. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Under 5 events: Row, row, row your boat
Explore the boats in the Museum and make one of your own at this special event for under 5's.
Suitable for
- Especially for children
When
2-4pm
Where
Pitt Rivers Museum. Entry via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW
Admission
Free drop-in session for children under 5. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.
Website
Getting there
The entrance to the Pitt Rivers Museum is through the Oxford University Museum Natural History (OUMNH) on Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW. The Pitt Rivers' entrance is at the far wall of the OUMNH. The OUMNH is closed during 2013 but access to the Pitt Rivers remains as usual.
Parking: The Museum unfortunately cannot offer parking facilities. Vehicles parking in the University's Science Area without a permit are liable to be wheel-clamped. We suggest that you look for parking in either the side streets around the Museum or at the multi-storey car park. We can offer disabled parking, please call 01865 270927 to book a space.
By bus: There are also five Park and Ride car parks (situated on the A40 at Headington; Red Bridge at the bottom of the Abingdon Road, near Kennington; Pear Tree Roundabout, Woodstock Road; Water Eaton, Banbury Road, Kidlington and Seacourt at Botley). The coach park is on Oxpens Road. The walk from the coach park and the multi-storey car parks to the Museum is about half an hour.
By train: Oxford train station is approximately a 20 minute level walk to the Museum.
By cycle: There are bicycle racks outside the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
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