15 Museums to Explore in Oxfordshire

Abingdon County Hall Museum’s aim is to present the history of Abingdon and the surrounding locality in the most informative, exciting and accessible way possible. It housed a courtroom on the first floor, raised on arches above a market space. It is now home to the Abingdon County Hall Museum, and there are fine views from the rooftop overlooking the market square.

The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford's museum of art and archaeology, founded in 1683. Its collection representing most of the world’s great civilizations, with objects dating from 8000 BC to the present day. Among its treasures are the world’s greatest collection of Raphael drawings, the most important collection of Egyptian pre-Dynastic sculpture and ceramics outside Cairo and so more.

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford was established in 1683 and is the oldest museum in the United Kingdom. It houses the University of Oxford’s collections of art and antiquities. Its many riches include the world’s greatest collection of Raphael drawings; the most important collection of Egyptian pre-Dynastic sculpture and ceramics outside Cairo; the only great Minoan collection in Britain; outstanding Anglo-Saxon treasures; the most famous violin in the world, Stradivari’s M

The Aston Martin Heritage Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation that manages the Aston Martin Museum an automobile museum presenting the history of Aston Martin cars. It is located off Dorchester Road in the village of Drayton St Leonard, South Oxfordshire, England. The collection ranges from the oldest surviving Aston Martin car, No. 3 to a Vanquish Volante pre-production model dating from 2013.

Bambury Museum is a family-friendly museum located in Banbury’s town centre, next to the idyllic canal-side, and opposite Tooley’s historic boatyard. Its displays present the history of the town. They include the English Civil War, Banbury as a market town in Victorian times, the Oxford Canal, and Tooley's Boatyard next to the museum. The boatyard is a scheduled ancient monument that can be visited on a guided tour.

The Bate Collection of Musical Instruments is a collection of historic musical instruments, mainly for Western classical music, from the Middle Ages onwards. It has the most comprehensive collection of European woodwind, brass and percussion instruments in Britain. The Bate has over 2000 instruments from the Western orchestral music traditions from the Renaissance, through the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and up to modern times.

The History of Science Museum offers you the opportunity to weave your event around one of the world’s leading collections of scientific instruments. This unrivalled collection of early scientific instruments is housed in the world’s oldest public purpose-built museum building, the Old Ashmolean. The museum was built in 1683, and it is the world's oldest surviving purpose-built museum.

The Oxford Bus Museum is a transport museum at Long Hanborough. This beautiful and historic museum tells the story of bus and coach travel around Oxfordshire over the last 130 years. Our exhibits include a historic preserved horse-drawn tram, motor buses, coaches and a wide selection of artefacts - including bus stops, ticket machines, timetables, posters and staff uniforms.

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It holds an internationally significant collection of natural history specimens and archives in a stunning example of neo-Gothic architecture. It is home to a lively program of research, teaching and events focused on the sciences of the natural environment.

Pendon Museum, located in Long Wittenham near Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, is a museum that displays scale models, in particular a large scene representing parts of the Vale of White Horse in the 1920s and 1930s. The museum's main feature is one of the world's finest landscape model of parts of Oxfordshire and Berkshire as they were around 1930. It includes exact models of buildings, of railways and other transport. The entrance fee includes an audio guide. Family trails are available too.

The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum is a military museum in the town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, north of Oxford. The museum is on the edge of the Cotswolds. It offers its visitors engaging and immersive experiences through a changing exhibitions programme and permanent galleries including a recreated Great War trench, a mock up section of a Horsa Glider from D Day and Afghan Alley.

Thame Museum is a local museum located in the High Street of the town of Thame in Oxfordshire, England.It houses a vast collection of artefacts and exhibits spanning centuries of the town’s history. Housed in the old Court House, the museums offers a wide variety of display panels, artefacts and oral histories each telling the story of this historic town and its people.

Oxfordshire Museum is a large 18thcentury house in the heart of the historic town of Woodstock, which tells the story of Oxfordshire through its galleries and exhibitions. The museum features collections of local history, art, archaeology, the landscape and wildlife relating to the county of Oxfordshire, and to the town of Woodstock in particular.

The Story Museum is a museum in Oxford, England. It aims to encourage education and support community engagement by exploring all forms of stories. The museum was founded in 2003 and initially operated as a virtual museum with no premises of its own. It coordinated several projects and exhibitions and worked and associated with authors and illustrators including Michael Morpurgo, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, Jacqueline Wilson, and Quentin Blake.

Wallingford Museum is a colourful, delightfully intimate and family friendly local history museum on two floors of a medieval building in the heart of Wallingford. The museum has an extensive collection relating to the town's history. Displays include archaeology, Wallingford Castle, and the town in mediaeval and Victorian times. A free audio tour is available.