Weston Park Museum, one mile west of the centre of Sheffield, England, lies beside Weston Park and surrounded by the University of Sheffield. It is managed by Museums Sheffield.
The museum opened in 1875 and was originally housed in Weston Hall, whose grounds became the park. A neoclassical extension, in the Ionic order, was added in 1887, accommodating the Mappin Art Gallery. This is now a Grade II* listed building. Weston Hall was demolished in the 1930s and a purpose-built structure, funded in part by donations from local businessman J. G. Graves, was completed in 1937.
For most of its history the complex was known as the Sheffield City Museum and Mappin Art Gallery. The museum contained Sheffield's archaeology, natural history, decorative art and social history collections. The art gallery had a small section given over to a rotating exhibition of the city's collection, but the majority of its galleries contained a contemporary mixture of commissions and touring exhibitions.
The building closed in March 2003 for complete renovation. The £17.3 million re-development was partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Sheffield City Council and Objective 1 for South Yorkshire. The building reopened in October 2006 as Weston Park Museum.
The museum's archaeology exhibits include a replica of the Bronze Age rock art from Gardom's Edge and many items collected by Thomas Bateman, notably the Benty Grange helmet which closely matches the descriptions of warriors' helmets in Beowulf. There are now seven galleries: the Harold Cantor Gallery; Sheffield Life and Times; History Lab; Arctic World; What On Earth!; Treasures; and About Art. The Harold Cantor Gallery houses temporary exhibitions, which can change up to four times a year. There is also a weather station monitoring area in the foyer.
The museum was updated to appeal to families and non-traditional museum visitors, as well as the seasoned museum visitor, and it won The Guardian's Family Friendly Museums award in 2008. Entrance is free and the museum is open every day.
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