Group Visits
Planning a group visit? Here’s everything you need to know before booking, including group sizes, activities, travel arrangements and how to make a request.
We’re always happy to welcome organised groups, but advance booking is essential for groups of any size.
Our maximum group size is 20 people (including children and adults). If your group is larger, we’ll help you divide it into smaller staggered groups. This helps protect our collections and ensures everyone has enough space to enjoy the museum comfortably.
Quiet Space
The Cole Museum sits at the heart of a working University building. To support staff and researchers working on the upper floors, we ask visitors to keep noise to a minimum.
Think of us as a quiet space – similar to a library.
Self-led Activities
Group visits are self-led, and we do not currently offer guided tours. However, we have a selection of worksheets you can download and print before your visit. Please remember to bring your own stationery.
Schools are welcome to use these worksheets or bring their own resources.
Due to the open-plan layout of our building, we’re unable to accommodate school bookings for Years 1 and 2.
Evening Bookings
We’re not currently able to accept bookings in the evening.
Booking Request Form
Once you have some provisional dates in mind, please complete our Booking Request Form. A member of our team will get back to you within a few days to confirm your visit or discuss options.
If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to email us – we’re happy to help you find a suitable date and time.
Travel and Parking
Parking on campus is limited, so we encourage groups to walk or use public transport where possible. Full travel directions – including accessible parking information – can be found here.
If you need to bring a minibus, please let us know in advance. Spaces are limited and must be booked with the University. Minibus parking is only available on Chancellor’s Way (via the Shinfield Road entrance).
Please note that drop-off and collection are not permitted in the small museum car park.
The walk from Chancellor’s Way to the museum takes around 15–20 minutes. Walking directions can be found here.
Donations
For group visits, we suggest a donation of £1 per person or £25 per group.
Please note that the minimum card payment we can accept is £3.
All donations are processed securely through our dedicated online donations page and help us keep the museum free for everyone.