The Galleries
Formal Display Galleries
The museum has five formal display galleries, including a new gallery about the history of Cannock Chase.
The Miner's Cottage
Peep through the window of the miner's cot
tage and see how a mining family would have lived at the turn of the twentieth century.
Have a go with the the dolly peg and tub to do the washing!
Toys and Games Past and Present
Relive your childhood memories in our new Toys gallery, which features toys from the Victorian era to the present day - everything from china dolls to Buzz Lightyear. Our toys timeline is packed with surprising facts about all your favourite toys - for instance, did you know that the slinky was invented by a naval engineer looking for a way to steady ships in bad weather? There are also lots of toys for children to play with in our interactive toy room!
Underground, Overground - Seven Centuries of Coal
The 'Coal Face Experience' is an exciting interactive experience in 
the museum's Coal Mining Gallery. Don a miners helmet, before entering the 'coal face'. Inside, your eyes will need to get used to the dim light from miners lamps. Listen to the sounds of the pit as you walk through, but watch your head on the low coal ceiling! You can even crawl through a tunnel to experience what it would be like to work in a narrow coal seam! The Coal Mining Gallery also contains a fascinating selection of coal mining artefacts from the local area, as well as lots of information about the history of coal mining in Cannock Chase.
1940s Room
Look through the window of our 1940s house and listen to an audio snapshot of life in a home in Hednesford just after the Second World War.
We have an interesting collection of domestic wartime artefacts from the Cannock Chase area.
Cannock Chase Gallery
Our newest gallery tells the story of the development of Cannock Chase, and includes old photographs, local artefacts and fun interactives. Information and reminiscences were gathered from local people to inform the content of the gallery, which includes fascinating details of the social, industrial, military, economic and domestic history of the area. If you want to know more about Cannock Chase's contribution to the Great War, or how the town or village where you live developed, or the history of the shops you used to visit, you can find out all about it - and much more - here in the new gallery.
In addition to our main galleries, a temporary exhibition programme runs throughout the year offering visitors the opportunity to see objects from the museum's collections as well as exhibitions from other museums and local and national artists.
Museum of Cannock Chase, Valley Road, Hednesford, Staffordshire, WS12 1TD. Telephone 01543 877666.
