Whether you want to check out Costa Rican frogs or test your football skills, you can indulge yourself at one of Manchester's museums. Offering events, tours, walks and special exhibitions, and with many completely free of charge, visitors can explore, discover, learn and have fun without breaking the bank.

The Manchester Museum

The changing faces of Manchester Museum.

We are very excited about our new Courtyard Development, which will see two brand new gallery spaces, and a new museum entrance.
#HeritageMW #MuseumWeek

A post shared by Manchester Museum (@mcrmuseum) on Jun 25, 2017 at 7:46pm BST

The UK's leading university museum, the Manchester Museum began life as the Manchester Natural History Society, set up from the collections of John Leigh Philips in 1821. Fast forward nearly two centuries, and the museum now houses more than six million items in collections including botany, zoology, Egyptology, palaeontology, and live specimens. Check out the large collection of Costa Rican frogs in the Vivarium, or explore the living cultures of Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania to learn more about the history and heritage of different societies across the world. Until Sun 20 Aug, visitors can check out the exhibition on George Loudon, a chance to discover the natural world through the eyes of a Victorian scientist.
The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, free admission.

The National Football Museum

Love this: Manchester is...red, and blue. And grey. REPOST: #nationalfootballmuseum #manchester #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxt10 #coldandhot #sunset #blue #red 📷: @stefano_kala

A post shared by National Football Museum (@nationalfootballmuseum) on Feb 8, 2017 at 10:08am GMT

What would a visit to Manchester be without acknowledging the city's footballing heritage? The National Football Museum is six storeys unabashedly celebrating the beautiful game. Visitors can check out the Hall of Fame – an area dedicated to the great players, managers and teams in England, learn more about the history of the game, lift some famous silverware, test (and show off) their skills, and enjoy the 1966 World Cup exhibit. A special exhibition commemorating the life and career of Pelé runs until Sun 4 Mar, 2018.
Urbis Building, Cathedral Gardens, M4 3BG, free admission (donations welcome).

Manchester Jewish Museum

Looking good in the sun #hottestdayoftheyear 🌞🌞🌞#manchesterjewishmuseum

A post shared by Manchester Jewish Museum (@mcrjewishmuseum) on Jul 19, 2016 at 3:38pm BST

Situated in a former Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, Manchester Jewish Museum is the only Jewish Museum outside of London. Telling the story of Jewish people of the local area, the museum showcases the influence and contribution they've made on Manchester throughout the years via a collection of documents, items, photographs, and oral histories. This summer, there are regular heritage walks around the city's Jewish quarter, and an exhibition of paintings by Tony Raynes, which documents his memories of Manchester in the 1950s (Sun 2 Jul–Fri 29 Sep).
190 Cheetham Hill Road, M8 8LW, £4.50 (£3.50).

The Museum of Science and Industry

Sunshine and steam trains. Hope you enjoyed your visit @matthewgibbs90, thanks for sharing this fab pic! #Repost
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The Old Revolution #MOSI #planet #museumofscienceandindustry #manchester #steamtrain #liverpoolandManchesterrailway #industrialrevolution #warehouse #modernarchitecture #blueskies #igersmanchester #vscocam

A post shared by Museum of Science and Industry (@msimanchester) on Apr 24, 2017 at 12:24pm BST

The Museum of Science and Industry shines a light on the inventions and innovations created in Manchester that have gone on to benefit the world. With a collection that spans 250 years, there are plenty of objects and stories to explore. Check out the models used by John Dalton to demonstrate atomic theory that laid the foundations of modern chemistry, or discover the parts making up the first ever commercially-available computer, the Ferranti Mark 1. Some events to look forward to in the future are Power Up (Fri 11–Mon 28 Aug) – a collection of more than 160 consoles for gamers to play some of the most popular games from the last 40 years, and the annual MakeFest (Sun 19 & Sun 20 Aug), a weekend of artists and makers taking over the museum to demonstrate their skills and encourage visitors to get into creating.
Liverpool Road, M3 4FP, free admission (donations welcome).

The People's History Museum

Interesting #exhibition's at the #PeoplesHistoryMuseum & nice to see the original #architecture of the #enginehall has been kept.
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@phmmcr @phmmcrexhibitions
#museum #phmmcr #manchester #peopleshistorymuseummanchester
#learn #culture #history #industriallights

A post shared by Matthew (@matt_tush) on Jun 26, 2017 at 3:25pm BST

The national museum of democracy, the People's History Museum documents the social history of Britain. Two floors cover revolution, reformers, workers, voters, citizens, time off and banners through cleverly-curated lights and colours, objects and items, and interactive exhibitions. Catch Queer Noise (Sat 1 Jul–Sun 10 Sep), an LGBT+ history of music and club culture in Manchester, or British Communism's Culture Wars (until Mon 28 Aug), an exploration of communism's cultural works.
Left Bank, Spinningfields, M3 3ER, free admission.