Are you interested in true crime stories and the workings of our justice system? Have you explored the National Justice Museum in Nottingham, UK? My family and I recently spent the day there at the request of our elder daughter when she saw a TikTok promoting the museum. It looked interesting, so we put it in our diary.

Read my review of a family day out to the National Justice Museum in Nottingham, UK.

Review of the National Justice Museum

This place was fascinating! I was interested to visit since I love museums, and our family enjoy visiting different locations to learn about our social history. The National Justice Museum is certainly a fun family day out, despite the serious nature of its purpose. I know we should take crime seriously, but this museum manages to convey the serious and horrific nature of the justice system throughout British history while still providing an entertaining day out for the family.

My children are aged 13 and 10 and they both enjoyed their day at the museum. Some parts of it were sobering, and they were both struck by the exhibition about youth justice in the US and the stories we learned about young people incarcerated for life for crimes they committed as children. My younger daughter was especially upset to learn about young women having their babies in prison and I think it was important for both my girls to see what happens behind bars.

Court is in Session

Soon after we arrived at the National Justice Museum we were taken to court. They have a magnificent Victorian Court Room with a judge and a prosecutor that re-enact cases from historical records. My husband was called as a witness to a crime and had to stand up for the accused, another visitor to the museum, which we all found hilarious! Later that day my daughters and I returned to the court room, and I was called as a witness to prosecute the accused. It was a great way to learn about how justice was served in the old days, and my daughters came home and immediately set up their own court room in our living room and began holding trials based on what they had learned.

We were invited to walk down into the jail directly from the court room as so many prisoners had done in previous years, which was a strange experience. And then we entered the prison. We saw a fascinating display of case reports from different time periods, there were exhibitions of shackles and various implements that were used on prisoners, and a mixture of information boards and interactive displays. We also had the opportunity to stand in the stocks and take photos.

Women in Prison

As we walked through the prison, we could enter cells and see how they were furnished during past decades. There was a lot of information about famous crimes, the criminals involved, and the prosecutors, magistrates and prison reformers that have shaped our justice system over the years. I will add that there were a few prominent women prison reformers in British history, it wasn’t just the men running the show, but I think it was men that dominated the courtroom for a few centuries. There was a lot to take in and I couldn’t read all of the information as my children’s attention span didn’t last that long, but I think my husband made a good go of it while we went off exploring.

Below ground you can explore the medieval prison cells and there is an oubliette right in the centre of Nottingham, which I thought was incredible. We didn’t spend a lot of time down there as my younger daughter found it scary, but I was enthralled by the energy of the place and would have spent longer exploring if I was on my own. There are other cells to explore, including a debtors’ prison, the women’s quarters, laundry room, and other exhibitions. You can also pose for photos in a small room set up for the purpose at the turn of the century when photography was born. And outside in the yard you can view the gallows and see grave stones preserved from prisoners that were hanged in years past.

Transportation is in Order

There was a fascinating exhibition describing the process of transportation to Australia that was a popular form of punishment in the old days. You can walk through the rooms of a ship and learn about what food the prisoners were given, how they were treated on that long sea voyage, and how the crew and upper-class travellers would have found the journey. As we walked through the ship, we could feel it moving as though it were on the water, which I thought was a brilliant effect and very realistic. I did find it a bit disorientating, however, and couldn’t spend too long in there before I began to feel ill.

 We learned a bit about what life was like in the colonies for the prisoners, including the work that they were forced to do, the conditions in which they lived, and what life was like for the people tasked with overseeing their punishment and making a new life in a strange country. I was sad to learn about animals that were made extinct by humans as a result of transportation, and I think this affected my children as well.

Learning about Forensic Investigation

Upstairs in the main rooms of the National Justice Museum we explored an exhibition about the birth of forensics. You can read about the scientists and police detectives that developed the criminal investigation process, read some stories from around the time of these developments, and interact with the displays. My younger daughter really liked the large autopsy table on which you can explore autopsies from previous murder cases to see how forensic science helped to solve the murder. It is basically a giant tablet made to look like an autopsy table and is in impressive piece of kit. I think it is a great educational device for our Gen X and Gen A kids.

We Highly Recommend the National Justice Museum

My family and I certainly recommend the National Justice Museum, although I will say that it might be tricky for disabled people to navigate. You can visit the upstairs exhibition easily enough and there is a lift, but some areas are uneven and dark. The café is a lovely venue and caters well for vegetarians, for which I was happy. It is an inclusive workplace, part of a scheme employing people that might otherwise struggle to find employment, and on a personal level my husband thought that this was a very good idea. We paid a fee for tickets to visit the museum, but we got a family ticket and I think it provided excellent value for money because we spent the whole day there, we learned a lot, and there were lots of opportunities for interaction and immersive learning. My daughters came home full of new information, and I think they might consider looking at the justice system as a career option as they progress through school.

Have you visited the National Justice Museum? What do you think of it? Or have you visited a similar museum in your local area? Please tell me in the comments. Happy #MummyMonday, my friends!

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