Ulster Folk Museum — Attraction in Ballycultra

Just sat down after an amazing day wondering the streets of sandy row and into the hills of Antrim recreated by the museum. Greeted by lovely staff with each step we took back in time. The gentleman at the ticket office set the scene with what I can only discribe as the best customer service I’ve ever received! Very informative and all round lovely chap. Next we walked up into the folk park. There was a charity run on but the woman at the visitor information informed us on what way to go to make our visit easier and she cheered on the runners which I felt was a beautiful touch. The little sandy row cottages are two up two down, apparently still lived in during 1970s. A lady in there was knitting and making herself a shawl for the colder months, great touch! The fires were also lit in many of the dwellings and on wet October Sunday this added to the warm welcomes as we ducked our wet heads into each. The settings and attention to detail in every little house and commercial building was mesmerising! I took well over 400 photos! A huge mention to Jillian who was settled in an Irish country house a little walk away from the main town part. Sitting beside the fire, she greeted everyone who passed through the threshold. She told us great stories of the house and had such an approachable presence in an old creaky house. The folk park was beautiful in autumn! And the candy story is full of tasty treats 2oz is 70p. Which is very reasonable for a museum gift store. The man in the corner shop uses weighing scales and everything! So cool. We then ventured down to the transport part, again the lady at the ticket desk down there greeted us with a natural smile, made us feel like it was worth rushing down. The titanica exhibition is very good it divided the two huge warehouses of the old trams, buses and steam trains. Set platforms with luggage sitting ready to go sets the scene beside first/second and third class cabins. Great insight to the different classes and you can climb up on some of the Trains and wonder around. Very life like dummies spotted about in period costume are good to see, instead of empty seat and cabins.Creepy but good to see. There’s a little coffee stop within the train station part, it’s like an old train ticket station, very quirky! Very much enjoyed my visit! If your thinking of going definitely give yourself 4-5 hours to do both parks! Give yourself more time in the folk park, little trails take you out into the countryside and there’s period cottages and mills and farms. I’m in awe! I’m a tour guide myself and work in the “living history” world too for the National trust. I’ll be taking a few tips home from the staff. Thank you for...

Folk museum is excellent 5* attraction in every way. Transport museum is inexplicably dull, like a forgotten white elephant loads of money was thrown at decades ago and nothing spent since. Unimaginative and dated interpretation of exhibits that should be exciting. I've been to several transport museums in Manchester, Bristol, Swindon etc all excellent, lots of hands on activities and working engines. Outside the railway gallery this is a very dated old fashioned style exhibit based museum. Despite the initial wow of the building and the fun of getting on a few of the trains it becomes a very tiring, repetitive and frustrating place once you venture beyond the railway area. Great collection for enthusiasts but needs someone with imagination to revive it. We wanted to love here but it just doesn't work. The Tim Peake visiting exhibition could have been a catalyst for change. It was excellent but now it has gone it's back to the same tired old place. It should be 5* which is what I'd rate the actual collection of exhibits however there are so many broken interpretation panels, equipment that is out of order and a lack of any real engagement by staff who with a couple of notable and very welcome exceptions seem to be here for security on the whole rather than interpretation. The whole experience compares badly with the volunteer run Ulster aviation society in Lisburn. More exhibits you actually get to get inside, many more Interactive activities and excellent friendly volunteers getting kids involved. National museums NI need to get their act together. This is abysmal fare for a state funded museum. Unbelievable that you pay for this where the excellent Ulster Museum in Botanic Gardens is free. Also disappointing given how excellent the folk museum is. This place feels like it has been forgotten by museum management and needs a fresh approach. It's not primarily a financial issue although that is likely the excuse which would be given rather it is a thorough lack of imagination over the last decade or so and no sign of ambition. They should visit other museums and see how they do it. Simple fixes that cost very little and knowledgeable staff who love the exhibits and are geared towards the public would be a good start. I work in museums around the UK and it's sad that what we have locally and billed as a 'national' museum would be shamed by many tiny collections around the country who don't have the location, sheer size or number of exhibits or money but do have imaginative and high quality interpretation. As do both the folk museum and Ulster Museum which makes it bewildering why their...

Overall: Attended this weekend, three adults and one three year old toddler. We only attended the transport section of the museum. I hadn't been to the museum since pre-lockdown and I was let down by the overall shabbiness that has ensued since my last visit years ago. Several broken and outdated educational stations with missing pieces and poorly maintained, dusty displays. Many of these displays could be easily and cheaply repaired, which points to an indifference by the museum administration.

Unmaintained and entirely missing signs ensured many displays were without the necessary context for museum attendees to learn about their contents. Not great for a family who is trying to use a museum as an educational tool. For that matter, why is there no playpark on the vast outdoor property (of the transport section)? That would be a relatively inexpensive improvement that would make this attraction much more appealing for families.

Perhaps saddest of all was the removal of the wee cafe, replaced with non-working vending machines. Years ago this cafe was a lovely respite, serving teas and nice scones. Staffed by actual people. Now we've got two vending machines full of unhealthy snacks and they didn't even work the day we were there. Really lost out on a lot of charm by nixing this but I hope it returns -- COVID isn't going to be an excuse forever.

Ending with a positive: The staff was lovely, patient, and attentive without being intrusive. The main building is very accessible. The displays, where they work, are charming. The AR-enhanced DeLorean was pretty cool -- more of that please! Older children and adults with a keen interest in transport would be best served by the museum in its current state. This museum has potential but it seems to have been on a downward slide that hasn't seen a lot of upkeep, and there's a lot of room for improvement to make this more appropriate for all ages. Three years ago, I happily recommended this museum, but I no longer think it is worth the price for...