Museum of Bath at Work — Attraction in Bath

We enjoy visiting small museums and were excited to see this one in Bath, our hometown. The displays are mediocre and not very well explained, especially compared to similar museums in Radstock and Glastonbury. However, our main issue was with the staff. First, the man at reception tried to overcharge us. Later, we discovered a children's activity trail a little way into the museum. We had to go back to reception twice to ask how to participate before we succeeded in getting an explanation. We were also unaware until after we left that an audio guide was available. There is some machinery that my children began touching, as there was no obvious signage prohibiting it, and we were given no guidance upon arrival. Another official-looking man told us off by snapping, "No fiddling!" When I provided feedback about our poor experience, I was shocked by the snarky and rude comments from the same gentleman, who seemed to be in charge. I understand that these people are volunteers, but I would still expect staff to know the correct admission price, provide a basic introduction to the museum, and act professionally when receiving criticism. I would not go back here if you paid me. Thankfully, we received a refund. I can't remember the last time I left a bad review or asked for a refund, as I only do so when things are truly this bad. I hope they take this feedback on board and improve. This museum on the day we visited was not family-friendly and, indeed, not a friendly...

A hidden gem, absolutely.

Never underestimate this museum by its humble looks, as the memory it meticulously preserved will be valuable for generations to come. Bath has been known for its Roman bath, for its Georgian architecture and for its Regency writers. However, there is not much about its genius, hardworking working class. But thanks to this lovely museum, much could be learnt about them.

The museum is a superb replica of the 97-year-old soft drinks factory of Victorian businessman J. B. Bowler. Details were painfully restored according thousand of photograph took 50 years ago when it was closed. It is an admirable endeavor in conservation of British cultural heritage indeed, and you can go back in time, into that haphazard, noisy and cramped rooms, dominated by humming metals, gears and belt. Be sure to push the "start" and wake those machine from their century-old slumber, contemplating Dickens's Hard Time, David Copperfield, or Marx's Das Kapital.

It is also a good opportunity to appreciate the ingenuity of Victorian engineer such as Mr.Bowler, who make his second-hand machines work for him and craft everything, let it be bronze gear or pipes, from simple block of wood, a clay mould and melted metal. It is also very interesting to learn about the soft drink manufacture: the soda-stream from the victorian age, the Codd-neck bottle---the simple fizzy drink we have today has such an...

For us as foreign tourists, this museum was quite disappointing. Our expections were high because of all the positive reviews on here, hoping on a story of the working class of Bath. Instead the museum focuses almost entirely (about 2/3rds) on a former local company. Even though in the end its explained why they picked this company, we missed the bigger picture from the start. This was particulary sad because the museum seems to be very excited about Baths industrial history, but fails to transfer this feeling because you are not provided with a basic appealing story about Baths general (industrial) history at the start.

The information in the museum overall is very (too) elaborate, lacking storytelling. The museum has a lot of items on display, which makes for a lively scene but also makes it difficult to know where to focus on.

Another smaller point of criticism is that at the counter, the ticket price was suddenly higher than presented on...