Paisley Museum & Art Gallery

Brilliant! Popped in for Brick Wonders, an exhibition dedicated to LEGO. Great exhibition, with little brick creations of the African Savannah, Niagara Falls, London Bridge and the Space Station but to name a few things.
Kids (and bigger kids) can play with giant bricks to build lego towers or make trains with Duplo. It really is entertainment for all ages!
Cost £4 adults, £3 concessions (the 2 year old was free), we spent almost two hours looking at lego exhibits and playing. Entry to the rest of the museum is free and yes, Buddy the Lion is still there. 4*‘s still I go back to see the rest of the exhibits but it is worth a visit!

I visited the museum for the first time in years last week. I was relieved to find that they still have Buddy the Lion who was always my favorite exhibit to touch although all the signs told me not to. Buddy the Lion was accompanied by a tiger back then but he seems to have been done away with.
I didn’t get to spend long in the museum as it was just closing but it hasn’t changed drastically since my last visit. I hope to go again soon to see what I missed out last time.

Paisley Museum is brilliant.
It may be small in size but I very much approve of the high quality displays it possesses. To your right as you ascend the staircase in this gorgeous Georgian building, you can see an old weaving mill set up on the balcony, with thread fastened to the old looms. On this subject, there is an entire room dedicated to intricate rugs made in Paisley that all boast the trademark Paisley Pattern. You can really see the craftsmanship in these creations and appreciate the effort put in to make these wonderfully intricate designs. There are also old pattern templates on display which utterly fascinated me — as my boyfriend suggested, they were like the Victorian equivalent of a computerized program.
There were a lot of Egyptian artefacts on display which were a nice surprise, but the museum’s strong points are the exhibitions dedicated to local culture. With old Victorian theatre bills hanging from the walls, costumes and lengthy information available about Paisley’s history as a town, it acts as a window into the town’s past and present culture. The museum has also salvaged an impressive amount of post war material, from glorious old television cabinets to 50s fridges and recipe books. I always find this stuff inspiring since it’s just a short step removed from my mum’s generation. There were clay hot water bottles and washboards that I distinctly remember my gran possessing — it’s actually quite infuriating that my mum likely tossed them out since they are evidently of nostalgic value now!
These exhibits are great for transporting you back in time, but I also appreciated and admired the art exhibition in one of the galleries which showcased work from art pupils from surrounding schools. Some of the work was of a staggeringly great standard, and I approve greatly of the kids getting a chance to show off their talents in here. What a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved!
Paisley Museum also hosts an observatory, displaying some cosmically beautiful pictures of the sky at night, not to mention their room dedicated to local scientists over the years. Although it’s petite in size, quality over quantity prevails, and the space is utilized to the best potential. With friendly, helpful staff and a relaxed atmosphere, it’s an eye opener to the array of Paisley innovators that you may have never known existed till you visit this cove of intelligent information.

Paisley has a museum, who would have thought it? It’s a very good museum as well!
Being a dressmaking extraordinaire in the making, my favourite section of the museum is the textile room which showcases gorgeous shawls from around the world. I also love the costumes in this section but I am not a fan of the creepy children’s dolls, they are a bit «Chucky» for my liking!
There is a small natural history section which kids always seem to love. The main attraction here is the infamous «Buddy the Lion»!
I always find Roman and Medieval artifacts fascinating and can never quite believe that real people from thousands of years ago made these objects and they are still intact today for us to learn from. Paisley has a good sized collection on show alond side the Egyptian atrifacts which Marj mentioned in her review.
In fact now that I think about it, Paisley Museum manages to cram an awful lot of stuff into such a small place! It is never very busy so you can take a leisurely stroll round and it’s free, what more can you ask for really? A cool little gift shop? Ach go on then, it’s got one of those as well!

Great place which is free and fun… used to go all the time as a kid

It doesnt cost anything to get in, worth a visit. they do loads of exhibitions.

This museum has been well kept, the shop at the entrance is nice and it’s is free to enter, there is a box for donations!
Good to take kids for an afternoon!
The old photos of paisley are really interesting, as are the old fashioned items from the 1900’s such as cookers and the old fashioned clothes! there are some good exhibitions in the museum, most recently Dr who! Scary!

A great free day out. Sadly quite overlooked. there is a fantastic gift shop with a lot of quirky little items for sale. Worth a visit.