Dorman Museum is a general museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 located in Linthorpe

Linthorpe

Linthorpe is an inner-suburb, and former village in the unitary authority of Middlesbrough, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, in north east England.- Development :...

 within the borough of Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough (borough)

-External links:*...

 and the ceremonial county

Ceremonial counties of England

The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...

 of North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. From its establishment in 1904 initial thematical leanings were towards the natural sciences, although galleries of the local Linthorpe Pottery, and of the history of industrial and wartime Middlesbrough, have since encroached on this emphasis. The remains of the original Victorian/Edwardian collection of stuffed and mounted animals is now in a single room, the Nelson Room, and appears to consist of the insect collections in the original cabinets, and various stuffed and mounted birds.

The museum was founded by Sir Arthur Dorman

Sir Arthur Dorman, 1st Baronet

Sir Arthur John Dorman KBE was an important British industrialist.-Early life:He was born at Ashford in Kent the son of Charles Dorman and Emma Page and educated at Christ's Hospital, West Sussex.-Career:...

 of the Dorman Long

Dorman Long

Dorman Long, based in Middlesbrough, North East England, was a major steel producer, which diversified into bridge building, and is now a manufacturer of steel components and construction equipment for bridges and other structures...

 engineering company in honour of his son George Lockwood Dorman.

It is one of three institutions run by the Middlesbrough Museums & Galleries Service of Middlesbrough Borough Council along with the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum

Captain Cook Birthplace Museum

Captain Cook Birthplace Museum is a free-entry public museum located in Stewart Park in Marton, Middlesbrough within the borough of Middlesbrough and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England....

 and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, or mima, is a contemporary art gallery based in the centre of Middlesbrough, England. The gallery was formally launched on Sunday 27 January 2007...

. Having undergone major refurbishment it reopened in 2003 and is home to a wide variety of collections.

Original collection

The original collection included items such as a stuffed and mounted Eagle Owl in the act of taking a hare, a stuffed Lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

 in a "rampant" pose, and many birds' eggs, butterflies, and insects preserved under glass and in drawers, with covers over the glass to avoid the effects of light on the specimens. One particular specimen case could shock the unwary, as it contained a model, at least 100 times normal size, of a human head louse

Head louse

The head louse is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects spending their entire life on human scalp and feeding exclusively on human blood...

. At about the same time, the museum possessed a fossil of an ichthyosaur

Ichthyosaur

Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...

. There was also a stuffed ribbonfish

Ribbonfish

The ribbonfish are any lampriform in the family Trachipteridae. These pelagic fish are named for their slim, ribbon-like appearance. They are rarely seen alive as they typically live in deep waters ....

, of a species a few metres in length.

Other exhibits

A popular seasonal item in the 1960s was a beehive

Beehive

A beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young.Beehive may also refer to:Buildings and locations:* Bee Hive, Alabama, a neighborhood in Alabama* Beehive , a wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings...

 in an acrylic glass

Acrylic glass

Poly is a transparent thermoplastic, often used as a light or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It is sometimes called acrylic glass. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...

case with an exit through a side window, allowing visitors to the museum to see the bees at work in the hive.

External links

• Museum website