The National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, opened as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in 1983, with a remit to explore the art and science of the image and image-making, and has since become one of the most visited UK museums outside London.  

The Museum is devoted to film, photography, television, radio and the web and looks after the National Collections dedicated to Photography, Photographic Technology and Cinematography.  Its Television Collection incorporates an unrivalled selection of objects relating to the history and development of television, including John Logie Baird's 1923 experimental apparatus, from which the modern television set was developed. A New Media Collection is in the early stages of development, covering the web, videogames and other digital image and communication technology. 

The Museum organises four major film events every year – Bradford International Film Festival and Bradford Animation Festival, plus Bite the Mango and Fantastic Films Weekend.  It also houses three cinemas – Pictureville, Cubby Broccoli and an IMAX screen, which was the first in Europe.  The Museum is unique in its ability to show films in all of the major formats under one roof, from Cinerama three-strip, to digital, to IMAX 3D. 

There are also two temporary exhibition spaces. Recent programme highlights include Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Scrapbook, Photographs 1932-46, for which the Museum was the only UK venue, Don McCullin – In England and Live by the Lens. Die by the Lens: Film Stars and Photographers. Entry to exhibitions is free. 

Other attractions include a host of permanent galleries including Experience TV, a hands-on visitor experience about the past, present and future of television, and featuring TV Heaven, an archive of about 1,000 classics and favourites from the history of TV broadcasting.  

The Kodak Gallery, charts the history of photography, the Animation Gallery tells the story of animation and features Wallace and Gromit, Morph plus many others, and the Magic Factory offers a fascinating insight into the light and optics for the young and young at heart.  Learning activities for families and schools bring the Museum’s subject matter to life and there are regular cultural events for adults to complement the Museum’s changing programme.  
 
 
Opening times
The Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday 10am - 6pm and on Mondays during school and bank holidays. Entry to the Museum is free.

IMAX, Pictureville and Cubby Broccoli Cinemas are open from 10am – late (programme dependent). Tickets are available to book online or from the Box Office - 0870 70 10 200.

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