Cinema
Advance booking is always a good idea so that our staff can readily provide assistance if required. Accompanying carers are eligible for a free ticket. We will be pleased to reserve wheelchair spaces or seats in any particular part of the auditorium if this is helpful. Please contact us in advance.
Access to the Museum from the front of the building is via a level entrance and automatic barrel doors.
Access from the car parks at the rear of the building is via push-button automatic doors, which open into a short link connecting to the main Museum building and Pictureville Cinema. The doors leading into the Museum from this link are locked until the Museum opens.
Access around the building is via the open-plan main staircase or via the public lift, which has audio announcements and Braille and/or raised buttons.
In this large open-plan area you will find the Picturehouse Cinema box office to the left of the main entrance as you enter the building. The control/security room (where visitors with an appointment must sign in) is located to the right of the main entrance, near the IMAX queuing area. All counters are open-plan and accessible for wheelchair users.
Next to the control/security room, either side of the IMAX entrance, you will find the ground-floor toilets, including easy access. Baby-changing facilities are available for all.
Access to the IMAX theatre from the ground floor is via a staircase in a darkened queuing area. Inside the auditorium, stairs provide access to the seating area – please bear in mind that these stairs are fairly steep and extra care should be taken, particularly once the adverts have begun and the lights are dimmed.
There is an additional entrance on the fifth floor for visitors with easy access requirements. Access to this entrance is via the public lift and locked door, which requires a code. Please let the Box Office know that you need to use this entrance, and allow extra time in your schedule due to demand for the public lift.
We have single spaces for wheelchair users which are situated on the balcony (access via the fifth level).
A hearing system is fitted in the theatre for guests with hearing impairments. Please ask at the Box Office.
Booster seats are available if required – please ask a member of staff.
Drinks and snacks can be purchased from The Media Café (during the day) and Pictureville Bar (all day and evening). You may take drinks and snacks into the cinema, but glass or crockery is not permitted in any of our auditoria.
Access to Pictureville Cinema is through the link which connects the main building to Pictureville, and via a short staircase with wheelchair lift. Please inform the Box Office or another member of staff if you need to use this lift.
Pictureville Cinema has audio description and subtitling for selected screenings. Please check the latest listings for screenings with subtitles. To find out which films are available with audio description please call the Box Office on 0871 902 5756 (calls cost 13p per minute plus your telephone company's access charge).
There are two spaces for wheelchair users, and booster seats are available – please ask a member of staff.
Pictureville Bar is open every day, serving a selection of hot and cold beverages including beers, wines and spirits. Food and cinema snacks are also available. You may take drinks and snacks into the cinema, but glass or crockery is not permitted in any of our auditoria.
Access to the cinema entrance is by stairs or the public lift. Please note that if you are visiting the cinema after the Museum has closed, the lift will be off and you will need to inform a member of staff if you require lift access.
From the cinema doors, there is a ramped entrance to the auditorium and seating for four wheelchair users.
Cubby Broccoli Cinema has a hearing system and booster seats are available – please ask a member of staff if you need to use these facilities.
Assistance dogs are welcome. If you wish to take your dog into a performance, please let us know when booking so that we can arrange an aisle seat. Our staff will be happy to provide drinking water for your dog. Large-print film schedules are available on request.
Induction loop systems are fitted in each of the four auditoria. To access the system, you will need to turn your hearing aid to the 'T' position. Certain performances carry subtitles and these are clearly indicated in the programme.
There is a drop-off / pick-up point and three spaces for blue badge holders at the front of the Museum.
There is a wheelchair-accessible adapted toilet on the ground floor. There is an alarm cord inside should you need to summon a member of staff.
Toilet facilities are available on the fifth floor, including easy access (inside the Animation Gallery). You must inform an usher if you wish to use the toilet facilities so they can let you back in to the auditorium through the fifth level IMAX door.
Male and female toilets are situated down a short staircase, and easy access toilets are situated in the waiting area.
There are no toilet facilities in this area – the nearest are on the ground floor. Please note that if you are watching a film during the day and you leave to use the toilet facilities, the door will shut behind you. It requires a code to be opened from the outside, so you must speak to a member of staff who will let you back in. This is a measure to prevent other Museum visitors walking into the auditorium during the film.
Wheelchair spaces and Carers tickets are bookable online. (For Carers Tickets please see Carers section). Alternatively to book wheelchair spaces or carer tickets by phone, or for all other accessibility enquires, please call our dedicated accessibility hotline 02072 947908 (Text Relay call 18001 02072 947908).