Wildlife Museum
The Wildlife Museum was the first of the park's museums, displaying taxidermy of animals from around the world. The museum had a broad selection of animals and birds on display as well as cases of British butterflies, insects from around the world and also spiders.
As you might expect the museum featured displays of Native British Wildlife, featuring animals such as foxes and badgers alongside birds such as magpies, barn owls and hawks. One of the more unusual animals found in the British area was a stuffed wallaby to represent the colony of wild wallabies that lived in the nearby Staffordshire Moorlands at the time.
Alongside the native animals, there were two displays of exotic animals. The centrepiece of the African Wildlife display was a pride of lions devouring a wildebeest, whilst a baby giraffe, gazelle and colobus monkeys look on. The other continents were included in the Wild Animals of the World display; featuring a brown bear, beaver and timber wolf from North America. The display also contained monkeys from South America as well as an emu and dingo from Australia.
The Life & Times
When the museum first opened in the Talbot Centre it was originally known as The World of Nature. At the time it was very much normal for amusement parks to incorporate educational displays alongside other rides and attractions and over the course of the next decade it would be joined by a plethora of other museums and exhibitions.
In 1986 the museum moved out of its original building and took over the former Toyland shop on Talbot Street and whilst he new museum was considerably smaller in size but seems to have retained the majority of its exhibits.
When Tussauds arrived at the park in the 90s, they had a different idea about what a theme park should be with a focus on immersive environments over educational attractions and so the writing was on the wall for the park's museums. The Wildlife Museum lasted until 1992 before closing its doors during the creation of The Land of Make Believe.
But the story didn't end there... Upon departure from the park the residents of the museum took a trip to a local auction house, where the park's entire collection of taxidermy was sold at auction on 5th March 1993. Whilst the collection was disbanded it is likely many are still on display today around the world.