Is the museum suitable for wheelchairs and mobility scooters?

We want to be accessible to all, but we have a lot of stairs and an old building

Quite rightly and fairly we want to be accessible to all so that anyone and everyone can visit, regardless of any disability they may have.

We are however in an old bulding, which we don't own, with no lift and quite a lot of stairs, so we do have some limitations outside of our control.

Can I access the floors of the musuem with my wheelchair / mobility scooter?

The museum is based on the top floors of a very old building without a lift, so whilst we're more than happy to make arrangements to store wheelchairs / mobility scooter for visitors who are able to make it up the stairs and leave their wheelchair outside (please read on for details on this), as there is no lift if you are completely reliant on a wheelchair we're very sorry to say that Derby Computer Museum will most likely not be accessible to you.

We're very embarrassed by this, and would love to be able to change this situation, but we're on floors 1 to 3 of a very old building (with the majority of the museum on floors 2 and 3), and the building isn't owned by us so we're not able to make changes like putting a lift in; especially with the age of the building and the shoe string budget we operate on.

That's not to say it'd be "impossible" to put a lift in, but it would be extremely difficult, and we're not in a financial position to afford suitable premises with a lift.

If you or someone you know is able to provide a solution to this, we're all ears as we want to be accessible to all. So if so, please don't hesitate to contact us.

I can climb up the stairs, but I'd need to leave my wheel chair / mobility scooter outside, is this possible?

Yes this is possible, there's a few options:-

1) If you're happy to leave your wheelchair/mobility scooter outside our normal front entrance and can either lock and alarm it yourself, or are happy to secure it to one of the many bike lock frames/posts on Iron Gate, then this is your first option

OR

2) If you're happy to come in via our "tradesmans entrance" at the rear of the building (via prior arrangement by email, or by calling reception when we're open) then we can open the gate to the Assembly Rooms service yard which is to the rear of our building. Our rear door on the first floor opens out into this yard, and you'd be able to leave your wheelchair/mobility scooter there and come in via our rear exit. This is a gated / locked and in theory "secure" yard as nobody without the access code can get in, however please note that wheelchairs / mobility scooters / prams or anything else left out there are left at your own risk as our insurance doesn't cover theft or damage etc. We have done this for visitors in the past and would be happy to do so if this helps you. If this is something you'd like to do, you're best letting us know by email in advance or by calling us when we're open (or when you're outside) so we can come and meet you, open the gate, and let you in.

The gate to the Assembly Rooms yard can be found here:-

Google Maps pin
https://maps.app.goo.gl/uM4PSWQ8GU2gwwXb8

What3Words
///lovely.garage.porch

Longitude / latitude
52.924017, -1.476403

Note - we can not store wheelchairs / prams / mobility scooters inside our building due to lack of space and fire regulations, so please ensure any wheelchairs / prams / mobility scooters are not left in stairwells, at the bottom of stairs, or blocking fire escape routes.

Also note - At the time of writing the Assembly Rooms yard is still open for us to use the Assembly Rooms isn't in the process of demolition. We have been promised by Derby City Council that we'll maintain access to the rear of the building even during / after demolition, but it may add complications to our rear access.

Why didn't you choose a wheelchair accessible location when you opened the museum?

We didn't "choose" our location per se; Derby Computer Museum is a project that started organically by an enthusiast with some office space, that then expanded and snowballed into what it is today.

The project was largely self funded by the founder. Unlike other museums in Derby, we don't get grants or budgets, or a nice fancy building to use. We're an organic project run by a team of volunteers and enthusiasts on a shoe string budget.

Again, we're embarressed by our lack of a wheelchair accessible location, but we're not in a position to be able to change it.