The Museum of Classical Archaeology is one of the few surviving collections of casts of Greek and Roman sculpture in the world, comprising over six hundred works. The first thing to remember about the collection is that nothing here is genuine. All are accurate replicas cast from the originals, mostly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Museum is housed in a purpose-built gallery with excellent natural light. The advantages of plaster casts are many: groups of sculptures originally set up together but now split between various museums all over Europe can be viewed together as originally intended. Nearly all the most celebrated works of Greek and Roman sculpture can be viewed in one afternoon.

The Museum houses a magnificent collection of fossil animals and plants, rocks and minerals of all geological ages, and from all parts of the world. It also houses Britain's oldest intact geological collection, that of Dr John Woodward (1665-1728). It includes nearly 10,000 rare and interesting specimens stored in their original early 18th century cabinets. Adam was Professor of Geology and keeper of the Woodward collection. Throughout his long life, he added enormously to the collections, laying the foundations of a truly outstanding museum. The collection is arranged by geological age so that the major changes in life on Earth can be traced through time. The new Whewell Gallery houses the beautiful minerals and gems of the collection. The displays are accompanied by full explanatory labels to explain both their nature and modern use.