London has some of the most extraordinary and exciting museums in the United Kingdom. But the feeling of travelling to London’s busy museums with kids, particularly toddlers puts fear in many people.
Visiting the overcrowded galleries can sometimes be challenging, however, it isn’t overwhelming as many thinks. But when the fear dissipates, you’ll find some of the best museums for toddlers in London.
So, let us look at the five best London museums for kids of all ages.
1. The Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood
Part of the Victoria and Albert Museum – the museum is located at Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green in East London. It’s just a stone throw away from the Bethnal Green Underground tube station.
This museum is huge and perfect for children of all ages. Kids can run around and have as much space and fun as they like.
The museum displays its collections on the ground and upper floors. On display, there’s a huge collection of kid’s toys, doll’s houses, puppets, games, children’s clothes, costumes, and furniture.
These are not just toys, but everything you can imagine being used for the care of a child, or used by the child.
For kids, they just look on with admiration because they can’t play with any of the items on display.
But the museum has other things to delight the kids – you find activity stations in each area with board games, rocking horses, stickle bricks, Lego, and a book corner.
There’s also an indoor sand-pit complete with buckets, spades, and all sorts of things the kids like.
You’ll find there too many hands-on pieces of stuff dotted about to keep the kids amused, busy, and inspired.
This a great museum to visit even for adults and the best thing is it’s free. It also has a restaurant and the building is fully accessible. There’s also baby changing facilities.
Doors open from 10:00 am – 17:45 pm Monday to Sunday.
2. Natural History of the Museum
The Natural History Museum is located on Cromwell Road, Kensington in London. The museum has some stunning collection of artefacts and specimens covering life on earth.
You’ll find amazing plants, animals, fossils, and a large collection of rocks and minerals.
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The halls inside are divided into sections, each dedicated to different species. There’s one for big mammals, including elephants, and the blue whale skeleton.
The other sections exhibit reptiles, fish, birds, dinosaurs, ecology, and geology.
Some displays are specifically designed for kids’ interaction. Always make sure you have enough time not to hurry the kids because there’s a lot for them to play with and enjoy.
The museum is accessible – it’s very easy to get around the building, including those with pushchairs or wheelchairs. Lifts to the upper floors, wheelchairs, accessible toilets are available.
There are on-site, baby changing facilities available and admission is free. But the museum welcomes a donation if you wish to donate.
The museum is open from 10:00 am – 17:50 pm Monday to Sunday.
3. Museum of London Docklands
For anyone who wants to learn about the history of London and its interactions with the world, the Museum of London Docklands is a very good place to start.
The museum is housed in the original warehouse of the old Docklands, just in front of Canary Wharf buildings – just a few minutes’ walks from West India Quay or Canary Wharf Docklands Light Railway (DLR) stations.
The museum’s collection is spread across three floors. It exhibits the history of the docklands and the people who lived and worked there, from its very earliest days right up to the Docklands of today of modern buildings.
There’s a lot of exciting activities inside the museum to keep kids of all ages busy while adults exploring the galleries.
You’ll find a cafe for refreshments, but if you need something different, there are plenty of eateries nearby.
Just next to the museum are some of the finest restaurants and cafes overlooking the Canary Wharf buildings.
The museum is accessible and provides changing facilities for babies. Entry is free, but donations are appreciated, although not compulsory.
It opens from 10:00am – 18:00pm Monday to Sunday.
4. London Transport Museum
The London Transport Museum is located at Covent Garden Piazza in Covent Garden.
The museum provides fascinating insights about how transportation was, from the days of sedan chairs and horse-drawn omnibuses through to the world’s first underground railway.
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The museum is home to a delightful collection of old buses, trains, and taxis – including a range of impressive designs of the roundel and London the map and other posters.
The collection on display conjures up what it must have been like to travel by public transport in the 19th to today, and what it might be like in the future.
This is the perfect place for toddlers who loves all things trains. The ground floor is full of vehicles the kids can climb in and play.
Also, there’s another interactive area where children can play and pretend to drive a bus.
This museum is super accessible – you can go everywhere with the pram so a great place for wheelchair users and those with pushchairs.
There’s a restaurant and there are tables and chairs on the ground floor where you can sit and eat a packed lunch too. Also, there’s changing facilities for babies are available
The entry ticket fee for an adult is £ 17.94, and the under 18s are free. However, your ticket is valid for the entire year, which is a great value because you can visit as many times.
The museum opens from 10:00 am – 18:00 pm Monday to Sunday.
5. Museum of London
The Museum of London is located at 150 London Wall, Barbican, in London. This museum has galleries on two floors.
The upper floor covers the history of London from prehistoric times to the Great Fire of London in 1666.
While the lower floor displays modern London from the late seventeenth century to today.
The huge collection of artefacts set out in chronological order. This allows the visitors to walk through the history of London from the prehistoric era right up to the sixties.
The museum is suitable for kids of all ages. It has many activities for children to keep them engaged and happy.
The museum is fully accessible with facilities for baby changing. There’s a café, and admission is free, but you can donate if you wish.
The museum opens from Monday to Sunday at 10:00 am – 18:00 pm
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