Do you want to know the what the best London museums for toddlers are? London is a city that is full of amazing museums, but many people who are visiting London with toddlers are surprised to find out how many are toddler friendly. In this guide we will tell all our favorite museums in London for toddlers, the exhibits and attractions you should look out for and more!
Museums are generally speaking one of my favorite things to do in London with kids and at least one always makes it onto our London family itinerary no matter how long we are in the Capital for. They are also great places to visit when its raining, which happens all too frequently in London and because there are lots of free museums in London, they are also a very cheap day out.
Here are all our favorite museums in London to visit with toddlers in tow!
Best Museums for Toddlers in London
Natural history museum with toddlers
Best London museums for toddlers 2024
My toddler son is absolutely dinosaur obsessed so his favorite museum in London has to be the Natural History Museum.
Highlights for toddlers visiting the museums has to be the dinosaur gallery which features include many fossils and dinosaur skeletons including an Iguadon skeleton, Triceratops and T Rex head.
However if your toddler is of a nervous disposition it is worth noting that these gallery also includes an animatronic t rex which can scare some toddlers. If you are worried about seeing this with your little one then you can take the pathway into the gallery that avoids this area.
My toddler also loves to visit Andy’s Clock. This is the clock that features in the toddler favorite CBeebies Show, Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures and Andy’s Prehistoric Adventures. As you come into the museum from the main NHM entrance you will see the large blue whale skeleton in front of you. From there and turn left towards to the cafe and you will find the clock in the archway between the main foyer and cafe.
Best London museums for toddlers 2024
On top of the dinosaur related exhibits toddlers will also enjoy the Animals Gallery and enjoy having lunch in the T Rex Grill which also features some smaller scale animatronics.
Just remember that, if you don’t want to face a long queue – and who wants to queue with toddlers, then you will need a prebooked timed ticket. These are still free but must be done in advance.
Top Tip: If you are visiting in London in December then I recommend combining a visit to the Natural History Museum with a trip to its ice skating to your London Christmas itinerary!
London Transport Museum
London Transport Museum with kids, toddlers and babies
When you ask people about what the best museum in London for toddlers is, the London Transport Museum is often called out.
This one is particularly great for toddlers who are interested in transport as you can see and even get on board historic vehicles including London buses and underground trains. My toddlers favorite area in this museum is the All Aboard playzone which has mini vehicles as well as a large dressing up area.
The museum is located in Covent Garden so can be easily combined in a 3 day or 7 day family friendly itinerary with other attractions in the area.
But the only downside to this museum is that it is actually one of the only paid for admission museums on this list. Admission to the museum costs, (At time of writing):
- £24 for adults
- £23 for concessions
- Under 17s free
which does make it quite an expensive day out so not one for those looking to do a family trip to London on a budget. However it is also worth noting that all tickets are annual passes for 12 months so if you live locally this can be worthwhile.
Also as an added bonus, it is worth keeping your eye out for the London Transport Museum’s three times a year open day (usually in April, July and September) at their storage facility in East Acton. The depot is packed full vehicles that aren’t on display in the main museums which toddlers will love exploring.
Science museum
Best Museums in London for Toddlers
The Science Museum is next door to the Natural History Museum, so can be combined for a very heavy museum filled day if you want to. Personally my toddlers prefer the Natural History Museum but the Science Museum does come in a very close second.
The Science Museum is a traditional museum rather than a science center so not all exhibits are filled with hands on and interactive exhibits. For this reason not all the galleries will be of interest to toddlers. However if you are visiting the Science Museum with toddlers we recommend heading straight downstairs into the basement to the Garden Area.
The Garden Area is a hands on play area that has been designed for children between 3 t0 6 years of age. This area is full of hands on learning experiences that children, particularly toddlers will love. However be warned, there is a lot of water play in this area and waterproof aprons are no longer provided by the museum. So be sure to bring one with you or just have a change of clothes for once they have finished in this area.
Note: another hands on exhibition space in this museum is Wonderlab however this is definitely not aimed at toddlers. I have taken my toddler in when we have visited with my older daughter however if you are visiting with toddlers alone I would avoid this area as it simply is not designed for them.
Top Tip: the museums in South Kensington get very busy during the school holidays. So if you are visiting with toddlers and not older school aged children we recommend trying to avoid holidays and weekends and it will be a lot less busy.
National Army Museum
Now a military museum may not be the first place you think of visiting with toddlers however the National Army museum in London is a great place to visit with toddlers. Similar to the Science Museum, I wouldn’t say that all the galleries are toddler friendly, but the Playbase 22 area is absolutely fantastic for toddlers.
Playbase 22 is actually a soft play area win the area that has been designed with the under 8s in mind and there is even a dedicated infants area so even if you are visiting with babies there is an area for them.
Please note: while the national army museum is free to visit, there is a fee for Playbase. The current charges are:
Online:
Children aged 1-8 years old: £6.25
Children under 1 year old: FREE*
Adults: FREE
£1.00 booking fee applies per online transaction
Postal Museum
The Postal Museum in London I surprisingly engaging for toddlers. There are two areas in particular that my toddler enjoys which are:
- riding the mail train which runs from the museum and
- The Sorted Exhibition.
The Sorted exhibition is the play space in the postal Museum, which again has been designed with the under 8s in mind. Also if you kids are fans of the jolly postman book, they there is a trail based on this too.
Please note: the postal museum is not one of the free things to do in London. Tickets cost £16 for adults and £9 for children when bought in advance.
Tate Modern
I love visiting the Tate Modern with babies and toddlers, because I find it one of the easiest museums in London to visit with a stroller. Also, I love the fact that this museum encourages toddlers to be toddlers by playing games and encourages them to draw in the Tate Draw exhibition.
This museum also has a whole host of family orientated events throughout the year.
Young V&A
The Young V & A is the newest museum dedicated to children and toddlers in London. Previously called the Museum of Childhood it has recently reopened in early 2023 and the whole museum is designed with children in mind. The main gallery areas are called: Imagine, Play and Design and have lots of hands of learning experiences for children aged toddlers upward.
The museum also caters well for those with special needs and autism with a quiet space.
Horniman Museum and Galleries
My toddlers love the Horniman Museum because it is more than just a museum. Although there are great galleries inside with plenty of hands on learning exhibits my toddlers especially love the aquarium and butterfly house that are also on-site.
Please note: while the museum is free to enter there is an additional charge for the aquarium and butterfly house.
Museum of London docklands
If you are visiting this museum with a toddler it is best to head straight to the Mudlarks Gallery. This is an interactive soft play area in the museum that is designed with toddlers in mind.
Entrance to the museum and the soft play area is free.
Museum of London
The Museum of London used to be a great place to visit with toddlers however it is currently closed for complete refurbishment. Once the museum reopens we will update this section with up to date information about the best area to visit with toddlers.
British Museum
Personally, my kids do not enjoy visiting the British Museum as it is not designed with little ones in mind. Therefore I don’t really recommend visiting with toddlers. However I know many visitors to London have seeing the Rosetta Stone on their London bucket list.
If you do decide therefore that you want to visit the British Museum with toddlers be sure to visit the Families Desk in the Great Court to collect one of the Museum Explorer Trails or the Little Feet Explorer Trail for the under 5s.
What is your favourite London museum for toddlers?
Catherine
Saturday 22nd of June 2019
Love these places! Thanks for the suggestions