The best family days out in London and beyond rated by kids and teens
Average K-Rating based
on 38 K-Rating reviews
Home to one of the largest permanent collections in the world, the British Museum documents the history and culture of mankind from the beginning.
There is plenty of interactivity to keep kids entertained. Free trails are provided for a range of ages, such as the ‘Hunting for Dragons’ trail about fantastic creatures and the ‘Travelling in Time’ trail about Ancient Greece. The museum also recommends specific exhibits for children to investigate further, such as the Rosetta Stone and mummified bull figures. Just don’t drop anything!
Fun fact: The British Museum was founded in 1753 and opened in 1759, making it older than the USA!
Get to the British Museum nice and early if you want to beat the crowds and avoid the queues. Alternatively, the British Museum is open late on Fridays, giving you ample time to wander round the galleries after most people have left. Picking up a map for £2 will give you their “Top 10 objects to see” tour, which will take you through most of the major galleries (a cheap paper copy, without the top 10, is available for a “suggested donation”). Alternatively, audio guides can be rented for £7, and come in 10 languages.
While the British Museum is free to enter, giving a donation is recommended so bring cash. For some special exhibitions, tickets start at £10 without a membership, however under 16s always go free. Check what’s on at the moment here.
Daily object handling sessions are a drop-in, free of charge way of seeing ancient artefacts up-close.
The next big exhibition will be Troy: myth and reality. Starting on November 21st up until March 8th 2020. Be sure to book tickets soon! You can get them here.
I’ve been here a few times over the years (school trips and family days out) but I would say as a teenager it’s actually a pretty nice place for a day out with a mate. It’s free and it’s got a cute cafe and shop.
This may not be how the museum is meant to be enjoyed but something me and my friends like to do is go around and try to recreate sculptures and weird paintings just using our faces and bodies, and then take a picture. My camera roll gets pretty funny…
You can find loads more information by Laura Porter at aboutlondonlaura.com
The British Museum is *the* place to go to see antiquities including the Rosetta Stone (which is usually surrounded by people trying to get a glimpse of it), the marbles of the Parthenon, ancient Egyptian busts and sarcophagi, an Easter Island statue, and, our favourite, the massive Assyrian Winged Bull guardians. It’s a huge space and could be overwhelming, but the ancient Egyptian busts and mummies were enjoyed by all. Definitely plan on seeing a few sections of the museum or it could overwhelm younger visitors.
Took my children here and they enjoyed it. My son is into chess and enjoyed seeing the Lewis Chessmen. It has cafes and gift shops so far as my two boys are concerned what is there not to like!
Amazing exhibits, but hugely busy and hard to navigate, with some rooms feeling like they’ve crammed a lot of slightly disjointed things in for want of space. Overall effect, though, very impressive. Took 8 year-old daughter to see Egyptian collection as part of school project, and she loved the cat-related things. Make sure you’re well fed, watered and wee’d before you brave the crowds, though.
Prepare for crowds around the Rosetta Stone, especially on rainy Saturday afternoons.