Pay a visit to the museums shortlisted for our Family Friendly Museum Award over the summer holidays. Here is our round-up of some of the fun, family activities happening this August.
Don’t forget to check each venue’s website for visiting and ticket information.
Fancy becoming an Undercover Family Judge and visiting one of these museums with your family? Find out more and apply.
Play crazy golf at the Horniman Museum and Gardens
London
Daily, 11am to 5.30pm
Tickets: Child £4, Adult £6, Family £16. Book in advance.
Grab a golf club and take on the Horniman Museum course, including bonkers ball runs, loop-the-loops, heroic hills and even the Gerald the Crazy Golf Walrus. Find out more.
Go on safari with the University Museum of Zoology
Cambridge
Anytime
Free
Go on safari in Cambridge’s green spaces to discover the plants and animals that live in these city centre wildlife havens. Download the Wildlife Safari Trail and follow the clues to start your adventure. Find out more.
Watch a family film at The Box Plymouth
Plymouth
7 and 8 August, 9am
No need to book. Seating will be available on a first come, first served basis.
Enjoy an outdoor film screening of family favourites, Missing Link or Night at the Museum, in Tavistock Place in Plymouth. Find out more.
The Box Plymouth. Photo by Dom Moore.
Visit the Museum Depot at the London Transport Museum
London
7, 8, 11-14 August, 10am-4pm
Tickets: Child (0-3) Free, Child (4-17) £7.50, Adult £15. Book in advance.
Pick up a go green family trail, hop aboard the miniature railway and explore the transport trove at the museum’s depot. A host of fun activities for all the family will explore environmental responsibility and how we can all make a difference. Find out more.
Visit a Viking village at Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery
Alnwick, Northumberland
8 August
Free entry
On Sunday 8 August, Alnwick Marketplace will be transformed into a Viking village with authentically costumed Norse Vikings in their tents demonstrating Viking Crafts. Follow up with a visit to the museum’s Vikings Fact and Fiction exhibition to get up close to 1,000 year old artefacts and learn how the Vikings shaped the country we know today. Find out more.
Become a Museum Maker with The Egypt Centre
Swansea
9 August, 1-4pm
Free. Book in advance.
Choose your favourite object, decide what story you want it to tell and create your own piece of artwork to share online as part of a new display. Find out more.
The Cambridge Wildlife Safari Map from the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge.
Travel back in time with Wisbech & Fenland Museum
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
10 and 24 August, 10am-2pm
Free. No booking required; drop-in.
Despite being closed due to building repair works, Wisbech Museum is offering free family activities at St Peter’s Church Hall throughout the summer. Learn what life was like in the Stone Age or living in Roman Britain in these fun family sessions.
Exploring rock pools with World Museum
Liverpool
10-12, 14, 17-19, 21-22 August
Free. Collect tickets on the day.
Meet some of the museum’s live rock pool animals in this hands-on activity, including starfish, crabs and anemones. You can also add your drawing to the seaside chalk mural. Find out more.
Relaxed opening at the Fitzwilliam Museum
Cambridge
16 August, 11am
Free
The museum is opening for a relaxed session aimed at children with sensory sensitivities and their families. Enjoy the beautiful paintings and sculptures in quieter environment, listen to a sensory story and relax in the chill out space. Find out more.
Children’s artwork at the Where Did All the Animals Go exhibition at the Great North Museum: Hancock.
Join an animal drawing workshop at the Great North Museum: Hancock
Newcastle Upon Tyne
17 August, 11am-3pm
Free
Join this family-friendly workshop and draw some of your favourite animals using Biro pens, inspired by the current Where did all the Animals Go? exhibition. Find out more.
Fingerpaint with your family at Golden Thread Gallery
Belfast
21 August, 12pm
Free
Take your finger-painting to the next level! This is a perfect activity for artists of all ages, from exploring simple shapes and colours right up to drawing techniques and creating characters. Find out more.
Ride the Mail Rail at the Postal Museum
London
24 August, 10am-3.30pm
Tickets: £1
Co-produced with a group of Ambitious about Autism Youth Patrons, this relaxed opening is designed to support autistic and neurodiverse people. Explore the postal exhibitions with adjustments and lowered volume levels and enjoy a ride on the Mail Rail. Find out more.
Post Early at the Postal Museum, London.
Blow bubbles with Thinktank, Birmingham’s Science Museum
Birmingham
Monday-Friday until 31 August, 12pm and 2.30pm
Included in the price of admission
Visit the Science Garden for a family drop-in show for all ages looking at all sorts of things you can do with water! Blow bubbles, mix things up and make a real splash! Find out more.
Enter into a fairytale at Abbey House Museum
Kirkstall, Leeds
Until 5 September
Included in the price of admission
The Victorian streets of Abbey House Museum have been taken over by fairy tale characters, from Captain Hook to Cinderella. Beware old ladies offering apples, but do pick up a bumper craft bag to take home. Find out more.
Get arty at Dorset Museum
Dorchester, Dorset
Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays through August, 11am and 2pm
Included in the price of admission
Try your hand at different crafts this summer and create your own mini-masterpiece inspired by the museum’s collections. Find out more.
