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  1. The Horniman Museum (Photograph: Laura Gallant for Time Out)
    Photograph: Laura Gallant for Time Out
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  2. The Horniman Museum (Photograph: Laura Gallant for Time Out)
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  9. The Horniman Gardens (Photograph: Laura Gallant for Time Out)
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Horniman Museum

  • Things to do
  • Forest Hill
  • Recommended
Alex Sims
Written by Alex Sims
Contributing Writer and Editor
Advertising

Time Out says

What is it? 

While it might not be as big as South Kensington’s Natural History Museum, The Horniman is an anthropological museum packed with charm from its eccentric-looking art nouveau building to its huge gardens packed with a petting zoo, bee hives and meadows. The Natural History Gallery is full of weird and wonderful specimens with glass cabinets containing pickled animals, stuffed birds and insect models. Its famous ancient walrus – overstuffed by Victorian taxidermists, who thought they ought to get the wrinkles out of the animal’s skin – is currently being refurbished (to add the wrinkles back in, presumably) and will return to its glorified position in the centre of the gallery in 2026.

There's also a permanent gallery dedicated to African, Afro-Caribbean and Brazilian art, The Music Gallery contains hundreds of instruments: their sounds can be unleashed via touch-screen tables, while the popular showpiece aquarium is a series of tanks and rock pools covering seven distinct aquatic ecosystems. It also provides extensive activities for families, including a nature trail, weekend workshops and a hands-on base where children can touch museum objects.

Why go? 

You can’t not have a good time at this eclectic place. Whether you want to gaze at the peculiar exhibits relax in the beautiful gardens or take part in its brilliant events programme, there’s enough here to fill an entire weekend. 

Don’t miss: 

Make time to look around the brilliant butterfly house which is filled with hundreds of free-flying winged creatures. 

When to visit: 

Daily 10am-5.30pm. Peak times at weekends and school holidays. 

Ticket info: 

Free entry, some areas – including the aquarium and butterfly house – and exhibitions are ticketed 

Time Out tip: 

I love going to the Horniman Museum lates. Every first Thursday of the month the galleries stay open until 9pm and you can get discounted tickets to the aquarium, or grab a drink with friends. It’s essentially a very chic night out.

See more of London's best museums and discover our guide to the very best things to do in London.

Details

Address
100 London Rd
London
SE23 3PQ
Transport:
Forest Hill Overground/176,185,197, 356, P4 buses
Price:
Free (permanent collection); admission charge applies for aquarium
Opening hours:
Daily 10am-5.30pm
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What’s on

Voyage to the Deep – Underwater Adventures

The Horniman’s big 2026 temporary exhibition in this globe-trotting Australian show inspired by Jules Verne’s classic novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas. You’ll command the legendary Nautilus submarine and journey to the depths of the oceans, visiting Atlantis, weaving through huge kelp forests and meeting extraordinary aquatic creatures. And while the giant squid you come ‘face to face’ with is presumably not real, there will be actual living sea creatures present courtesy of six aquarium tanks that come with the show. Exclusive to this stop will be a partership with beloved CBeebies show Octonauts and a series of its trademark ‘creature reports’.
  • Exhibitions

Horniman Museum Late: Cyberdance with Anti.Net

Experimental east and south east London collective Anti.Net are the Horniman Museum’s current Musicians in Residence. The group merges punk-rap innovation with futuristic alien-aesthetics and has taken on the task of mutating and reimagining the Horniman’s Musical Instrument Collection for the multisensory Cyberdance Horniman Late. Their sounds will be accompanied by visuals from artist Valeria Salinas Toro with support from the likes of folkronica musician Margomool, rapper/DJ Nammy Wams and genre-blurring rapper JoeJas. Activities to get involved in during the event include astrology reading, a cyberdance gamestation and drop-in discussions around the future of gaming. 

Horniman Plant Fair

Small and independent nurseries from across the south east will gather in the Horniman Museum’s huge gardens to sell all manner of flora. Go on down to the Forest Hill museum from 11am to get your hands on succulents, shrubs, alpines and more from specialists like Miles Japanese Maples, Spring Platt Snowdrops, ZC Succulents and Ottershaw Cacti. It’s also a great opportunity to get expert advice on how to avoid killing off your pet plant within days of bringing it home. 
  • Markets and fairs

Horniman Spring Fair

The Horniman Museum and Gardens’ Spring Fair is maybe the most efficient way to cram as much Easter fun into a single day as possible. The gardens will be taken over by a ridiculously busy programme, with everything from an Animal Walk to an Easter Bonnet Parade. But there’s plenty more: think circus skills, singalongs, fete games and seed planting, all fuelled by some cracking cuisine from the roster of food stalls.
  • Quirky events
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