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Science Museum

  • Museums | Science and technology
  • South Kensington
  • Recommended
  1. Science Museum interior (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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  2. Science Museum displays (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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  3. Science Museum displays (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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  4. Science Museum displays (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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  5. Science Museum displays (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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  6. Power Up arcade (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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  7. Power Up arcade (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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  8. Science Museum exterior (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
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Alex Sims
Written by Alex Sims
Contributing Writer and Editor

Time Out says

What is it?

The Science Museum features four floors of educational and entertaining exhibits, including the Soyuz capsule, which brought Tim Peake back from the International Space Station Apollo 10 command module and a gaming experience.

The West Hall showcases developments in contemporary science, medicine and technology. Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries contains a substantial collection of medical history treasures. The Pattern Pod is a multi-sensory area for under-eights, Wonderlab holds demonstrations and explainers for bigger kids and Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery lets teenagers discover more about STEM careers.

Or, explore the creative work of engineers which change our everyday lives in the Engineers gallery. Exhibits in the Exploring Space gallery include a piece of the Moon and real space rockets suspended from the ceiling and Making the Modern World holds items like the Apollo 10 command module. The Clockmakers' Museum, previously held at the Guildhall, is the oldest display of clocks and watches in the world, with most of the 1250 exhibits dating from between 1600 and 1850. The shop is also worth checking out for its wacky toys. 

Why go?

To see a fascinating showcase of human ingenuity, and get involved with a wealth of enthralling interactive exhibits. 

Don’t miss:

The museum has its own in-house IMAX: The Ronson Theatre cinema which shows scientific films in 3D, allowing visitors to be surrounded by space or submerged in the depths of the ocean. Tickets start at £11, and booking is recommended.

When to visit:

Daily 10am-6pm (last admission 5.15pm). Peak times are at weekends, during school holidays, bank holidays, Christmas, and New Year.

Ticket info:

Free entry, some exhibitions are ticketed. 

Time Out tip:

My favourite section of the museum is Power Up, a fascinating exploration of gaming over the last 50 years. Kids will love it, but it’s adults that will have the most fun here playing on old-school video games like Pong and Pacman or Minecraft and Mario. It’s an utterly wonderful nostalgia fest.

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

Details

Address
Exhibition Rd
London
SW7 2DD
Transport:
Tube: South Kensington
Price:
Free (permanent collection); admission charge applies for some temporary exhibitions
Opening hours:
Open daily 10.00–18.00 (except for 24-26 December)
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What’s on

Power Up

This review is from 2023. Power Up prices have gone up slightly and the games are changed occasionally. There's been a gaping chasm, an unfillable abyss, in London's recreational heart ever since the Trocadero finally closed its doors in 2011. It has left the city crying out for an arcade experience, somewhere to go and lose yourself in gaming. And now, Power Up is here to answer all of your RPG prayers. Admittedly, it doesn't have a rocket-shaped escalator or countless dark corners for snogging, but what it does have is bank after bank of classic videogames.They've made an attempt at education with a wall of consoles from throughout history, from the Amiga to the Xbox, but you can ignore all that if you want and just concentrate on turning your eyes square. Everything here is grouped by theme. There's a Mario section and a Sonic section, a rhythm action game bit and a VR gaming bit, there's 16-player Halo and solo Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. There are PC games and handheld consoles, Gamecubes and Megadrives. Want to save Lemmings? Race Micromachines? Fight the Empire? It's all here.If it seems a bit familiar, it should be: Power Up isn't new. The Science Museum did a version of this for Easter half-term every year for a while, but this new version of Power Up is permanent and costs just £10 to access for unlimited, all-day gaming. But even better than that, you can get an annual pass for £15. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than having to invest in a new Playstation, plus you...
  • Games and hobbies

Wonderlab at the Science Museum

Arguably the one thing missing from the main body of the Science Museum is the opportunity to do any actual science. But that’s what the Wonderlab is for, a kiddie nirvana of safe, repeatable experiments that run the gamut from exploring friction via a series of slides with differeremt surfaces, to the opportunity to do some pretty wild things with fire, electricity and magnets. Get stuck into the interactive exhibits or time your visit to take on the oft explosive daily shows and demonstrations. It’s recommended for ages seven to 14 and booking in advance is highly advised. Althought it’ll set you back a bit, the exhbition would be swamped if it was open access, and if you think there’s any chance you’d go two or more times in a year then the annual memberships are excellent value.
  • Exhibitions

Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation

Marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States, the Science Museum’s new free exhibition is casting an eye on how science and technology shaped the development of the United States of America. Across the exhibition, you’ll find stories of how Anglo-American colonists, enslaved and free people of African descent, and Indigenous Americans used their knowledge, skills and tools to live, cultivate the land and exert power. Through maps, paintings and scientific instruments and artefacts, Becoming America will chart four decisive decades in the history of North America: beginning in the 1760s, when Britain took over territorial control from France, through the founding of the United States to the first US presidency in 1790s.  Look out for a rare surviving copy of the Declaration, notable items used by King George III and George Washington, and a pioneering map made by Benjamin Franklin, which will be among over a hundred objects on display in an exhibition created with the support of the Library of Congress.
  • Exhibitions
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