Museums
Discover some of the world's best museums and exhibitions
14 weird but wonderful London museums
Beautiful buildings, curious curators and extraordinary exhibits for you to discover
The seven wonders of…
From the beautiful to the gruesome, here are the must-see bits of London's museums
Seven wonders of the Natural History Museum
We've picked our seven favourite natural beauties to hunt down at the NHM
Time Out loves...
Hunterian Museum
Exhibits include the skeleton of the 7ft 7in tall ‘Irish giant’, and the tooth of a megatherium (an extinct giant sloth)
Wellcome Collection
The temporary exhibitions at this recently revamped space are often brilliant
Foundling Museum
Tells the story of the Foundling Hospital and houses a fine collection of paintings
Popular exhibitions in London
Seven Kinds of Magic
This exhibition celebrates the launch of the venue's new Quentin Blake Gallery. Curated by the nation's favourite illustrator himself, the show explores Blake's approach to magic and surrealism. Original illustrations from seven books feature including The Witches, Angel Pavement, Rosie's Magic Horse and Magical Tales.
It’s a Hard World for Little Things
These six large-scale graphite drawings by C A Halpin depict children carrying physical, societal and political burdens such as water, a blackboard and each other. The series, titled 'Children Carrying Heavy Objects', explores children's will to survive in a sometimes hostile adult world.
Missoni Art Colour
The stripey overhead lighting makes it clear that the Fashion and Textile Museum is under occupation by Missoni, the Italian family firm founded in 1953 and famous for its stripes and zig-zags. Before you get to the meat of the exhibition, there’s a screening room – think of it as the antipasti – with films showing what it takes to make a Missoni garment.
Moses, Mods and Mr Fish: The Menswear Revolution
Fashion designer, and Wood Green resident, Michael Fish was responsible for the flamboyant floral shirt fad in the 60s and 70s and introducing that icon of fashion - the kipper tie. He is one of the many designers celebrated in the Jewish Museum's exhibition covering 150 years of menswear. There's a pretty stylish set of talks, tours and workshops too.
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Science Museum
The Science Museum features seven floors of educational and entertaining exhibits, including the Apollo 10 command module and a flight simulator
Geffrye Museum
Housed in a set of 18th-century almshouses, the Geffrye Museum offers a vivid physical history of the English interior. Displaying original furniture, textiles and decorative arts, the museum recreates a sequence of typical middle-class living rooms from 1600 to the present. It is a fascinating way to take in domestic history. The Geffrye Museum also has an airy restaurant overlooking the gardens, which include a herb garden and a series of period garden 'rooms' with period seating (open Apr 1 to Oct 31, during museum opening hours). Tours of the restored almshouses take place regularly, as do children's activities and workshops (see the website for details).
British Museum
One of the world's oldest museums, the British Museum is one of London's greatest cultural treasures
Natural History Museum
The handsome Alfred Waterhouse building houses a collection that contains some 70 million plant, animal, fossil, rock and mineral specimens
Design Museum
Opened in 1989 (following its original incarnation as the Boilerhouse established in the V&A by Terence Conran), the Design Museum by Tower Bridge encompasses modern and contemporary industrial and fashion design, graphics, architecture and multimedia. The smart Blueprint Café has a balcony overlooking the Thames. You can buy design books in the museum shop, as well as products related to the exhibitions. Exhibitions are usually accompanied by a programme of workshops for children.
V&A
The V&A houses one of the world's greatest collections of decorative arts, in such varied fields as ceramics, sculpture, portrait miniatures and photographs