Best museums for Older Kids and Teens in London
If you’re looking for a fun family day out for kids and teenagers – you’ll love our list of the best interactive museums for older kids in London. One of the best things about London is its free museums that are fun for kids of all ages. Most of the museums in our list have free admission although there are a few that are paid for. London’s museums are brilliant and cater for all but we’ve picked the best London museums that we have tried and tested with kids over 8 and teenagers.
Best museums for Older Kids and Teens in London
Science Museum
In our opinion, the Science Museum is one of the best museums in central London for older children – it has lots of interactive exhibits from the past to the present day. It’s actually brilliant for the whole family with plenty of things to do – there is a water play area in the basement called ‘The Garden’ which is perfect for 3-6 year olds. The Science Museum is one of London’s free museums although for a further price you can gain entry to ‘The Wonderlab’ which is full of interactive displays and includes live science shows, family events and demonstrations. There’s lots to see and interactive activities on space, technology and medicine.
- Nearest Station: South Kensington
- Open: 10am-6pm Mon-Sun
London Transport Museum
Explore over 200 years of transport history in London at the Transport Museum which is great fun for children of all ages, you can hop on and off old buses and trains and visit an underground tube station. The London Transport Museum is good for older kids as pretty much everything is interactive and they’ll enjoy the historical information and researching how tube stations were used as air raid shelters in the 2nd world war. See here for our full review of our Day out at the London Transport Museum. We loved it – it’s definitely one of the best museums for older kids and teens in London. The Transport Museum isn’t a free museum, it’s a paid for museum but you can use the tickets again within 12 months which is a great perk.
- Nearest Station: Covent Garden
- Open: 10am-6pm Mon-Sun
Imperial War Museum
The imperial war museum houses exhibits from 1917 and has many award winning exhibitions. There are plenty of interactive galleries which makes for a great family trip. It’s an obviously interesting museum for older kids because it examines the continuing influence of war on our world. It’s free apart from some paid exhibitions but the permanent displays on the Holocaust and the Second World War are free. The Holocaust exhibition is suggested for entry only over 14 years old and is it understandably distressing. It contains individual stories from some of the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust are told through over 2,000 photos, books, artworks, letters and personal objects.
- Nearest Station: Lambeth North
- Open: 10am-6pm Mon-Sun
Old Operating Theatre Museum
This museum is really small but unique and unusual and perfect for capturing the imagination of older kids. It’s full of narrow rickety staircases and ghoulish exhibits. You can find Europe’s oldest operating theatre, where reenactments are sometimes held! They are temporarily closed until April 2023. The entrance is via a 52-steps narrow spiral staircase and there are uneven surfaces, they ask you to contact them if you would need assistance in accessing the museum. See here for ticket information.
- Nearest Station: London Bridge
- Open: Currently Closed Reopens April 2023
Clink Prison Museum
The Clink museum has an interesting history which will inspire kids and teens to learn more about the history of London and the history of crime and punishment – great for history lovers! It’s not the most interactive of museums which is why it works best for teenagers. It’s a paid for museum but very affordable. You can even stay overnight for a ghost hunting experience.
- Nearest Station: London Bridge
- Open: 10-5pm
London Dungeons
If you like to have a thrilling experience and like to be scared than you’ll love the London Dungeons. The atmosphere in London Dungeon is impressive – it even has scary toilets! The attraction itself is very interactive, the actors are awesome! It is a little more pricey than other attractions for teens in London that are on our list but it is a fun day out. There’s over 10 different shows at the London Dungeons and some rides too. London Dungeons is best suited to kids aged 12 and up although younger children can go in without an adult! It’s a great attraction and deserves a place amongst the best museums for older kids and teens in London.
- Nearest Station: London Bridge
- Open: 10am-5.30pm Mon-Sun
Postal Museum
The Postal Museum is one of our favourite museums in London. It has something for every age group! There are lots of hands-on exhibits and there’s underground tunnel walks and train rides. The visuals and film footage on the train ride are immersive and features personal stories of rail workers and the postal service throughout history. My kids (aged 14, 11, 9 and 6) at the time of visiting absolutely loved all the exhibitions. There are moving sorting trains to play on and there’s lots to engage kids of different ages. Our kids favourite part was writing mail to each other and then sending it above in a chute to friends across the museum. It’s a paid for museum but there is enough to keep your kids occupied for a whole day – we stayed for 5 hours! There is enough to keep the teens and older kids interested in the history, and plenty for kids to get tactile and practice some postal skills using the tube mail system, creating a new stamp, operating a mail rail with chutes and learning about your post code. It was a really fun day and they often have additional arts and crafts during half terms and school holidays. If you have young children, there’s also a soft play area (Sorted! Postal Play Space) and dressing up area. Check the costs on their website.
- Nearest Station: Farringdon
- Open: 10am-5pm Weds-Sun
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is another free museum in London for kids and it’s brilliant! It has a great selection of museum explorer trails and treasure hunts which keep kids engaged. Kids and teens will love the earthquake simulator in the volcanoes and earthquakes exhibition. The museum is split in two with the fossils and animals in one section – you can see the most intact Stegosaurus fossil ever found and see the 25m blue whale model. Then the Natural world section where you can get caught up in learning about Mount Vesuvius – it’s sure to help you with a school homework at some point too! Also look out for the bug and insect exhibition which my kids really liked and the giant scorpion! They even have overnight sleepovers which is a unique and great way to explore the museum! It’s definitely one of the top museums in London and has lots of special events throughout the year.
- Nearest Station: South Kensington
- Open: 10am-5.30pm Mon-Sun
British Museum
The British Museum is not as interactive as some of the museums on our list which makes it a good museum for older kids and teens. We recommend you get the family interactive audio tour or have a look at the exhibits online before you go to make a plan as it’s quite overwhelming. We loved the hieroglyphics, the Greeks, the African Art exhibition and the objects from the Roman Exhibition. That aside, even the building is absolutely stunning and worth a visit!
- Nearest Station: Holborn
- Open: 10.00–17.00 (Fridays: 20.30)
Cartoon Museum
This is not far from the British museum so could visit both for a day out – it’s a small museum but often has fun and topical exhibitions. It displays British editorial cartoons, caricatures and comic strips from the 18th Century to the present. The cartoon museum is great for summer workshops and is famous for its Young Cartoonist of the year competition.
- Nearest Station: Oxford Circus
- Open: Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun | 10:30am – 5:30pm
Best London Museums for teenagers to visit
Victoria and Albert Museum
The V&A is a quieter museum with less children which makes it a museum that older kids and teenagers will like exploring. You can view intricately-designed architecture, books, furniture and fancy-dress fans will love dressing up as Grimaldi the clown or as part of the Victorian bourgeoisie. You can spot golden Buddhas, the costumes from the Lion King and you can also play various games on your phone or a tablet while you’re there – the museum has free WiFi so you don’t need to download anything. As well as a treasure hunt, you can also try your hand at designing a wig which might inspire kids with phones!! You can combine a visit to the V&A with a visit to the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum – they are just around the corner.
- Nearest Station: South Kensington
- Open: 10am-5.30pm Mon-Sun
If you have younger children, you’ll also love our suggestions of museums for younger kids – try the Maritime Museum in Greenwich or the Museum of London Docklands – both are great for families.
