Great museums every child should visit before they grow up...
SO WHY NOT TICK ONE OFF YOUR LIST THIS HALF-TERM?
EUREKA! THE NATIONAL CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
Over half term, there’s a host of fun activities at Eureka! for kids aged 11 and under, themed around some spooky (but not scary) ghost pirates. Go on a quest to release their trapped souls, and enjoy stories, comedy sketches, singalongs and TikTok dances. There’s even a sword fight fit for Jack Sparrow, just don’t fall into the deep. Daily, Halifax, West Yorkshire, eureka.org.uk
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BLACK COUNTRY LIVING MUSEUM
Get up close to historic characters and find out what life was like in one of the first industrialised landscapes in Britain at this open-air living museum. Explore 26 acres of reconstructed shops, pubs and houses, take part in street games, and tuck into traditional fish and chips. Look out too for Halloween family fun nights through October, with a chance to trick-or-treat around Canalside village. Daily, Dudley, West Midlands, bclm.com
BIG PIT NATIONAL COAL MUSEUM
Go 300 feet underground with a real miner and see what life was like for the thousands of men who worked at the coal face in Wales and across the UK. Big Pit, near Newport, is a real coal mine, with exhibitions in the Pithead Baths and historic colliery buildings, as well as a chance to see the real mine.
Daily, Blaenafon, Torfaen, museum.wales/bigpit
NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM
Blow off steam at this celebration of rail travel in York. With a collection of awe-inspiring locomotives, you can see record-breaking trains, including Mallard, the world’s fastest steam locomotive. Over half term, you can learn how a steam engine works and design and create your own bridge, and there’s a Lego building challenge. Wednesday–
Sundays, York, Yorkshire, railwaymuseum.org.uk
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND
Step into the Grand Gallery and marvel at the giant deer skeleton, or the massive skull of Moby the whale. The museum celebrates Scotland’s history and is a treasure trove of Celtic, Roman and Viking artefacts, including the Lewis chess pieces as seen in Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone. Over half term, they have a green theme, with sessions in reducing, re-using, and re-wilding, with activities to do at home or in the museum. Daily, Edinburgh, nms.ac.uk/nationalmuseum-of-scotland
WE THE CURIOUS
This science centre and educational museum on Bristol’s harbour has fun interactive themed galleries. Over half term there’s a sustainability and climate theme, sessions based around the impact of
food, recycled crafts, sustainable plant growing, and the chance to add a Planetarium show to your visit. Daily, Harbourside, Bristol, wethecurious.org
THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
With more than 70million items, the museum is the largest collection of natural specimens in the UK and still free to enter. As well as the ever-popular permanent collection of dinosaur skeletons, and Hope, the blue whale, there’s still time to see the Fantastic Beasts exhibition, with animals that have inspired myths, legends and magical creatures. Daily, South Kensington, London, nhm.ac.uk
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM CORNWALL
From the RNLI Rescue Zone with ride-on rescue vehicles and a working boat building workshop, boredom won’t raise its head here. Current exhibition Monsters Of The Deep plumbs the depths to discover what lurks beneath. Explore the centuries-old myths and legends, when chance sightings and odd appearances led to tall tales of krakens with tentacles which could drag a ship down. Daily, Falmouth, Cornwall, nmmc.co.uk
THE SCIENCE MUSEUM
The most visited science and technology museum in Europe is a treasure trove for adventurers, with a chance to see the descent module that took astronaut Tim Peake back to Earth from the International Space Station, plus a real piece of the Moon. Get hands on in interactive galleries which bring science to life. Wed-Sun, South Kensington, London, science museum.org.uk