Science Museum

The Science Museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington grew out of the collections of the 1851 Great Exhibition and became a separate institution in 1909. Its present building, opened in 1928, holds one of the largest collections of scientific, technical and industrial objects in the world, from the first steam engines and locomotives to spacecraft, computers and medical instruments. Entry to the permanent galleries is free, and the museum is one of the most visited in Britain, with a large share of its audience being families.

The building is organised over five levels. On the ground floor, Level 0, the Energy Hall of steam engines leads into Making the Modern World, a long gallery of iconic objects arranged as a timeline, and then to the Space gallery, which opened in September 2025. Level 1 holds the Medicine galleries, Level 2 the Clockmakers' Museum, Science City, Mathematics and Information Age, and Level 3 the Flight gallery with its full size aircraft and the ticketed Wonderlab. The IMAX cinema and special exhibitions are ticketed separately.

The museum is easy to enjoy in pieces. A first visit could take in the Energy Hall, Making the Modern World, Space and Flight, and still leave the upper floors for another day. Sections of Making the Modern World are closing in stages from mid 2026 to prepare a new gallery, so check the museum website for which objects are affected before you go.