Science Museum

The Science Museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington is Britain's national museum of science, technology, engineering and medicine, founded in 1857 and independent since 26 June 1909. It grew out of the same body as the Victoria and Albert Museum next door: the South Kensington Museum held art and science together until the science collections were renamed in 1885, given their own director in 1893 and finally separated when construction of the present building began in 1914. Open daily 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:15; closed 24-26 December. Step-free entrance, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and sensory resources serve all public floors. Open daily 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:15; closed 24-26 December. General admission is free with a recommended timed ticket; IMAX, Wonderlab and special exhibitions charge separately. Step-free entrance, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and sensory resources serve all public floors. South Kensington Underground connects by the museum pedestrian tunnel. Yes. Events, ceremonies, maintenance and security can alter the ordinary route or timetable. No. Special tours, exhibitions and upgrades use separate tickets when offered. Open daily 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:15; closed 24-26 December. General admission is free with a recommended timed ticket; IMAX, Wonderlab and special exhibitions charge separately. Step-free entrance, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and sensory resources serve all public floors. South Kensington Underground connects by the museum pedestrian tunnel. Open daily 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:15; closed 24-26 December. General admission is free with a recommended timed ticket; IMAX, Wonderlab and special exhibitions charge separately. Step-free entrance, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and sensory resources serve all public floors. South Kensington Underground connects by the museum pedestrian tunnel. Yes. Events, ceremonies, maintenance and security can alter the ordinary route or timetable. No. Special tours, exhibitions and upgrades use separate tickets when offered. Open daily 10:00-18:00,

The route through the main building starts in the Energy Hall, where the beam engines include the oldest surviving one built by James Watt, alongside a reconstruction of Watt's garret workshop assembled from more than 8,300 objects removed from a room that had been sealed since his death in 1819. General admission is free with a recommended timed ticket; IMAX, Wonderlab and special exhibitions charge separately. South Kensington Underground connects by the museum pedestrian tunnel.

Allow two and a half hours, the duration recorded on this page. That covers the Energy Hall, Making the Modern World, one upper-floor gallery and either Wonderlab or Flight, which is about as much as a single visit sustains before the exhibits stop registering. Families should plan differently: Wonderlab and Power Up are timed, staffed, hands-on spaces where children settle in and do not want to move, so a family visit built around one of them plus the Energy Hall is more successful than a sweep of the building. Step-free entrance, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and sensory resources serve all public floors.

Open daily 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:15; closed 24-26 December. Dated closures, ceremonies, performances, weather or security notices from the operator take priority over ordinary hours. Arrive early enough to complete the public route before final admission. Follow staff directions on arrival. Follow staff directions on arrival.

General admission is free with a recommended timed ticket; IMAX, Wonderlab and special exhibitions charge separately. The base amount and currency follow the operator tariff; premium products and separate institutions remain excluded unless named. Yes. Events, ceremonies, maintenance and security can alter the ordinary route or timetable.

South Kensington Underground connects by the museum pedestrian tunnel. Use the named entrance and station because security, separate exits and large complexes can change the practical route. Allow extra time for screening and the final walk. Follow staff directions on arrival. Follow staff directions on arrival.

Step-free entrance, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and sensory resources serve all public floors. Open daily 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:15; closed 24-26 December. General admission is free with a recommended timed ticket; IMAX, Wonderlab and special exhibitions charge separately. Step-free entrance, lifts, accessible toilets, wheelchairs and sensory resources serve all public floors. Historic surfaces, crowds and security remain relevant.

No photography policy is recorded here, because the museum's own pages could not be read; assume that individual exhibitions post their own rules at the door and follow those. On the pictures themselves: the Energy Hall is the best-lit space in the building, a tall top-lit room where the beam engines read as clean silhouettes against the glazing and where a phone camera does as well as anything. General admission is free with a recommended timed ticket; IMAX, Wonderlab and special exhibitions charge separately.