On Wednesday 6 December the gallery will open at the later time of 12.00 and close at 16.00 (last entry at 14.30). The show space will also be closed all day.
Wonderlab will be closed all day from Monday 15 – Friday 19 January for maintenance.
Flight will open at 11.00 on Saturday 27 January 2024 and be closed all day on Tuesday 26 March 2024.
The museum will close early at 17.00 on the following days:
Thursday 1 February 2024
Thursday 7 March 2024
Atmosphere closed permanently on 20 March 2022—we will open a new gallery related to climate change in 2024.
Engineer Your Future closed permanently on Monday 23 January 2023— Engineers, a major new, free gallery exploring the incredible human stories behind engineering, opened on Friday 23 June 2023.
Fly Zone permanently closed on Sunday 29 October 2023.
During school holidays the museum is open Monday–Sunday, 10.00-18.00 (last entry 17.15)
Before you arrive
If you have booked a ticket for Wonderlab, please ensure that you have also booked a free museum admission ticket. If you are an Annual Pass holder you will need to book a free Wonderlab time slot and a museum admission ticket before arrival.
Wonderlab is located on level 3 of the museum.
If you have booked a ticket for Power Up, please ensure that you have also booked a free museum admission ticket. If you are an Annual Pass holder you will need to book a free Power Up time slot and a museum admission ticket before arrival.
Power Up is located towards the back of the museum on level -1 so please ensure you arrive in good time for your timeslot.
Our cinema is located towards the back of the museum on level 0 so please make sure you arrive in good time for your screening.
If you need assistance to reach the auditorium please speak to the team upon arrival.
We would encourage visitors to protect themselves and others by maintaining their distance while exploring the museum and queuing.
We have also taken reasonable steps to provide adequate ventilation in enclosed spaces.
We have more details on our FAQS—please look through these to find out more about your visit.
Our phone lines can get very busy so please submit a return request for free tickets up until 08.30 on the day of your visit. You are welcome to book new tickets for another day online.
Please note that donations, including those made as part of your booking, are non-refundable. Your support large or small will make a huge difference—thank you.
If you would like to move your paid tickets to a different day please call our Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058. Our phone lines can get very busy so please bear with us.
If you would be happy to donate the value of your tickets to the museum, please email our Contact Centre at info@ScienceMuseumGroup.ac.uk with your name and order number.
We offer free carer tickets for all paid activities and exhibitions.
These are currently unavailable to book via the website so you can either book online without carers’ tickets and then email the Contact Centre at info@ScienceMuseumGroup.ac.uk with your order number, and the team will be able to add free carer tickets onto the order.
Alternatively, you can call the Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058 and they’ll be able to book in the complete order over the phone.
Face coverings are not mandatory, but visitors are welcome to wear one if they’d prefer to do so.
We can’t guarantee that tickets will be available on the day, particularly during busy periods, so we recommend you book tickets online or via the booking team on 033 0058 0058.
Advance tickets for both free general admission and paid experiences are released regularly throughout the year. Sign up to our newsletters to hear when new dates go on sale.
Getting here
The Science Museum is a short walk away from South Kensington and Gloucester Road stations which are on the Circle, District and Piccadilly lines. There are also even more bike racks available in the local area if you would like to cycle to the museum.
Science Museum
Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD
what3words: ///reveal.slime.sugar
Bus routes 14, 49, 70, 74, 345, 360, 414, 430 and C1 stop outside South Kensington Underground Station.
Bus routes 9, 10, 52, 452 and 70 stop outside the Royal Albert Hall on Kensington Gore.
There is a coach drop-off point in Exhibition Road outside the Museum. The nearest coach parks are located at Warwick Road, Bayswater Road and Park Lane.
Transport for London Santander Cycle docking stations are available outside V&A South Kensington and the Natural History Museum on Exhibition Road (next door to the Science Museum), and on Thurloe Place near South Kensington tube station.
We do not have car parking facilities and local parking is very limited.
There is no visitor parking in Exhibition Road.
The nearest pay and display car parking is in Prince Consort Road and Queen's Gate.
A small number of disabled parking spaces are available on Exhibition Road.
Blue Badge holders may park here for four hours between 08.30 and 18.30.
The Science Museum is the perfect stop on a day trip around South Kensington, the home of world-leading arts, culture, and science destinations.
Discover a network of quiet, scenic routes to and around the area with this new interactive map from Discover South Kensington and Footways.
The Science Museum is in the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). This operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year with the exception of Christmas Day (25 December).
If driving to the museum and your vehicle doesn’t meet the ULEZ emissions standards and isn’t exempt, you will need to pay a £12.50 daily charge to drive within the zone.
Please enter the Science Museum through the Main Entrance on Exhibition Road, SW7 2DD (see Google Maps) or what3words: ///reveal.slime.sugar. Your arrival time slot is printed on your tickets—please try to arrive during this period.
While you are at the museum please take care of your own health and safety and our collections. In order to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, please do not:
Touch objects on open display
Smoke in the museum (including electronic cigarettes)
Disregard alarms, signs, barriers or directions given by staff
Leave personal property unattended
Eat and drink other than in designated areas
Bring in to the museum any restricted item (see below)
Fundraise, demonstrate or distribute campaigning material, without prior agreement
Ride bicycles, scooters or any other wheeled item.
Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Other age restrictions may apply for particular experiences in the museum.
For education groups, separate advice and guidance on supervision of children is available in our Learning section.
You can log in to your account to view your tickets. Please be ready to show your e-tickets on arrival. If possible, please avoid printing your tickets. We will ask for you to scan your own tickets using our self-service scanners so make sure that your brightness is turned up on your mobile phone screen. Our staff will be on hand to help.
We will sometimes conduct bag searches on arrival at the Science Museum. The searches look for restricted items and any other material that might be considered a risk to our collection, or to the health and safety and enjoyment of our visitors.
Any items found will be removed at the bag-searching point will be recorded and returned to the visitor on departure. If our staff find anything they consider to be illegal, they will confiscate it and contact the Police.
If you have a large or oversized bag we kindly ask that you leave this at home as our cloakroom is only accepting smaller items for a fee.
Alcohol. Alcohol may only be consumed, if purchased on site, in a designated area
Clothing with offensive signage or logos
Animals, with exception of working guide and assistance animals
Potentially dangerous items such as fireworks or knives. Knives which are carried for religious or cultural observance (such as the Kirpan) are normally exempt from this policy
Balloons, as these can interfere with our alarm systems if they float away
Please look after your personal property while at the museum. Any property left unattended may be removed from the museum. If you lose any item during your visit, please speak to a member of staff.
Our self-service lockers are located on level -1 of the museum. Please note that these lockers are card payment only.
Prices are as follows:
Small—£3.00: Fits coats and hand-sized items (35cm H, 25cm W , 43cm D)
Medium—£5.00: Fits rucksacks and small bags (43cm H , 33cm W , 43cm D)
*While our large lockers can fit carry-on sized luggage we advise that suitcases and larger items are left at home.
When scanning the locker QR codes, please ensure you follow the correct link to the Science Museum website if using a third party QR code app.
If you’ve pre-purchased a lunch, you can collect your order from the designated collection point in the Energy Café on level 0 during your chosen time slot.
Find out more about how to pre-book your lunch on our Food and Drink page.
We have several cafés and picnic areas in the museum. When you arrive please speak to a member of staff if you'd like to know which cafés are open.
As part of our sustainability efforts, we only offer fabric tote bags and no longer offer plastic carrier bags. If you would like to support the museum by making a purchase, we recommend you bring your own bag to carry your gift home in.
If you have pre-purchased a souvenir book, you can collect this on the day at the information desk on Level 0 at the front of the museum.
Our visitors are welcome to breastfeed anywhere on site. However, if you would like a quieter space a family room is located on level -1.
Buggies are allowed in the museum and galleries. However, in certain areas, you may be asked to leave your pram in a buggy park as it will be too bulky to be allowed into the area or exhibit.
Buggy parking is available free of charge in the Spare Room, located opposite The Garden gallery on level -1. Please ensure that the pushchairs are empty.
Additionally, you can use the coin-return pushchair locks that require a £1 coin. You can access the Spare Room by using glass lift D, which is situated in the middle of the museum.
We have a small free buggy parking area next to Pattern Pod on level 0 for the duration of your visit in that area.
If you are planning to visit Wonderlab: The Eqionor gallery, pushchairs can be parked behind the showspace inside Wonderlab.
Please note that belongings left in the above buggy parks are left at the owner’s risk, and they may be removed by the security team if left unattended for extended periods of time.
Electric scooters are not allowed in the museum. You can lock your scooter in the bike racks available on Exhibition Road.
Non-electric scooters (and folding bikes) can be stored in the self-service lockers (please check the locker sizes in the tab above). If your scooter (or bike) will not fit in a locker, you are required to keep it with you for the duration of your visit.
Please note that we're currently busy building a few new galleries in the museum so there may be some additional noise during your visit.
All our staff are identifiable from their Science Museum passes. There is a Duty Manager on site whenever we are open to the public, to ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable visit.
If our staff think you may be causing unreasonable offence to other visitors, or are endangering yourself, others, our property or our collections, they will ask you to stop. Our staff have the authority to escort you from the museum if necessary.
We will not tolerate abuse or violence towards any visitor, contractor or member of staff.
Visitors are permitted to use hand-held cameras within the museum for private and non-commercial purposes, but must not:
Use cameras in any areas where video or photography is restricted (this will always be clearly signed)
Make any recording or take any photograph of any person without the authorisation of that person.
Non-private or commercial use of cameras/recording devices, and the use of tripods or lighting, is only allowed by prior arrangement.
We will always let visitors know if filming or photography is taking place in the museum during their visit.
CCTV is in use throughout the Science Museum; images are recorded for the purpose of public safety and crime prevention, in line with Data Protection legislation.
Don’t forget that the Science Museum is located in South Kensington, London’s home of science, arts and inspiration. Why not make a day of it and visit some of our neighbours? Find out more at https://www.discoversouthken.com/
Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Other age restrictions may apply for particular experiences in the museum.
Some exhibits in Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery use magnets that may affect pacemakers or other medical devices. Warning signs are displayed next to these exhibits.
For more information about this or any other accessibility needs please contact the museum on +44 (0)33 0058 0058.
If you have any further questions, please see our FAQs or you can contact us.
