Family visits

Our Reading Lounge is a safe space for children to play with home-themed resources, including our mini market, kitchen and a dress up station for imaginative and role play.

Our range of inclusive and beautifully illustrated children’s books is updated regularly, telling stories of home, identity, belonging and the world.

We are a registered Warm Bank and have several resources to make the space comfortable for a longer stopping time. Relax on our sofas, bean bags or rocking chairs for as long as you need.

The sensory den is an enclosed space for children to explore light and texture. In the den you will find soft matting, colourful lighting, and sensory toys. 

The museum is accessible for prams and buggies. There are some larger lockers in the Welcome Area for buggies, as well as a buggy park.. At busy times, we may ask you to fold your buggy or leave it in the buggy park. 

There are baby changing facilities in each of the accessible toilets across the museum (there are three of these).

Parents and guardians are welcome to breastfeed or bottle-feed anywhere on the museum’s grounds. The Reading Lounge offers comfortable seating and the Garden Reading Room is a little off the main route and is often much quieter.

You can’t eat and drink in our galleries (including the family area). But you are welcome to picnic on the Kingsland Road Gardens or use our Lunch Room.

Our quieter and less crowded spaces include the Garden Reading Room, a seating area on the ground floor, and our Gardens Through Time.