iScience Museum
The Science Museum manages to be genuinely exciting about things like thermodynamics and computing. The permanent galleries span flight, space, medicine, and the industrial revolution, with real artefacts — Babbage's Difference Engine, Apollo 10's command module, the first jet engine. The interactive Wonderlab gallery is outstanding for kids, and the IMAX cinema shows spectacular science documentaries.
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What's On
Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation
Marking 250 years since US independence, this exhibition reveals the science behind the nation's founding through maps, paintings and instruments from the 1760s to 1790s.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos
Blast off into the Solar System in this interactive family show, packed with surprising space science, hands-on experiments and characters from the Horrible Science TV series.
Permanent Collections
Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries
Five floors of medical history across 5,000 years, from ancient surgery to DNA sequencing, with over 3,000 objects on display.
Mathematics: The Winton Gallery
Zaha Hadid-designed gallery showing how maths shapes everything from aircraft engineering to financial risk, with a 1929 Handley Page biplane overhead.
Information Age
Two centuries of communications and computing through six networks, telegraph, telephone, broadcasting, satellite and the web, with key historic objects.
Flight
A century of aviation history from the first fragile biplanes to supersonic jets, including the Supermarine Spitfire prototype and Concorde's cockpit.
Space
Rockets, spacesuits and the Apollo 10 command module tell the story of human space exploration, from early satellites to Tim Peake.
Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery
From coal-fired steam engines to solar panels, tracing the energy transitions that powered the modern world and what comes next.
Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery
An interactive gallery revealing the hidden but vital careers of technicians, with hands-on exhibits spanning a film set to a pharmaceutical lab.
Engineers
A gallery celebrating engineers and how they shape the world, from surgical robots to GPS and digital imaging, told through the people behind the inventions.
Making the Modern World
Icons of invention from Stephenson's Rocket to the first production Model T Ford, objects that changed how the world lives.
Plan Your Visit
Getting there
Hours
| Mon | 10:00–18:00 |
| Tue | 10:00–18:00 |
| Wed | 10:00–18:00 |
| Thu | 10:00–18:00 |
| Fri | 10:00–18:00 |
| SatToday | 10:00–18:00 |
| Sun | 10:00–18:00 |
Admission
Free
IMAX, Wonderlab, and special exhibitions require paid tickets
Accessibility
Step-free access throughout. Wheelchairs available. Sensory-friendly sessions and quiet rooms available.
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Good to know
Visitor Information
- Is Science Museum free to visit?
- Yes, general admission to Science Museum is free. IMAX, Wonderlab, and special exhibitions require paid tickets. Some special exhibitions may charge a separate ticket, so check the museum's website before visiting.
- What are the opening hours of Science Museum?
- Science Museum is open Daily 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:15. Holiday hours can vary, so check the museum's website before you go.
- Where is Science Museum?
- Science Museum is located at Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD, in the South Kensington area of London. The nearest station is South Kensington.
- What can I see at Science Museum?
- From Stephenson's Rocket to space exploration — science made tangible and hands-on. Current highlights include Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries, Mathematics: The Winton Gallery and Information Age.
- Do I need to book Science Museum in advance?
- Science Museum is free to enter and most days you can walk in. IMAX, Wonderlab, and special exhibitions require paid tickets. For special exhibitions, weekends, and school holidays, booking a timed slot can help you skip queues. Check the museum's website for current requirements.
- When is the best time to visit Science Museum?
- Weekday mornings shortly after opening are typically the quietest, especially mid-week. Late afternoons can also be calmer. Weekends, school holidays, and the lunch rush are the busiest periods.
- Is Science Museum accessible?
- Step-free access throughout. Wheelchairs available. Sensory-friendly sessions and quiet rooms available.
Image credits
16
- Science MuseumChristine Matthews / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Medicine: The Wellcome GalleriesCourtesy of Science Museum
- Mathematics: The Winton GalleryCourtesy of Science Museum
- Information AgeCourtesy of Science Museum
- FlightCourtesy of Science Museum
- Becoming America: How Science Shaped a NationCourtesy of Science Museum
- SpaceCourtesy of Science Museum
- Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy GalleryCourtesy of Science Museum
- Horrible Science: Cosmic ChaosCourtesy of Science Museum
- Technicians: The David Sainsbury GalleryCourtesy of Science Museum
- EngineersCourtesy of Science Museum
- Making the Modern WorldCourtesy of Science Museum
- Natural History MuseumDiliff / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Victoria and Albert MuseumDiliff / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Serpentine GalleryTxllxt TxllxT / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Saatchi GalleryAnthony O'Neil / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0