Taking children to a museum can go one of two ways. Find the right museum and they will spend hours experimenting, exploring and asking questions. Choose somewhere dominated by glass cabinets and lengthy information panels, and you may hear the words "Can we go now?" within half an hour.
Fortunately, the UK has some excellent interactive museums specifically designed to make children part of the experience.
These aren't places where families have to spend the entire day telling children not to touch anything. Children can build structures, conduct experiments, play games, investigate the human body, explore technology and discover how the world works through hands-on activities.
Interactive museums can also be particularly good family destinations when the British weather makes an outdoor day difficult.
From dedicated children's museums to enormous science centres, here are some of the best interactive museums for families in the UK.
Eureka! The National Children's Museum, Halifax
Eureka! in Halifax is one of the best places to start because the entire museum has been designed around children rather than simply adding a children's gallery to an adult attraction.
The museum describes itself as the UK's only fully interactive museum dedicated to children aged 0–11, with hundreds of interactive exhibits spread across six zones.
Children are actively encouraged to investigate the exhibits rather than simply look at them.
One of Eureka!'s biggest strengths is role play. Children can explore environments inspired by the adult world, helping them understand everyday life while having fun.
Elsewhere, they can investigate the human body, explore science and experiment with different ideas.
For younger children in particular, this approach can be much more successful than a traditional museum visit. They don't necessarily realise that they are learning because the experience feels like play.
Eureka! is aimed primarily at children aged 0–11, making it particularly suitable for families with toddlers and primary-school-aged children.
Best for: Children aged 0–11 and families looking for a full day of hands-on play.
Eureka! Science + Discovery, Wirral
Eureka! also operates Science + Discovery in Wallasey on the Wirral.
This attraction extends the interactive approach to children up to around age 14, making it a particularly useful choice for families whose children are beginning to outgrow attractions aimed primarily at younger kids.
The attraction has four main interactive zones and has been developed around the idea that children learn effectively when they're having fun. Experiences include opportunities to investigate the human body, environment and other scientific subjects through physical interaction.
Its approach has also received significant recognition. In 2026, Eureka! reported that a Which? survey based on more than 5,000 visitor experiences ranked Science + Discovery as the highest-rated UK family attraction in that survey, with interactive experiences, accessibility and value highlighted among its strengths.
For families in Liverpool, Merseyside, Cheshire and the wider North West, it is well worth considering.
Best for: Children up to around 14 and families in North West England.
We The Curious, Bristol
We The Curious is exactly the sort of place children who constantly ask "why?" can enjoy.
Bristol's interactive science centre has more than 200 hands-on exhibits spread across two floors, covering subjects ranging from brains and bubbles to robots, rainbows and tornadoes.
The emphasis is on curiosity.
Rather than simply telling children scientific facts, the exhibits encourage them to experiment and investigate what happens for themselves.
This is particularly useful for children who learn by doing.
The centre also offers creative activities, workshops and talks as part of the main visit, while families can add a planetarium experience. We The Curious describes its planetarium as the UK's only 3D Planetarium.
One of the advantages of an attraction covering so many different subjects is that children don't need to arrive with an existing passion for science. They can simply move between activities until something captures their attention.
Best for: Curious primary-school children and families who love experimenting.
Techniquest, Cardiff
Techniquest is one of Wales's leading interactive science attractions and is packed with things children can physically investigate.
There are more than 100 hands-on exhibits covering subjects including space, the environment, chemistry and biomedical science. Children can experience exhibits involving everything from hurricanes and earthquakes to underwater rovers and spacecraft docking.
That variety is one of Techniquest's greatest strengths.
Children can jump between completely different subjects without needing to follow a fixed museum route.
The centre also runs science shows, laboratory workshops and planetarium experiences. Its programme includes activities aimed at different age groups, including younger children and older primary-school visitors.
Families visiting Cardiff can also combine Techniquest with other attractions around Cardiff Bay.
Best for: Hands-on science and families visiting Wales.
Young V&A, London
Young V&A in Bethnal Green provides something different from the traditional science-centre model.
The museum is built around creativity, imagination, play and design.
Its three permanent galleries are called Play, Imagine and Design, giving a pretty good indication of what families can expect. General admission is free.
Interactive elements include video games, building blocks, a marble run, sound installations, costumes, a playable dolls' house, design activities and touch objects.
That makes Young V&A an excellent option for children whose interests are more creative than scientific.
Instead of focusing entirely on how the physical world works, children can explore how people design, make, imagine and play.
The museum also runs family activities and workshops throughout the year, including hands-on making and play sessions.
Accessibility has also been incorporated into the experience. Young V&A has a quiet Reading Room, sensory resources and Sensory Design Bags designed for children and young people with sensory differences and additional needs.
Best for: Creative children, design, play and a free London family day out.
Science Museum, London
London's Science Museum is enormous, and while not every part is designed around hands-on play, there is enough interactive content to make it one of Britain's strongest museum destinations for families.
Children can explore subjects including space, engineering, communications, medicine, mathematics and computing.
The major advantage is variety.
One child may be fascinated by spacecraft while another wants to explore technology or engineering.
Interactive galleries and ticketed experiences can add considerably more participation to the visit.
Families with younger children don't need to attempt the entire museum. In fact, trying to see everything can make the day unnecessarily exhausting.
Choose the galleries that best suit your children's interests and give them time to explore.
General admission to the main museum is free, although some exhibitions and interactive experiences require separate tickets.
Best for: Families wanting a huge range of science and technology.
Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum
Thinktank is another excellent choice for families because it combines museum collections with interactive science.
Children can explore engineering, transport, technology, the human body and the natural world.
For younger children, MiniBrum provides an opportunity to explore a child-sized version of Birmingham through imaginative play.
Older children can investigate more complicated scientific and technological ideas.
The Science Garden provides another interactive dimension, using large outdoor exhibits to explore engineering and physical science.
This combination makes Thinktank particularly useful for families with children of different ages.
A younger sibling can enjoy role play while an older child becomes absorbed in machinery or science.
Best for: Families with mixed-age children and interactive STEM experiences.
Glasgow Science Centre
Glasgow Science Centre is one of Scotland's leading hands-on science attractions.
The centre uses interactive exhibits and demonstrations to introduce families to a broad range of scientific subjects.
This style of learning can be particularly effective for children because they are encouraged to experiment rather than simply memorise facts.
Physics suddenly becomes more interesting when children can physically see forces at work.
Biology becomes easier to understand when they can interact with an exhibit about the human body.
Technology becomes more relevant when children can see how scientific ideas are applied in the real world.
The variety means families can move between activities rather than spending hours concentrating on a single subject.
Best for: Hands-on science for families in Scotland.
National Space Centre, Leicester
Children who love rockets and astronauts may find their perfect interactive museum at Leicester's National Space Centre.
The attraction is devoted to space exploration and astronomy, allowing families to explore the subject in much greater depth than they might at a general science museum.
Children can learn about rockets, planets, satellites and the realities of travelling beyond Earth.
Space museums work particularly well with children because the subject already contains a huge sense of adventure.
Questions quickly begin appearing.
How do astronauts eat?
How does a rocket escape Earth's gravity?
Could humans live on Mars?
Is there life elsewhere in the universe?
Interactive exhibits help turn these enormous questions into understandable experiences.
The National Space Centre can work across a wide age range. Younger children can enjoy the spectacle of rockets and space exploration, while older children can investigate the science in greater detail.
Best for: Space-obsessed children and future astronauts.
National Science and Media Museum, Bradford
For children fascinated by television, film, photography, gaming or digital media, Bradford's National Science and Media Museum offers a different interpretation of science and technology.
Media is something children interact with every day, which can make the subject immediately relatable.
Instead of beginning with unfamiliar scientific ideas, parents can start with things children already understand: television, cameras, films, video games and digital technology.
From there, children can discover the technology and science that make those things possible.
This can be particularly appealing to older children and teenagers who may feel they have outgrown museums aimed primarily at younger families.
Best for: Film, television, photography, gaming and media technology.
The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley
Computers are naturally interactive, making computing museums excellent destinations for children interested in technology.
The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley has a major collection of working historic computers, taking visitors through the development of computing from early machines to the personal-computer era.
For children accustomed to modern smartphones and tablets, historic computers can seem almost unbelievable.
Parents may recognise computers from their own childhood, creating an unusual situation where the adults suddenly become part of the museum's history.
Hands-on activities involving coding, robotics and other technology can make the experience particularly appealing to older primary-school children and teenagers.
Best for: Computing, coding, gaming and technology enthusiasts.
Centre for Computing History, Cambridge
Cambridge's Centre for Computing History is another excellent option for families interested in computers and gaming.
Historic computers become much more interesting to children when they can actually interact with technology rather than simply look at machines sitting behind glass.
Retro gaming is particularly effective.
Children who might initially have little interest in the history of computing can suddenly become fascinated when they are able to experience games from previous generations.
Parents may find themselves demonstrating the games and machines they grew up with.
From there, families can begin exploring how quickly computing technology has changed and discussing where it might go next.
Best for: Retro gaming and children interested in computers.
Black Country Living Museum, Dudley
Interactive museums don't have to involve touchscreens and scientific experiments.
Living museums can be some of the most interactive historical experiences available.
At the Black Country Living Museum, families explore reconstructed streets, buildings and businesses connected with the industrial history of the region.
Instead of viewing history from a distance, children physically walk through recreated environments.
This can help them understand everyday history much more effectively.
What did shops look like?
How did families live?
What jobs did people do?
How did communities change as industry developed?
Living museums can answer those questions through experiences rather than lengthy explanations.
Best for: Interactive history and families who enjoy immersive experiences.
Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
Beamish in County Durham uses a similarly immersive approach.
Families can explore recreated historical communities representing different periods in North East England's past.
The scale of the attraction means the museum can feel more like exploring a historical world than visiting a conventional museum.
Children can discover transport, shops, homes and workplaces while comparing everyday life in previous generations with their own.
For children who struggle to engage with conventional historical museums, Beamish can completely change their perception of history.
Best for: Living history and an immersive full-day family experience.
Which Interactive Museum Is Best for Toddlers?
For very young children, the priority should usually be play rather than detailed educational content.
Eureka! in Halifax is one of the strongest choices because it has been specifically created for children aged 0–11, rather than expecting toddlers to adapt to an adult museum.
Young V&A is another excellent option, particularly because its permanent galleries encourage play, creativity and imagination and general admission is free.
Science centres can also work well, although parents should check which exhibits are appropriate for very young visitors.
At this age, children don't need to understand the scientific explanation behind everything.
Pressing a button, moving an object, building something or discovering cause and effect is already valuable learning.
Which Interactive Museums Are Best for Older Children?
Older children often want something more challenging than simple play.
We The Curious is a strong choice because its large collection of hands-on exhibits covers numerous scientific subjects.
Techniquest can similarly challenge children with interactive science while offering shows, laboratories and planetarium experiences.
Children interested in a particular subject may prefer a specialist attraction.
Choose the National Space Centre for space, The National Museum of Computing for computers or the National Science and Media Museum for media technology.
The more closely the museum matches the child's existing interests, the more successful the day is likely to be.
Interactive Museums Can Be Great for Different Learning Styles
One reason interactive museums work so well for families is that children don't all learn in the same way.
Some enjoy reading information.
Others need to see something demonstrated.
Some need to physically experiment before an idea makes sense.
Interactive exhibits can combine several approaches.
A child might read a question, manipulate an object, watch what happens and then discuss the result with a parent.
That process can make complicated concepts far easier to understand.
It also gives children more control over their visit. Instead of following adults from exhibit to exhibit, they can choose which activities they want to investigate.
Don't Rush Children Between Exhibits
Interactive museums can create a slightly unexpected problem for parents: children sometimes refuse to move.
You may have planned to see the entire museum, but your child has spent 25 minutes building the same structure.
That's fine.
If they are concentrating, experimenting and enjoying themselves, the exhibit is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
There is little benefit in dragging them away simply because another 50 exhibits remain unseen.
Allow children to spend longer with activities that genuinely capture their imagination.
You can always come back another day.
Check Activities Before Travelling
Interactive museums frequently run changing programmes of workshops, demonstrations and family events.
These can make an enormous difference to the experience.
Before travelling, check what is running on your chosen date and whether activities require separate booking.
You should also check admission prices, opening hours, parking, food facilities and accessibility.
Some museums are free but charge for particular exhibitions. Others use timed admission or recommend advance booking.
A few minutes of preparation can prevent disappointment when you arrive.
The Best Museums Are the Ones Where Children Forget They're Learning
Interactive museums demonstrate that learning and entertainment don't have to be separate activities.
Children can investigate the human body at Eureka!, create and design at Young V&A, experiment with science at Techniquest, investigate hundreds of exhibits at We The Curious or explore Britain's past inside a living museum.
The best experiences don't necessarily involve children remembering dozens of facts.
They create curiosity.
A child presses a button and asks why something happened.
They build something that collapses and try again.
They see an old computer and wonder how it worked.
They investigate a scientific experiment and suddenly want to know more.
That is what makes interactive museums such good family days out.
Instead of telling children not to touch, they invite them to get involved.
And for many children, that's when a museum becomes genuinely exciting.