This May half-term holiday, visitors to the Science Museum can experience an enjoyable day out with inspiring exhibitions and an exciting events programme. There is plenty on offer for every age group; enjoy live science demonstrations, take a look inside Stephen Hawking's office, explore the world of gaming and much more.
From Monday 30 May – Sunday 12 June, the museum will be open Monday – Sunday, 10.00 - 18.00, for the May half-term holiday. To pre-book a free ticket to the Science Museum, please visit this link. For further details about other galleries and exhibitions, please visit our See and Do page.
TICKETED FAMILY EXPERIENCES
Until 6 June
Ticketed, from £8 (under 3s go free)
Recommended age: 5+
With Power UP’s extended run at the museum coming to a close, families and gamers of all ages and skill levels are invited to experience our hugely popular gaming extravaganza for a final time this year. Featuring more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games, there’s plenty to enjoy, from Pong and Sonic to Mario Kart and Fortnite. Find out how early pioneering consoles have changed and developed over the past five decades and discover the latest gaming technology.
Ticketed, from £10
The Science Museum's IMAX is one of only two screens in Europe to feature the very best of digital and analogue cinema, bringing together IMAX 70mm film and next-generation IMAX with Laser.
Throughout the half-term holiday, visitors can watch Antarctica 3D (U), featuring never-before-seen footage from the filmmakers of the iconic Planet Earth II; A Beautiful Planet 3D (U) which showcases the tasks of crew onboard the International Space Station; and Hubble 3D (U), which follows a team of astronauts as they attempt to perform one of the most difficult and important tasks in NASA’s history.
L - R: IMAX final elements of refurbished space; views of the completed auditorium © Science Museum Group; Cameraman Rolf Steinmann filming king penguin chicks on South Georgia © BBC NHU.
Permanent gallery
Ticketed, from £9 (under 3s go free)
Recommended ages: 7–14
Visitors can explore Wonderlab, the museum's popular interactive gallery, be amazed by live science shows and enjoy demonstrations led by a talented team of Explainers. The gallery’s hands-on activities will inspire visitors to engage with the science all around them, through exhibits including a giant friction slide, live lightning demonstrations, a large rotating model of the solar system and more.
FREE DISPLAYS, EXHIBITIONS AND GALLERIES
Opens 25 May 2022
Ticketed, free
With support from expert partners Cancer Research UK, the Science Museum will be opening a major exhibition that will explore the history of cancer treatment and future of cancer research, Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope. Visitors to Cancer Revolution will discover incredible historical objects, cutting-edge diagnostic and surgical technologies, encounter new artist commissions and installations, get hands-on with interactive exhibits and experience a breadth of personal stories. The exhibition will reveal how researchers, clinicians, policy makers and patients are fuelling progress in a powerful expression of shared hope and will present the stories of people affected by cancer, together with those who study and treat it.
Until 5 June 2022
Ticketed, free
Discover the intellectual curiosity of the ancient Greeks and their impact on the modern world in this exciting exhibition – Ancient Greeks: Science and Wisdom. On display will be a range of incredible objects, including one of only three surviving ancient Greek globes mapping the constellations, an eroded statue of Hermes discovered on a shipwreck and intricate jewellery inspired by Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Until September 2022
Walk-up, free
Our Future Planet offers visitors a look into the cutting-edge technologies and nature-based solutions being developed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere: from conserving ancient woodlands to direct air capture machines and the storage of excess carbon in a range of commercial products, from yoga mats to vodka.
Until March 2023
Walk-up, free
Stephen Hawking at Work is a free display featuring incredible objects from Professor Stephen Hawking’s office, including items that have never been on display in public before. Visitors can see a rare copy of Hawking’s PhD thesis, his wheelchair and Hawking’s most treasured office possession - a blackboard filled with academic doodles and jokes. These important items provide insights into Hawking’s remarkable life as a scientist, science communicator and as a person who lived with motor neurone disease.
Permanent gallery
Walk-up, free
Recommended age: Under 8
This stimulating interactive gallery encourages children to develop science skills using play in a fascinating multi-sensory area. From sound to time patterns, they can explore robot trails, water ripples, textured walls and more.
Permanent gallery
Walk-up, free
Recommended age: 3-6
An exciting interactive space, created especially for children aged 3-6 and their parents and carers. Inquisitive children can explore the main areas - construction, water, light and sound.
Free object interaction, drop-in
Dates times vary
Ages: 7+
Join our Science Museum Explainers at Our Future Planet' for a special workshop where you can discover the different ways we can help reduce carbon dioxide in our air.
Free storytelling show, drop-in
Dates & times vary
Ages: 3-7
Visitors are taken on a journey from the end of the roots to the tips of the leaves in an interactive storytelling adventure through the trees led by Science Museum Explainers.
ADULT-ONLY EVENTS
Visitors are invited to explore the museum in a new way with a range of adult-only, out-of-hours events.
Wednesday 25 May, 18:15-22.00
Free, ticketed (VIP tickets available)
Ages: 18+
At the Science Museum’s May Lates event, visitors will experience the opening of major exhibition Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope and take part in workshops and talks across the museum. On display for just one night as part of this special Lates programme will be new interactive artwork from sculptor Simon Hitchens – Physis. Visitors will be offered sculpting tools and invited to get hands-on with the artwork by literally chipping away at it, symbolically reducing and reshaping its tumour-like form.
L-R: Lates visitors enjoying the silent disco inside the Exploring Space gallery, © Science Museum Group; Simon Hitchens working on Physis, the interactive artwork at Lates © Nigel Davies
