V&A Museum Of Childhood

Who wanted this for Christmas in the late 90s? ☝️ Nintendo released this Special Pikachu Edition Game Boy Color in 1998 to huge success, selling 14 million copies worldwide.
If you love Videogames why not visit the exhibition at Victoria and Albert Museum and see what’s trending today?👾
Photo by Nintendo UK Brand Ambassador @harik87 on Instagram

Read an article by The Guardian on our free display Little Happenings: Photographs of Children by Dorothy Bohm.

Have you visited our Place (Village) display by Rachel Whiteread yet? Here is a beautiful image of it by zamowz on Instagram. #mocpicks

This is thought to be the first image of Captain Horatio Pugwash, the cowardly and greedy, yet loveable creation of cartoonist John Ryan. Pugwash was the star of comic strips and books, and had his own TV series in the 1950s, with revivals of it in the 1970s and 1990s. In this first imagining, he was painted in a Jacobean portrait style #MakeMeAPirate https://bit.ly/2DdbxsR

Our museum got taken over by children! Our shop, exhibitions, activities, operations and information desk were all covered by children for one day.

Enjoy children’s classic pirate films, accompanied by themed craft activities from £4.
Programme: Thu 27 Dec, THE MUPPETS TREASURE ISLAND Fri 28 Dec, PETER PAN... Sat 29 Dec, THE PIRATES!: IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS
See More

A game truly ahead of its time, the Bauhaus set was designed by Alma Siedhoff-Buscher as a building game to stimulate the senses to be the building blocks of fun.

It’s been so cold today ❄️ These cute polar bears have been thrilled with the weather! Ivy, mummy bear, and Brumas, baby bear, were actual polar bears at London Zoo. Brumas was the first baby polar bear to be successfully reared in Britain!

Create your own fictional pirate character for a chance to see it on display in our current exhibition. The competition is open to children 2-12 years old. Find out more https://bit.ly/2zhxDpp Deadline for entries is Friday 11 January #MakeMeAPirate

The public got to meet Mickey Mouse for the first time on this day in 1928, in the short film Steamboat Willie. This wallpaper was made by the Walt Disney studio only two years later, showing how quickly it became popular! Do you know someone who would want this wallpaper?

The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was released on this day in 2001!
This magical train is called Hogwart's Express and you can travel on it - yes you read right! Simply take it from platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station to Hogsmeade station 😅

Maybe this toddler did not enjoy his costume... but dressing up allows children to take their imagination to new places and learn a new side of life!
Dorothy Bohm has captured childhood for several decades, you can see her work for free at our display: http://bit.ly/2SBNUxI
Venice, Italy, 1987

The much-loved American TV series Sesame Street premiered on this day in 1969! Can you guess which of these two characters would often say “Yes, I do mind”? Was it Bert or Cookie Monster?

Creativity knows no budget! This much loved doll was handmade by a girl in Bethnal Green in the 1890s, where poverty was widespread. The girl used a mutton bone for the body and rags of cloth to dress her up while the face is painted with ink. Find out more: http://bit.ly/2z1mmtb

Treasure Island is the most influential pirate story ever written. It has remained popular since it was first published in 1883 and has been retold in many different media, like this Marvel comic from the 1970s.
Explore fictional pirates in popular culture and imagination in our free exhibition https://bit.ly/2DdbxsR #MakeMeAPirate

Discover our new free play sessions for under 5s! Running on Saturdays, they encourage children to touch, move and explore in a bespoke environment inspired by the Museum’s collection https://bit.ly/2F3WdQ0

Our new display "Little Happenings: Photographs of Children by Dorothy Bohm" opens today! Pop by to see her intimate photographs of childhood across the world: http://bit.ly/2SBNUxI
Photo from Oaxaca,Mexico, 1956

Start your Christmas shopping early at our annual Christmas Designer Market!
A unique opportunity to buy directly from local independent designer makers in a relaxed seasonal ambience with the festive sounds of the Tilbury Brass Band to get you in the mood.
Free, drop in

Can you guess what the head of this doll was made of? Peeled apples! It was made in ca. 1840 and has glass eyes.

Love this place things for children to make and learn about . Many toys were remembered from my childhood .i like the way sercurity is shown at the main entrance by not letting any child leave on their own without a adult .

I loved the museum, the cafe was very over priced, I felt the shop could of done with some small old toys they have displayed. 1 big hate is the over use of lifts for ppl that are able to walk. I had to wait about 20 mins for a lift, that needs to be addressed. All in all loved it and was an amazing day. My boy is severely autistic and disabled but he loved it. It's a good place to go and I'm so glad it here. My boy coped very well.

I love a museum that gives a place to the childhood, even for adults.

I brought my Y10 students here on Friday last week. We had a wonderful day out. The staff were so welcoming and knew to expect us. The educational talk and activities in the afternoon from Madeline were fantastic and we enjoyed our lunch in the gorgeous grounds. We will be back next year! Thank you so much �

A wonderful place for children and adults. You can come with your child for a few hours, and there is always something to do. There is no boredom, it is fun.

You can buy a healthy meal, you can safely change the diaper of a baby. There will be something interesting for all children.

Love the museum . Visited with a friend and her charges ( we are both nannies ) the children had a fab time , really liked the little play areas dotted around .

The museum has been designed well and is very spacious .

The only negative for us was that it was quite dark on the top floor and it was very cold .

I didn’t think there was a great range of food in cafe , particularly hot food .

Overall we love it and will be back again soon

I visited yesterday with my daughters and my grandson, aged almost two years. It was very interesting to see the old toys but my grandson preferred to play with the trains and riding on the rocking horse. There is lots to see and do for older children too. We just had drinks in the cafe. They were very good.

Could not find Rosebud. Not a lot of people round to ask questions of. Some fabulous old toys, I don’t think you would have played with many of them even at the time.

Also not a lot of choice in the shop. I would like more relevant postcards and fridge magnets.

Very enjoyable though.

A lovely museum cleverly arranged by toy type (like doll's house, rocking horse, mechanical or stuffed!) instead of by era. I loved the intricate miniature theatres from around the world, as well as the modern LEGO sets and Pokemon toys. The Michael Morpurgo exhibition, which featured some of the puppets from War Horse, was moving and very well designed. However, I can only given this museum 4 stars because there was NO fuzzy felt! Get it together, curators, and give the people what they want.

A great place I love visiting with my kids. The place has some toys which bring back lovely memories of my childhood. I feel some areas are very dark and a makeover with more colour like the outside entrance is needed inside. The exhibition on top floor are always a great learning platform for us all. Its a regular weekly stopover for the kids now.

A great day out for families and people of a certain age. Looking at the toys from yesteryear made it a fun and nostalgic trip. Great to see so many families enjoying the play areas. Staff were very friendly and knowledgeable

A brill museum, my 3 grandsons had great fun playing in the kitchen, the sand and other stuff that was around. The only thing which I found frustrating was the lift was broken so has to carry the buggy up and down the stairs to top floor, and the lack of light, it is very dull in there. Other than that it is a Good day out though.

The museum is nice but the cafe horrible! Overpriced, not good quality, not much option for vegetarians too. The salad was too salty and pasta tasteless bleurgh

My (teenage) autistic son and I went yesterday -Sunday, for me getting there was no problem, not far from the tube either. Like others have said wonderful memories of some of my childhood toys and games, but surprised that they didn't have more of the iconic games there, such as 'Twister' and 'Simon' Fuzzy felt, skipping ropes, hoops, etc, they could have included these and many more I feel to let today's children see what yesterday's children played with and watched. Also, it would have been fun and interesting if they had screens that showed well known and famous kiddy programs, over the last 65 years ( watch with mother, Rainbow, early Blue Peters, Magic roundabout, for example) and of course many others too, just like in fact at the Museum of London does There could have been more demos and interactive stuff for the little ones to do too to shut them up! The village with the train set was good but only 2 trains running for 20p really?

Also an issue that was especially difficult, was that it was so dark especially on the top floor, I actually had to use my phones torch to be able to read what was written on the descriptions! which is really silly.

The café was OK just, the toilet's were clean and user friendly, the shop could have been so much better but the staff were polite and friendly. Overall, a reasonable afternoon.

I like the Museum of Childhood. This review is about the cafe. I used to like the cafe a lot, there used to be a good range of tasty food. What happened? Since our last visit (a year ago), the range of food has reduced, the quality of what is available is not good, and things were overpriced for what they were. To top it off, they were doing a photo shoot of the food displays during the lunchtime rush and told us that several of the cakes were unavailable. Do your photo shoot before lunchtime!

Zoos and circuses are not places where children learn about animals. It is not their natural environment, the animals are not free to behave, as they would do, in the wild. There is a lot of abuse and cruelty involved in training animals to perform tricks and many of these animals are stolen from the wild or bred to be kept in captivity. Please think about the message you are giving our children and act more responsibly

Zoo and circuses should never be seen as being good. They are certainly not good for the animals that are taken from their families and natural environment to often being abused, especially by circuses.

The unthinking ignorance of this organisation supporting, indeed promoting circuses as a "fun place to learn about animals" and where you can see "great tricks". Just because you are named after Queen Victoria doesn't mean your values and ethics towards animals should actually BE victorian. Wake up V&A and joing the rest of us in the 21st century.

I have always considered Museum of Childhood one of the gems of London, that is until today..

I was absolutely horrified to go on the top floor and to read that zoos and circuses can be a fun place to learn! They are certainly not fun for the animals who are taken from their natural habitats and locked in cages or forced to performed tricks taught to them using methods which can only be described as torture. Zoos and circuses are antiquated forms of entertainment which enslave and exploit animals for human amusement; there is no need or place for them in 21century. Please move on with the times and either remove the sign or replace it with one that promotes kindness and compassion towards animals.

Love this place things for children to make and learn about . Many toys were remembered from my childhood .i like the way sercurity is shown at the main entrance by not letting any child leave on their own without a adult .

I loved the museum, the cafe was very over priced, I felt the shop could of done with some small old toys they have displayed. 1 big hate is the over use of lifts for ppl that are able to walk. I had to wait about 20 mins for a lift, that needs to be addressed. All in all loved it and was an amazing day. My boy is severely autistic and disabled but he loved it. It's a good place to go and I'm so glad it here. My boy coped very well.

I love a museum that gives a place to the childhood, even for adults.

I brought my Y10 students here on Friday last week. We had a wonderful day out. The staff were so welcoming and knew to expect us. The educational talk and activities in the afternoon from Madeline were fantastic and we enjoyed our lunch in the gorgeous grounds. We will be back next year! Thank you so much �

A wonderful place for children and adults. You can come with your child for a few hours, and there is always something to do. There is no boredom, it is fun.

You can buy a healthy meal, you can safely change the diaper of a baby. There will be something interesting for all children.

Love the museum . Visited with a friend and her charges ( we are both nannies ) the children had a fab time , really liked the little play areas dotted around .

The museum has been designed well and is very spacious .

The only negative for us was that it was quite dark on the top floor and it was very cold .

I didn’t think there was a great range of food in cafe , particularly hot food .

Overall we love it and will be back again soon

I visited yesterday with my daughters and my grandson, aged almost two years. It was very interesting to see the old toys but my grandson preferred to play with the trains and riding on the rocking horse. There is lots to see and do for older children too. We just had drinks in the cafe. They were very good.

Could not find Rosebud. Not a lot of people round to ask questions of. Some fabulous old toys, I don’t think you would have played with many of them even at the time.

Also not a lot of choice in the shop. I would like more relevant postcards and fridge magnets.

Very enjoyable though.

A lovely museum cleverly arranged by toy type (like doll's house, rocking horse, mechanical or stuffed!) instead of by era. I loved the intricate miniature theatres from around the world, as well as the modern LEGO sets and Pokemon toys. The Michael Morpurgo exhibition, which featured some of the puppets from War Horse, was moving and very well designed. However, I can only given this museum 4 stars because there was NO fuzzy felt! Get it together, curators, and give the people what they want.

A great place I love visiting with my kids. The place has some toys which bring back lovely memories of my childhood. I feel some areas are very dark and a makeover with more colour like the outside entrance is needed inside. The exhibition on top floor are always a great learning platform for us all. Its a regular weekly stopover for the kids now.

A great day out for families and people of a certain age. Looking at the toys from yesteryear made it a fun and nostalgic trip. Great to see so many families enjoying the play areas. Staff were very friendly and knowledgeable

A brill museum, my 3 grandsons had great fun playing in the kitchen, the sand and other stuff that was around. The only thing which I found frustrating was the lift was broken so has to carry the buggy up and down the stairs to top floor, and the lack of light, it is very dull in there. Other than that it is a Good day out though.

The museum is nice but the cafe horrible! Overpriced, not good quality, not much option for vegetarians too. The salad was too salty and pasta tasteless bleurgh

My (teenage) autistic son and I went yesterday -Sunday, for me getting there was no problem, not far from the tube either. Like others have said wonderful memories of some of my childhood toys and games, but surprised that they didn't have more of the iconic games there, such as 'Twister' and 'Simon' Fuzzy felt, skipping ropes, hoops, etc, they could have included these and many more I feel to let today's children see what yesterday's children played with and watched. Also, it would have been fun and interesting if they had screens that showed well known and famous kiddy programs, over the last 65 years ( watch with mother, Rainbow, early Blue Peters, Magic roundabout, for example) and of course many others too, just like in fact at the Museum of London does There could have been more demos and interactive stuff for the little ones to do too to shut them up! The village with the train set was good but only 2 trains running for 20p really?

Also an issue that was especially difficult, was that it was so dark especially on the top floor, I actually had to use my phones torch to be able to read what was written on the descriptions! which is really silly.

The café was OK just, the toilet's were clean and user friendly, the shop could have been so much better but the staff were polite and friendly. Overall, a reasonable afternoon.

I like the Museum of Childhood. This review is about the cafe. I used to like the cafe a lot, there used to be a good range of tasty food. What happened? Since our last visit (a year ago), the range of food has reduced, the quality of what is available is not good, and things were overpriced for what they were. To top it off, they were doing a photo shoot of the food displays during the lunchtime rush and told us that several of the cakes were unavailable. Do your photo shoot before lunchtime!

Zoos and circuses are not places where children learn about animals. It is not their natural environment, the animals are not free to behave, as they would do, in the wild. There is a lot of abuse and cruelty involved in training animals to perform tricks and many of these animals are stolen from the wild or bred to be kept in captivity. Please think about the message you are giving our children and act more responsibly

Zoo and circuses should never be seen as being good. They are certainly not good for the animals that are taken from their families and natural environment to often being abused, especially by circuses.

The unthinking ignorance of this organisation supporting, indeed promoting circuses as a "fun place to learn about animals" and where you can see "great tricks". Just because you are named after Queen Victoria doesn't mean your values and ethics towards animals should actually BE victorian. Wake up V&A and joing the rest of us in the 21st century.

I have always considered Museum of Childhood one of the gems of London, that is until today..

I was absolutely horrified to go on the top floor and to read that zoos and circuses can be a fun place to learn! They are certainly not fun for the animals who are taken from their natural habitats and locked in cages or forced to performed tricks taught to them using methods which can only be described as torture. Zoos and circuses are antiquated forms of entertainment which enslave and exploit animals for human amusement; there is no need or place for them in 21century. Please move on with the times and either remove the sign or replace it with one that promotes kindness and compassion towards animals.

Love this place things for children to make and learn about . Many toys were remembered from my childhood .i like the way sercurity is shown at the main entrance by not letting any child leave on their own without a adult .

I loved the museum, the cafe was very over priced, I felt the shop could of done with some small old toys they have displayed. 1 big hate is the over use of lifts for ppl that are able to walk. I had to wait about 20 mins for a lift, that needs to be addressed. All in all loved it and was an amazing day. My boy is severely autistic and disabled but he loved it. It's a good place to go and I'm so glad it here. My boy coped very well.

I love a museum that gives a place to the childhood, even for adults.

I brought my Y10 students here on Friday last week. We had a wonderful day out. The staff were so welcoming and knew to expect us. The educational talk and activities in the afternoon from Madeline were fantastic and we enjoyed our lunch in the gorgeous grounds. We will be back next year! Thank you so much �

A wonderful place for children and adults. You can come with your child for a few hours, and there is always something to do. There is no boredom, it is fun.

You can buy a healthy meal, you can safely change the diaper of a baby. There will be something interesting for all children.

Love the museum . Visited with a friend and her charges ( we are both nannies ) the children had a fab time , really liked the little play areas dotted around .

The museum has been designed well and is very spacious .

The only negative for us was that it was quite dark on the top floor and it was very cold .

I didn’t think there was a great range of food in cafe , particularly hot food .

Overall we love it and will be back again soon

I visited yesterday with my daughters and my grandson, aged almost two years. It was very interesting to see the old toys but my grandson preferred to play with the trains and riding on the rocking horse. There is lots to see and do for older children too. We just had drinks in the cafe. They were very good.

Could not find Rosebud. Not a lot of people round to ask questions of. Some fabulous old toys, I don’t think you would have played with many of them even at the time.

Also not a lot of choice in the shop. I would like more relevant postcards and fridge magnets.

Very enjoyable though.

A lovely museum cleverly arranged by toy type (like doll's house, rocking horse, mechanical or stuffed!) instead of by era. I loved the intricate miniature theatres from around the world, as well as the modern LEGO sets and Pokemon toys. The Michael Morpurgo exhibition, which featured some of the puppets from War Horse, was moving and very well designed. However, I can only given this museum 4 stars because there was NO fuzzy felt! Get it together, curators, and give the people what they want.

A great place I love visiting with my kids. The place has some toys which bring back lovely memories of my childhood. I feel some areas are very dark and a makeover with more colour like the outside entrance is needed inside. The exhibition on top floor are always a great learning platform for us all. Its a regular weekly stopover for the kids now.

A great day out for families and people of a certain age. Looking at the toys from yesteryear made it a fun and nostalgic trip. Great to see so many families enjoying the play areas. Staff were very friendly and knowledgeable

A brill museum, my 3 grandsons had great fun playing in the kitchen, the sand and other stuff that was around. The only thing which I found frustrating was the lift was broken so has to carry the buggy up and down the stairs to top floor, and the lack of light, it is very dull in there. Other than that it is a Good day out though.

The museum is nice but the cafe horrible! Overpriced, not good quality, not much option for vegetarians too. The salad was too salty and pasta tasteless bleurgh

My (teenage) autistic son and I went yesterday -Sunday, for me getting there was no problem, not far from the tube either. Like others have said wonderful memories of some of my childhood toys and games, but surprised that they didn't have more of the iconic games there, such as 'Twister' and 'Simon' Fuzzy felt, skipping ropes, hoops, etc, they could have included these and many more I feel to let today's children see what yesterday's children played with and watched. Also, it would have been fun and interesting if they had screens that showed well known and famous kiddy programs, over the last 65 years ( watch with mother, Rainbow, early Blue Peters, Magic roundabout, for example) and of course many others too, just like in fact at the Museum of London does There could have been more demos and interactive stuff for the little ones to do too to shut them up! The village with the train set was good but only 2 trains running for 20p really?

Also an issue that was especially difficult, was that it was so dark especially on the top floor, I actually had to use my phones torch to be able to read what was written on the descriptions! which is really silly.

The café was OK just, the toilet's were clean and user friendly, the shop could have been so much better but the staff were polite and friendly. Overall, a reasonable afternoon.

I like the Museum of Childhood. This review is about the cafe. I used to like the cafe a lot, there used to be a good range of tasty food. What happened? Since our last visit (a year ago), the range of food has reduced, the quality of what is available is not good, and things were overpriced for what they were. To top it off, they were doing a photo shoot of the food displays during the lunchtime rush and told us that several of the cakes were unavailable. Do your photo shoot before lunchtime!

Zoos and circuses are not places where children learn about animals. It is not their natural environment, the animals are not free to behave, as they would do, in the wild. There is a lot of abuse and cruelty involved in training animals to perform tricks and many of these animals are stolen from the wild or bred to be kept in captivity. Please think about the message you are giving our children and act more responsibly

Zoo and circuses should never be seen as being good. They are certainly not good for the animals that are taken from their families and natural environment to often being abused, especially by circuses.

The unthinking ignorance of this organisation supporting, indeed promoting circuses as a "fun place to learn about animals" and where you can see "great tricks". Just because you are named after Queen Victoria doesn't mean your values and ethics towards animals should actually BE victorian. Wake up V&A and joing the rest of us in the 21st century.

I have always considered Museum of Childhood one of the gems of London, that is until today..

I was absolutely horrified to go on the top floor and to read that zoos and circuses can be a fun place to learn! They are certainly not fun for the animals who are taken from their natural habitats and locked in cages or forced to performed tricks taught to them using methods which can only be described as torture. Zoos and circuses are antiquated forms of entertainment which enslave and exploit animals for human amusement; there is no need or place for them in 21century. Please move on with the times and either remove the sign or replace it with one that promotes kindness and compassion towards animals.