KEEPING the kids entertained when the weather turns miserable doesn’t have to be expensive.
While play centres and indoor attractions can easily burn a hole in your wallet, there’s a whole host of free indoor options across the UK.
That’s why we’ve scoured the web to find the top indoor, family-friendly attractions near you that cost nothing to enter.
From seeing real rockets and steam trains up-close, to dressing up as knights or wandering indoor tropical jungles, here’s our top indoor attractions for families that are absolutely free to visit.
North of England
National Railway Museum, York
This is the world’s largest railway museum, and it’s totally free to enter.
Grab family photos in front of famous locomotives like the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard, plus hop on the miniature railway and marvel at the model railway.
Science and Industry Museum, Manchester
This high-tech museum is packed with interactive kids activities, such as the hands-on Experiment gallery where you can build mini bridges, towers and create glow-in-the-dark artwork.
There’s also working machinery to watch and fascinating exhibits on Manchester’s industrial and computing history.
Manchester Central Library
Offering far more than just books, this library is laid out like an enchanting secret garden, complete with wildlife-themed reading nooks and interactive digital screens.
The jungle-themed children’s library is a particularly cosy space for a rainy day, where you can curl up with your little one and take your pick from plenty of colourful picture books.
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead
Housed in a massive former flour mill, this contemporary art gallery has brilliant indoor viewing platforms and ‘Learning Lounge’ areas packed with toys and crafts.
There’s also a Sensory Room with free drop-in sessions, which contains a colourful light table with gentle moving projections as well as large soft shapes to rest on.
Discovery Museum, Newcastle
Dedicated to Tyneside’s maritime and industrial history, this free attraction is complete with a massive 34-metre ship (called The Turbina) right at the entrance.
Inside there’s a brilliant hands-on ‘Science Maze’ play area, with interactive screens, experiments and more.
Hull Minster
This historic church is alive with regular free family events, interactive discovery trails, plus a cosy cafe to warm up in.
There’s a weekly baby and toddler group, and past events have included teddy bear picnics. Look out for upcoming events on their What’s On page.
Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
This free-entry museum is stocked with unique armour including that of Henry VIII, samurai swords and even the world’s only remaining suit of elephant armour from India.
There are even historical live demonstrations, including knights duelling in medieval long sword fighting, as well as time for the kids to handle special objects and dress up.
Sheffield Winter Garden
This giant indoor jungle is the perfect pick for a rainy day in Sheffield. Stay sheltered with warm temperatures inside a giant glass dome, with plenty of lovely plants to look at.
The building is 70 metres long and 22 metres tall, which is large enough to contain 5,000 regular-sized greenhouses. You can also pop into the Millennium Gallery gift shop to browse its trinkets or the Ambulo cafe for a cuppa.
Sunderland Winter Gardens
This tropical glasshouse is complete with a canopy walkway and pretty water features, making for a relaxing indoor stroll away from the cold.
There are also free events and activities hosted weekly, including Wild Thursdays forest school for ages 12-16 and Autumn Garden Adventures with hedgehog-themed crafts and more. Check their See & Do page for seasonal events.
Central and east of England
The MAC – Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham
This brilliant indoor community hub is home to free art exhibitions, a dedicated indoor family play area, and cheap drop-in creative workshops.
There’s a programme of free events for every season, with past events including music performances, markets and pizza nights. Make sure to check the free events page.
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
This art gallery offers free Family Explorer bags for kids, packed with activities to keep the kids engaged as you walk around.
There are also regular events including guided gallery tours, as well as regularly-changing art exhibitions from around the world.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
While Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum has brilliant Renaissance paintings and galleries for grown-ups, there’s plenty for kids, too.
There are free ‘Baby Bags’ and ‘Story Starter’ bags for older kids available at reception, which contain drawing materials, a picture book and props. Check the What’s On page for events like family fun days and ‘Toddlers in the Galleries’ sessions.
Firstsite, Colchester
Firstsite is a creative centre of exhibitions, workshops and activities. They even run a Holiday Fun programme where kids can claim a free art pack, play games and enjoy a free hot meal.
There’s also an on-site cinema showing a range of films including animated options for kids.
Nottingham Natural History Museum
Nottingham’s Natural History Museum is found inside Wollaton Hall, which you might recognise as Wayne Manor in Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.
Inside you’ll find a whopping 750,000 objects including fossils, shells, insects and more that are sure to excite any budding historians in the family.
The Forum, Norwich
This massive, glass public amphitheatre is rammed full of free things for families to do, and it also houses the Milennium Library.
Pick a random day to stroll around inside and you’ll find anything from science fairs, to craft markets, to family fun days – or look ahead at what’s coming up on their website.
Leicester Museum & Art Gallery
This museum contains an amazing dinosaur gallery with incredible skeletons and fossils of rare dinosaurs and marine reptiles.
There’s also print-at-home activity packs to bring with you like a butterfly-spotting trail and dinosaur-themed activity sheets, which you can print out here.
South and west of England
Arnolfini, Bristol
This arts centre on Bristol’s harbourside has a big family zone indoors with reading areas and colouring-in materials.
There are treasure hunt trails to take around the galleries, as well as half-term workshops – which you can check out here.
The Box, Plymouth
This award-winning attraction explores the history of Plymouth through its ports and famous voyages.
The centrepiece of the attraction is Mildred the Mammoth, a life-sized furry sculpture with striking giant tusks.
Science Museum, London
This famous museum features incredible space capsules, rockets and plenty of items that have made it to the moon and back.
Outside of the paid Wonderlab activity zone, there are loads more hands-on activities across the galleries where kids can become mini engineers and astronauts.
Natural History Museum, London
If in London, it’s always worth popping in to visit the Natural History Museum to take in its world-class displays – from the huge Hintze’s Hall where you’ll meet Hope the whale, to strolling through its plant and animal galleries.
Meet a moving T. rex in the Dinosaurs Gallery or discover what the extinct dodos looked like up-close in the Birds Gallery.
Tate Modern, London
The Tate Modern isn’t a walk around quietly kind of gallery – there is simply loads for kids to do in the giant Turbine Hall.
The Tate Draw section has digital sketch pads where you can watch your tablet drawings come to life on the big screen, plus there’s a whole host of family-friendly events which you can plan ahead for online.
Scotland
Riverside Museum, Glasgow
This free museum captures the Glasgow of the past – inside kids can climb aboard vintage trams, trains and buses, or stroll down Victorian ‘Main Street’.
The exterior of this museum is worth seeing in and of itself, with a giant, jagged building facing a historic cargo ship: The Tall Ship Glenlee.
Kibble Palace & Glasgow Botanic Gardens, Glasgow
This stunning 19th-century wrought-iron glasshouse is toasty warm all year round.
Kids can explore the giant indoor tree ferns and the carnivorous plant section, as well as learn all about famous astronomer John Kibble.
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
The National Museum of Scotland has two dedicated zones specifically designed for kids.
In Adventure Planet, kids can get hands-on with the museum’s collections through digital challenges, puzzles, and a dress-up area. While the Imagine gallery has a giant musical floor, wobbly mirrors and a quiet reading corner.
Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh
This was the first museum in the world dedicated to the history of childhood, opening in 1957 with toys dating back to the 1800’s.
The museum is packed with vintage toys, dolls, games that both kids and their parents will love, plus interactive play areas.
The Wee Hub, Edinburgh
This unique attraction acts as a completely hands-on museum, where objects are displayed without glass casing, designed for families to pick up and interact with.
You can find the Wee Hub in the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, where there are also often crafts sessions and art exhibitions taking place.
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Overlooking Aberdeen‘s pretty harbour, here kids can explore multiple floors of ship models, touchscreens, and a massive scale model of a North Sea oil rig.
Kids can pick up a free activity and trail sheet, plus meet the pirate mascots around the site.
DCA – Dundee Contemporary Arts
This modern arts hub features colourful art and music exhibitions, plus unique crafts workshops like bookbinding and wood engraving.
There’s also a dedicated ‘Create Space’ where kids can enjoy messy play with free art supplies.
Northern Ireland
The MAC – Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast
This giant arts venue has a permanent playroom for children to build, play and draw indoors.
There are also events like Baby Time sensory sessions, doodle workshops, theatre productions and a cinema showing films for both kids and grown-ups.
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Located in the beautiful Botanic Gardens, this museum offers a fantastic dinosaur section, real Egyptian mummies, and interactive discovery zones.
The Learning Zone is an early-years play area with a giant interactive arts wall where kids can stick up their artwork.
Tower Museum, Derry
This museum offers brilliant interactive exhibits on the Derry’s history and the fascinating story of the Spanish Armada shipwreck.
There are four floors of history to explore, plus changing exhibitions throughout the year, which you can check here.
Armagh County Museum
The oldest county museum in Ireland offers a quirky collection of local natural history, railway memorabilia, and vintage toys.
The collections span everything from natural history to transport, plus there’s lots of changing exhibitions throughout the year.
Wales
St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff
While St Fagans is known for its farm and springtime lambing, its massive modern indoor galleries are a treat, with fully interactive and child-friendly zones.
You can also step back in time and watch traditional makers at work, including a blacksmith, clog-maker and miller.
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Containing three theatres, two cinemas, a gallery, a cafe and more, the Chapter Arts Centre is a fantastic rainy day boredom-buster.
Make sure to check the What’s On page to book into events like pub quizzes and movie showings.
National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
Sitting smack-bang on Swansea Marina, this museum brings Wales‘ industrial history to life through over 100 audio-visual exhibits and interactive displays.
Check the What’s On page to book into unique events like the Retro Computer Playground and one-hour engineering design challenge.
National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon
Visit the National Roman Legion Museum to explore real barracks and see a massive collection of weapons and artefacts from Roman Britain.
Kids can even try on replica Roman soldier armour to become fully immersed.
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
This welcoming gallery offers fantastic weekend art clubs for kids, family trails, and specific sensory areas for younger children to play indoors.
Check the What’s On page to book onto mosaics, textiles, and screen-printing creative workshops.