1/9 The Chocolate Museum, Brixton
Heaven is found in London, in the form of this lip-smacking museum at the heart of Brixton. Founded by a French artisan chocolatier, the chocolate museum is home to memorabilia and equipment gathered over many years. Stocking only ethically sourced products, the aim of the venue is to provide a fun and educational experience to help visitors learn about the history, ethics and production of the world’s favourite sweet treat. Kids can take the chocolate tour, sniffing and tasting their way around the exhibits and finding out how ancient civilisations used the confectionary. Children can also take part in truffle making workshops and chocolate bar creation classes, while adults can indulge in a chocolate making masterclass and discover professional techniques to make and decorate delicious treats to take home. There are also drop-in classes where you can order ingredients from a menu to make your own personalised delicacies!
(C) UCL Grant Museum/ Matt Clayton
2/9 The Grant Museum of Zoology, Fitzrovia
Perfect for the science-mad but not the squeamish, the Grant museum of Zoology houses a whopping 68,000 specimens that span the whole of the animal kingdom. Only 7% of the collection is on display but this is more than enough for budding biologists. Visitors can check out a gargantuan elephant skull, a drawer of extinct Dodo bones and even jars of tiny creatures such as moles. Glass models of jellyfish add a touch of beauty to the collection, as do the sculptures through which science and art collide, such as the anaconda skeleton wrapped around a tree branch. The museum is home to a collection of bisected heads and brains, so it is perhaps best for older children with a strong stomach!
Oskar Proctor/ The Viktor Wynd Museum
3/9 The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Hackney
For lovers of messy rooms, knick-knacks and oddities, the Viktor Wynd museum is the stuff of (slightly bizarre) dreams. Whereas most museums categorise their displays the Wynd chooses to arrange everything as one fascinating exhibit, creating an immersive journey of offbeat exploration. From prison inmate doodles to vintage Happy Meal toys and two-headed kittens to pop art prints, there will some something to capture the attention of whoever walks in the door. The museum hosts special events such as petting zoos for kids or cocktail masterclasses for grown-ups. This museum is not a full day out but rather an interesting stop during a London trip, and is open Wednesday to Sunday afternoons.
4/9 Pollock’s Toy Museum, Fitzrovia
Step back in time with a visit to Pollock’s Toy Museum in Fitzrovia, where adults will find the beloved characters of their childhood and kids can see what generations before them played with before iPads and fidget spinners. Located in a characterful old Georgian house, the collection includes a Victorian puppet theatre, ornate dolls’ houses and wax dolls as well as the world’s oldest teddy and a 4000 year old mouse made from Nile clay! A girls’ nursery from the early 1900s is set up so that children can compare their X-box and Hatch-imals to the rag dolls and wooden blocks of time long ago! The whole house is full of old toys and creatively arranged and the entry fee is very reasonable for London.