V&A Museum Of Childhood

Save
  • Address
    cnr Cambridge Heath & Old Ford Rds E2, Bethnal Green
  • Show map Close map
  • Phone
    8980 2415
  • Website
  • Transport
    underground rail: Bethnal Green

Let us know if these details are incorrect

Lonely Planet review

Housed in a renovated Victorian-era building which has won a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) award for outstanding design, this museum is aimed at both kids - with its activity rooms and corners of child-friendly, interactive exhibits, games and toys - and nostalgia-seeking grown-ups who come to admire the antique doll houses, model trains, teddy bears and other toys arranged thematically.

In fact, the museum, part of the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington and here since the 1860s, is home to one of the largest and oldest collections of toys in the world. From carved ivory figures (one - a 'paddle doll' dates back to 1300 BC) to stuffed animals, from Meccano to Lego and from peep shows to Viewmasters and video games, childhood artefacts from around the world are on display in this cheery museum.