Photo: Julian Colander, CC BY-SA 3.0Museums and history days out for kids in Hampshire
33 museums and history days out in Hampshire that suit families, each checked against official sources. Of these, 6 are free to enter, 33 have indoor space and 3 are marked as suiting toddlers.
Opening days and times at smaller museums change through the year, so check the listing and the venue's website before you travel.
Free to enter
Free entry. Parking, food and activities inside can cost extra, so check each listing.
Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age
A free museum on Church Close telling the story of Andover and the surrounding area. The Museum of the Iron Age, in the same building, covers the nearby Danebury hill fort.
Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) Museum
A volunteer-run museum of aviation and air sciences, in the Trenchard House building on Farnborough Road. Visitors can see aviation displays, and the museum is close to Farnborough Airport.
Photo: Julian Colander, CC BY-SA 3.0Fort Nelson
Fort Nelson is a restored Victorian fortress on Portsdown Hill, overlooking Portsmouth Harbour. Its artillery collection from around the world includes a 15th-century Turkish bombard, a 200-tonne railway howitzer and the Iraqi supergun known as Big Babylon.
Photo: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0Southampton City Art Gallery
Southampton City Art Gallery is a free public gallery on Commercial Road in the city centre. It is open six days a week, closed on Mondays, and its visitor information covers opening times, facilities and access.
Photo: Andrew Abbott, CC BY-SA 2.0The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum
The museum of the Royal Hampshire Regiment, based at Serle's House in Winchester, tells the story of the regiment from 1702 to 1992. There is a memorial garden, and entry is free.
Photo: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0New Forest Heritage Centre
A free museum run by an independent charity in the middle of Lyndhurst, telling the story of the New Forest, its people, traditions and ancient laws, and how its wildlife is looked after today. A highlight is the 7.5-metre New Forest Embroidery, made by Lady Belinda Montagu and 60 volunteers to show 900 years of the Forest's history.
Paid entry
Each card shows the price band; the listing has the details.
Buckler's Hard Museum and Village
An 18th-century shipbuilding village on the Beaulieu River where warships for Nelson's navy were built, including three that fought at Trafalgar. The museum and reconstructed cottages tell the story of the shipyard and the families who lived there, and the wide village street running down to the river is free to explore.
Gilbert White's House and Garden
The house and garden of the naturalist Gilbert White, set in the village of Selborne. The garden is an RHS partner garden.
Hovercraft Museum
A volunteer-run museum on the Lee-on-the-Solent seafront, based on the old Daedalus naval base. Visitors can climb aboard the SR.N4 cross-channel hovercraft and try hands-on activities such as air hockey.
Photo: nick macneill, CC BY-SA 2.0Jane Austen's House
The cottage where Jane Austen lived for the last eight years of her life, and where she wrote, revised and had published all six novels. It holds her letters, first editions and the table where she wrote, and has a garden to relax in.
Photo: Stephen McKay, CC BY-SA 2.0Milestones Museum
A museum in Basingstoke Leisure Park with hands-on science and history for families, plus Christmas experiences in the autumn and winter. It is an indoor option for rainy days and school holidays.
Photo: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada, CC BY 2.0National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
A national collection of cars, motorcycles and motoring memorabilia on the Beaulieu estate, running from early motor carriages to Formula 1 cars and land speed record breakers. Entry is part of the single Beaulieu ticket, which also covers Palace House, Beaulieu Abbey, the gardens and the monorail.
Photo: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0Portsmouth Natural History Museum
A natural history museum in Southsea with a butterfly house and displays of wildlife and natural history. It is popular, so queues can form at busy times.
Photo of Southampton: Christopher Hilton, CC BY-SA 2.0SeaCity Museum
SeaCity Museum tells the story of RMS Titanic and how the disaster affected Southampton, with an interactive model of the ship and recorded messages from passengers. Its other galleries cover 200,000 years of the city’s history, from Roman traders and Saxon settlers to the docks and the Second World War.
Photo: Hugh Venables, CC BY-SA 2.0Solent Sky
Solent Sky is an aviation museum on Albert Road South in Southampton, known as the home of the Spitfire and the Empire flying boats. It is also home to the Hampshire Police and Fire Heritage Trust, whose collection is on display.
The Brickworks Museum
The Brickworks Museum is an independent museum in Bursledon, open on three days a week during the season. It hosts Museum in Steam and Steam Up Sunday events, and annual membership gives unlimited visits for a year.
Photo: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0The D-Day Story
A museum on Clarence Esplanade about the liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation in the Second World War. The story is told through the possessions and words of the people who took part.
Photo: Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0The Mary Rose Museum
The museum displays the Tudor warship Mary Rose, rescued from the seabed, together with objects recovered with her. It is run by an independent charity that relies on ticket income to maintain the ship and collection.
Photo: Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0Tudor House and Garden
Tudor House is a timber-framed house built in the late 15th century on St Michael’s Square in the Old Town. King John’s Palace, a Norman house reached through the garden, sits alongside it, and together they show about 800 years of the city’s history.
Photo: Chris Gunns, CC BY-SA 2.0Whitchurch Silk Mill
A historic silk mill run by Whitchurch Silk Mill Trust, where visitors can see traditional silk-weaving skills in action. There is a riverside cafe and a mill shop, and events and workshops run through the year.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0Aldershot Military Museum
A museum on Queens Avenue in Aldershot covering the history of the British Army and the town's military past. Families can complete a set of missions around the galleries, aimed at ages 7 and over.
Photo: Gordon Spicer, CC BY-SA 2.0Breamore House and Countryside Museum
An Elizabethan manor house completed in 1583, set between woodland and parkland on the western edge of the New Forest near Fordingbridge. Small guided tours take you through the state rooms and living quarters, and the Countryside Museum recreates post-war village life with farm machinery and steam engines.
Photo: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum
The Portsmouth house where Charles Dickens was born, now a museum about his life and work. Its collection is larger than the museum has space to display, so many items are kept in an off-site store.
Eling Tide Mill Experience
A Grade II* listed tide mill from about 1785 on a causeway across Eling Creek, on a site where millers have used the tides to grind wheat for over 900 years. Alongside the mill are a visitor centre with an interactive exhibition, a cafe and free waterside walks to Goatee Beach and Bartley Water.
HMS Victory
Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, now in dry dock at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The ship is in a long conservation project, so visitors can see the work under way and hear the tools being used.
Photo: Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0HMS Warrior
Britain's largest, fastest and most revolutionary iron-hulled warship, moored at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Visitors can walk the restored decks and meet the costumed Victorian crew.
Rockbourne Roman Villa
The remains of the largest known Roman villa complex in the area, found in 1942 when a farmer's dog digging out a ferret turned up oyster shells and mosaic tiles. Visitors walk among the outlines of the villa's forty rooms, bath houses and workshops, then see mosaics and finds in the small museum.
The Great Hall with Westgate Museum
The Great Hall is one of the finest surviving medieval halls in England and the last part of Winchester Castle standing. Its hammer-beam roof and the Round Table, linked to the King Arthur legend, are the main draws, with the Westgate Museum next door.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0Winchester City Museum
The city museum on The Square tells the story of Winchester, the former capital of England, through its collections and changing displays. It is one of three Winchester attractions on the Explorer ticket.
Photo: Bill Boaden, CC BY-SA 2.0Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium
A science centre with two floors of interactive exhibits, live demonstrations and one of the largest planetariums in the UK. It is aimed at families and school groups.
Check the listing for prices
Prices vary by activity or are set by the venue, so we do not guess.
Photo: Brian Deegan, CC BY-SA 2.0Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery
Portsmouth's city museum and art gallery, reopening after its galleries were transformed for the Portsmouth100 exhibition. Local communities helped shape the displays, which tell the story of Portsmouth as a city.
Photo of Gosport: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0Royal Navy Museums: Explosion
Royal Navy Museums: Explosion is in an 18th-century gunpowder store at Priddy’s Hard in Gosport. It traces naval weapons from gunpowder to modern missiles and torpedoes, and has views across the harbour from its café.
Photo: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0Royal Navy Museums: Submarines
Royal Navy Museums: Submarines tells the story of the Submarine Service from its earliest experiments to modern covert operations. Visitors can go aboard HMS Alliance, a Second World War submarine, and see HMS Holland 1, the Royal Navy’s first submarine.
Questions people ask
Which museums and history days out in Hampshire are free to enter?
Our listings show free entry at Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age, Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) Museum, Fort Nelson, Southampton City Art Gallery, The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum and New Forest Heritage Centre. Check each listing for anything charged on top, such as parking, food or activities.
Which of these suit toddlers?
Our listings mark Milestones Museum, Portsmouth Natural History Museum and Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium as suiting toddlers and young children.
Which of these have indoor space?
Our listings show indoor space at Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age, Buckler's Hard Museum and Village, Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) Museum, Fort Nelson, Gilbert White's House and Garden, Hovercraft Museum, Jane Austen's House and Milestones Museum and 25 more.