Families

At Torquay Museum we follow the Kids in Museums manifesto where we aim to provide a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere with fun activities, exhibitions and events throughout the year, interactive gallery spaces, spacious baby-changing areas and a child-friendly cafe.

3 to 8-year-olds can borrow Explorer helmets and backpacks full of things inside to help you discover the Museum. In our shop, you can also pick up Sensory backpacks available for families with children on the autistic spectrum to support your visit. We also have family-friendly trails for older children that we change regularly so keep an eye on our social media to stay up to date.

Children and families will find plenty of hands-on exhibits throughout the Museum with trails and in-gallery activities to keep visitors of all ages learning and exploring!

The Holden Gallery

This gallery features our amazing Time Ark tunnel. Find the fossil activities, a chill-out sensory play zone and Beach Detectives game. You can also try out the Brass Rubbings and take away your own pictures of animals and creatures from our Natural History collections.

The Explorers Gallery

The Curse of the Mummy's Hand: Become a newspaper reporter and discover the truth behind the 'Curse of the Mummy's Hand', then receive a newspaper with your name in the headline! This interactive game was developed by the BBC for us and is based on actual recorded events surrounding the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter and the untimely death of Lord Carnarvon.

Join Percy Fawcett and his friend Stanley the Snake to find 'The Lost City of the Ancients' as an explorer in our exciting quiz trail and receive a prize.

Early Years visitors can explore the crawl tunnel containing secret objects or discover the hidden clues with Harrison, our Lego® hero in the Explorers Game, then crack the code to open the safe and claim your prize.

The Devon Farmhouse

Travel back in time as you enter the Old Devon Farmhouse, a life-size reconstruction of an 1860 Devon farmhouse (known as a Barton) complete with sounds and smells. In this gallery, you will find wooden toys to play with and a selection of costumes for dressing up.

The Ancestors Gallery

Step back in time and discover how the earliest humans lived from over 800,000 years ago to the present. This gallery features the Forensics CSI table - get underneath it and see what you discover.