Temporary Exhibitions and Displays
All exhibitions and displays at the Museum are FREE. Find out what's on and what's coming up here.
Sit Down: Seating for Kids
Until 5 September 2010
Upper Galleries
When is a seat not just for sitting on? When it’s for play, for eating, for learning or even for a quick snooze of course!
How are seats designed?
Until 5 September 2010
Marble Floor
Designing a child's seat is a complex process. The brief will invariably raise important questions, such as 'Is it multi-functional?', 'Is it economical?' and 'Will it appeal to parents and school decision-makers as well as to children?'.
Wallpaper* Chair Arch
Until 5 September 2010
Marble Floor
A stunning Marble Floor display, fresh from the John Madejski Garden at the V&A, commissioned by Wallpaper* for the annual London Design Festival in 2009.
Use Your Imagination
Until 13 June 2010
Front Room Gallery
An exhibition of toys designed and made by BA (Honours) Applied Arts students at Middlesex University, inspired by the Museum’s British Toy Making archive.
Wendy's World
Until 25 April 2010
Front Room Gallery
When it comes to creative play there are two types of children. Those who build structures (be they complex towers in their minds or structures with Meccano) and those who build stories. Etienne Clément's intensely alluring yet deviously complex photographic works ingeniously weave these two types together.
Welcome to Our World... Living with Autism
Until 20 March 2011
Childhood Galleries
A thought-provoking new small display exploring life through the eyes of children with autism, in collaboration with The National Autistic Society.
A Child from Everywhere
7 May - 30 August 2010
Front Room Gallery
Photographer Caroline Irby spent one year tracking down a child born in every country in the world (now living in the UK), then photographed and interviewed each one.
Bling
26 June - 14 November 2010
Front Room Gallery
An exhibition in partnership with London College of Fashion, taking a closer look at the history of jewellery in east London, with emphasis on how the ornaments we use to decorate our bodies often have great personal and cultural significance.
Dolls
3 September 2010 - 2 January 2011
Front Room Gallery
A series of portraits by photographer Craig Deane, depicting a variety of dolls from the Museum's extensive behind the scenes collection.
Cut It, Fold It
9 October 2010 – 9 January 2011
Upper Galleries
An exhibition of architectural paper models drawn from the Museum's Robert Freidus collection.
Institute of Play
6 November 2010 - 27 March 2011
Marble Floor
Artist Colin Booth has constructed a series of towers made from foam rubber and specially commissioned wooden blocks, which form the centrepiece of an historical survey of children's play bricks and architectural toys dating back to the 1830s.
Food Glorious Food
29 January - 8 May 2011
Upper Galleries
Food plays a central role in all our lives. Everyone has childhood memories of food, good and bad, be it their mum's cooking, school dinners or being told to 'eat your greens'.
Jake and Dinos Chapman: My Giant Colouring Book
1 October 2011 – 8 January 2012
Front Room Gallery
Even today, when everything in art is supposedly permitted, the work of Jake and Dinos Chapman still has the whiff of scandal and transgression.
Read more about Jake and Dinos Chapman: My Giant Colouring Book
Magic Worlds
1 October 2011 - 4 March 2012
Upper Galleries
A major exhibition delving into the realms of fantasy and enchantment, showing how magic has been embraced all over the world for thousands of years.
Touring Exhibitions
You don't have to be in London to visit our exhibitions. Many of them can be seen in museums and galleries all over the UK. Find out about touring exhibitions past and present as well as exhibitions currently available to other venues here.
Collaborative Exhibitions
The museum's collections are often used as inspiration for collaborative exhibitions in London and across the UK. Find out more here.
Past Temporary Exhibitions and Displays
Find out more about some of the exhibitions and displays you might have missed at the Museum over the last few years.
