School trips - Horniman Museum and Gardens
Source: https://www.horniman.ac.uk/schools/plan-your-day
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:11
School trips - Horniman Museum and Gardens
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How to book a workshop, exhibition entry, or free visit for your school group.
Bookings for the 25/26 academic year are now open.
Please note that our Natural History Gallery is now closed for redevelopment, and will reopen in early 2027. The rest of the Museum is open as usual, and we have a new free ‘Natural History Pop Up’ exhibition available until May 2026, so there is still plenty to see and do to support your topic. Our schools workshops are unaffected.
How to Book a Visit
All school visits must be booked in advance
, whether for a taught workshop or a self-guided experience.
Our
Natural History Gallery is closed
for redevelopment and will reopen in
2027
.
To book, contact our Learning Team:
Email:
schools@horniman.ac.uk
Phone:
02082918686 (please note this phone line is not staffed full-time, so you may need to leave a voicemail message)
Please have the following information ready:
The type of visit you would like to book: a self-guided visit, or a self-guided visit with a taught workshop
The workshop you would like to book (if applicable)
A list of preferred dates, or date range for your visit including preferred weekdays
Year group(s) and number of pupils/adults per class
If you would also like to book any paid areas: Aquarium, Butterfly House, or the Temporary Exhibition (certain times of the year only)
Bookings for the 2025–26 academic year are now open.
Types of school visit
Self-guided visit with a taught workshop
Greeting in our Learning Centre, and coat and bag storage for the day
Visit our free Galleries, Gardens, Animal Walk and Nature Trail with your group, at your own pace. We do not offer on-gallery tours.
A
hands-on workshop
(45- 90 minutes) delivered by one of our fantastic Learning Officers (workshops are charged).
Optional: timeslots in our Aquarium, Butterfly House and/or Temporary Exhibition (charged)
Dedicated timeslot in our schools lunchroom
Self-Guided visit
Coat and bag storage for the day
Visit our free Galleries, Gardens, Animal Walk and Nature Trail with your group, at your own pace. We do not offer on-gallery tours.
Optional: timeslots in our Aquarium, Butterfly House and/or Temporary Exhibition (charged)
Where possible, we will offer you a dedicated timeslot in our schools lunchroom
School workshops
The Horniman is well-known for our
school workshops
, with thousands of children and young people- from nursery to university groups- visiting each year.
Our workshops are curriculum and topic-linked, sensory, interactive and involve either object handling or outdoor learning
We offer dedicated
sensory sessions
for learners in specialist school settings,
home educated learners
, and for
university groups
.
Our workshops are very popular and tend to book-up a minimum of 3 months in advance, so early booking is advised
Planning
We can accommodate one class of up to 35 learners in each of our workshops
Our workshops run at set times, with up to two workshops running concurrently and up to six workshops a day
Set lunch times and exhibition entry times (where applicable) are allocated to each workshop, to ensure we can accommodate all our groups across the day.
Mainstream primary and secondary school workshops last between 60-90 minutes (information can be found on the individual workshop pages)
Mainstream Early Years workshops last 45 minutes
Sessions are delivered in our dedicated schools workshop spaces and do not include time in our galleries. Ensure you plan to spend time in the areas of our Museum connected to our topic as part of your self-guided time in the Museum.
Prices
We charge for our workshops
We offer a
bursary scheme
for our workshops, for schools meeting set criteria
Some of our workshops include free timed entry to our paid exhibitions or attractions. Information about this can be found on the individual workshop pages
Prices including VAT:
Non-fee paying schools:
Mainstream workshops: £100
Specialist sensory workshops: £50
Gamelan music workshop: £152.40
Fee paying schools:
Mainstream workshops: £140
Specialist sensory workshops: £50
Gamelan music workshop: £152.40
Paid exhibitions and attractions
The Museum’s main Galleries, Gardens and Animal Walk are free to visit, and there is plenty to see and do for free.
You can find out more about our spaces on our
Around the Horniman
webpages.
In addition, we offer reduced educational rates for our exhibitions and attractions.
Tickets are timed and must be booked in advance through the Schools Team
Prices are charged per person (children and adults)
1:1 support staff go free (notify us in advance)
Prices include VAT
We cannot offer educational rates on weekends or during school holidays
These areas are not included in our bursary scheme
Prices
Aquarium: £1.50
Butterfly House: £2.50
Temporary Exhibition: £2.50
Aquarium + Exhibition Combo: £3.50
Visit Behaviour Agreement
The Horniman is a place for everyone. During your visit, please help us to help us to make sure that everyone feels safe and welcome by following these guidelines:
Connection: Be kind to others
Use our shared spaces thoughtfully- whether you’re learning, playing, or resting- so that visitors, staff, and volunteers have the best experience.
Perspectives: Celebrate difference and diversity
Be curious and respectful when learning about people’s stories, backgrounds, culture, religion, and traditions.
Care: Take care of the Museum and Gardens
Many of the plants, animals and objects in our spaces are fragile, and all of them are special. Please only touch them when you are invited to.
Access: Move around safely
Our spaces are shared and can get busy and noisy. Stay with your adults and group, follow signs, and be aware of others. Our Visitor Hosts are here to help!
Action: Join in and take part
Ask questions, share ideas, and enjoy learning something new.
Hope: Keep it tidy
Use recycling bins for your rubbish to help us look after the planet. Save food and drinks other than water for the lunch space or enjoy them in our Gardens.
Your actions make a difference.
Be respectful, open and friendly – this helps others do the same.
Thank you for helping make the Horniman a welcoming place for everyone.
Before your visit
Pre-Visits for teachers
We strongly recommend that teachers make a pre-visit to familiarise themselves with the site before your school visit.
The Museum is open 7 days a week from 10am-5.30pm
No need to book
Teachers can access paid areas if it is relevant to your planning, just inform the reception desk when you arrive
Read about our Galleries, Exhibitions, and Gardens on
our webpages
Journey planning
We encourage schools to travel to the Museum via public transport where possible:
London schools can apply for free travel through TfL’s
Travel for Schools
scheme
The Museum is located a c.10minute walk uphill from Forest Hill Train and Overground (Windrush line) Station
Bus stops for numerous bus routes are located right outside the Museum, with a pedestrian crossing for stops on the other side of London Road
Getting the most from your day
Curriculum and topic-linked resources can be found on our
resources pages
. Printed copies are also available at the Museum
We offer a range of resources, including sensory backpacks, to
support learners with additional needs
Some parts of our new photography exhibition, ‘Meeting Mohini’ explore complex themes, and topical issues such as grief, and discrimination; we strongly recommend reading our teacher guidance before your visit:
Meeting Mohini: Teacher Guidance – Horniman Museum and Gardens
Risk assessments and maps
Download key documents to plan your visit at the bottom of the page:
Self-led visit risk assessment (xlsx)
Taught visit risk assessment (xlsx)
Museum floor plan (pdf)
Gardens map (pdf)
On the day of your visit
Find out here what to expect on the day of your visit.
Please note that, on a morning, we prioritise greeting and supporting groups with early workshops, to ensure that the day’s timetable runs smoothly. If you have a later workshop, or self-guided-only visit booked, we may ask you to wait while we welcome groups with early workshops.
If you booked a workshop
Arrive at the Museum from 10am, waiting at our schools meeting point by the main Museum entrance
If you have booked for several classes from your school to visit at once, you can arrive together if you would like to do so.
You’ll be greeted by a Learning Assistant who will:
Give a friendly welcome for your classes
Brief your group on safety
Direct you to the cloakroom, toilets and workshop space, and give you information about your lunchroom slot
Answer any questions you may have about your day
Give your printed copies of resources to support your visit
Make your own way to your workshop and any booked areas at the correct time on your booking form
If you’ve booked a self-guided visit (without a workshop)
Arrive at the Museum from 10am, waiting at our schools meeting point by the main Museum entrance
A staff member will welcome you, answer your questions and show you where to leave coats and bags (and to your lunchroom, if applicable)
Make your own way to any booked areas at the correct time on your booking form
Ask our on-gallery team for help anytime
To ensure the best experience for everyone
Learners- including secondary school students- must always be supervised during their visit
Please be mindful of moving in larger groups through our spaces, and especially of younger visitors
Food and drink (except water) should only be consumed in our lunchrooms, public outdoor picnic benches or Gardens. The café tables are for café customers only.
Water refill stations are available in our Gardens, bring refillable bottles where possible to reduce waste.
Groups of up to five learners can visit the shop at once. They should be accompanied by an adult.
The Horniman is a public place so please remind students to respect other visitors, exhibits and staff. For health and safety reasons you must actively supervise your students at all times.
Facilities
Toilets
Our schools lunch room also has a number of toilets for sole use by school groups. These toilets can be crowded at lunch time, so we encourage schools to use the main Museum toilets at other times of the day.
Accessible toilets are located in Gallery Square (down one level, via lift) and in our schools lunch room.
Unfortunately, we do not currently have changing facilities with a hoist, but please do let us know in advance if any of your group requires a changing table; we would be happy to arrange this for you
Cloakroom and Lunchroom
We offer coat and bag storage for all large, pre-book school groups
We have dedicated slots in our lunchroom for all school groups visiting for workshops. To ensure the day runs smoothly, please ensure that you start and finish your slot promptly, and leave the space tidy for the next group.
Where possible, we try to accommodate self-led groups in our school lunchroom. When space is not available, classes are welcome to eat in the Gardens or Dutch Barn building (close to the Animal Walk).
Most schools choose to eat in our Gardens in warmer months, and you are very welcome to do the same!
The Horniman has several water refill points; we encourage groups to bring refillable water bottles on their visit to reduce plastic waste.
School groups should not use the café tables for picnicking and should not eat in the Museum as food attracts pests that damage our collections.
Self led visits risk assessment
(xlsx, 21.58kb)
Download
Taught visits risk assessment
(xlsx, 26.65kb)
Download
Museum floor plan
(pdf, 1.85mb)
Download
Gardens map
(pdf, 302.71kb)
Download
Garden access map
(pdf, 1.74mb)
Download
Contact our Schools Team
Please contact us for more information and to book.
The telephone lines are monitored weekdays between 9am-5pm. Please email if you cannot get through, as we are a small team.
0208 291 8686
schools@horniman.ac.uk
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Display
Free
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Open daily
(Closed 27 June, 31 October, 25 December)
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About the Horniman
The Horniman connects us all with global cultures and the natural environment, encouraging us to shape a positive future for the world we all share.
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How to book a workshop, exhibition entry, or free visit for your school group.
Bookings for the 25/26 academic year are now open.
Please note that our Natural History Gallery is now closed for redevelopment, and will reopen in early 2027. The rest of the Museum is open as usual, and we have a new free ‘Natural History Pop Up’ exhibition available until May 2026, so there is still plenty to see and do to support your topic. Our schools workshops are unaffected.
How to Book a Visit
All school visits must be booked in advance
, whether for a taught workshop or a self-guided experience.
Our
Natural History Gallery is closed
for redevelopment and will reopen in
2027
.
To book, contact our Learning Team:
Email:
schools@horniman.ac.uk
Phone:
02082918686 (please note this phone line is not staffed full-time, so you may need to leave a voicemail message)
Please have the following information ready:
The type of visit you would like to book: a self-guided visit, or a self-guided visit with a taught workshop
The workshop you would like to book (if applicable)
A list of preferred dates, or date range for your visit including preferred weekdays
Year group(s) and number of pupils/adults per class
If you would also like to book any paid areas: Aquarium, Butterfly House, or the Temporary Exhibition (certain times of the year only)
Bookings for the 2025–26 academic year are now open.
Types of school visit
Self-guided visit with a taught workshop
Greeting in our Learning Centre, and coat and bag storage for the day
Visit our free Galleries, Gardens, Animal Walk and Nature Trail with your group, at your own pace. We do not offer on-gallery tours.
A
hands-on workshop
(45- 90 minutes) delivered by one of our fantastic Learning Officers (workshops are charged).
Optional: timeslots in our Aquarium, Butterfly House and/or Temporary Exhibition (charged)
Dedicated timeslot in our schools lunchroom
Self-Guided visit
Coat and bag storage for the day
Visit our free Galleries, Gardens, Animal Walk and Nature Trail with your group, at your own pace. We do not offer on-gallery tours.
Optional: timeslots in our Aquarium, Butterfly House and/or Temporary Exhibition (charged)
Where possible, we will offer you a dedicated timeslot in our schools lunchroom
School workshops
The Horniman is well-known for our
school workshops
, with thousands of children and young people- from nursery to university groups- visiting each year.
Our workshops are curriculum and topic-linked, sensory, interactive and involve either object handling or outdoor learning
We offer dedicated
sensory sessions
for learners in specialist school settings,
home educated learners
, and for
university groups
.
Our workshops are very popular and tend to book-up a minimum of 3 months in advance, so early booking is advised
Planning
We can accommodate one class of up to 35 learners in each of our workshops
Our workshops run at set times, with up to two workshops running concurrently and up to six workshops a day
Set lunch times and exhibition entry times (where applicable) are allocated to each workshop, to ensure we can accommodate all our groups across the day.
Mainstream primary and secondary school workshops last between 60-90 minutes (information can be found on the individual workshop pages)
Mainstream Early Years workshops last 45 minutes
Sessions are delivered in our dedicated schools workshop spaces and do not include time in our galleries. Ensure you plan to spend time in the areas of our Museum connected to our topic as part of your self-guided time in the Museum.
Prices
We charge for our workshops
We offer a
bursary scheme
for our workshops, for schools meeting set criteria
Some of our workshops include free timed entry to our paid exhibitions or attractions. Information about this can be found on the individual workshop pages
Prices including VAT:
Non-fee paying schools:
Mainstream workshops: £100
Specialist sensory workshops: £50
Gamelan music workshop: £152.40
Fee paying schools:
Mainstream workshops: £140
Specialist sensory workshops: £50
Gamelan music workshop: £152.40
Paid exhibitions and attractions
The Museum’s main Galleries, Gardens and Animal Walk are free to visit, and there is plenty to see and do for free.
You can find out more about our spaces on our
Around the Horniman
webpages.
In addition, we offer reduced educational rates for our exhibitions and attractions.
Tickets are timed and must be booked in advance through the Schools Team
Prices are charged per person (children and adults)
1:1 support staff go free (notify us in advance)
Prices include VAT
We cannot offer educational rates on weekends or during school holidays
These areas are not included in our bursary scheme
Prices
Aquarium: £1.50
Butterfly House: £2.50
Temporary Exhibition: £2.50
Aquarium + Exhibition Combo: £3.50
Visit Behaviour Agreement
The Horniman is a place for everyone. During your visit, please help us to help us to make sure that everyone feels safe and welcome by following these guidelines:
Connection: Be kind to others
Use our shared spaces thoughtfully- whether you’re learning, playing, or resting- so that visitors, staff, and volunteers have the best experience.
Perspectives: Celebrate difference and diversity
Be curious and respectful when learning about people’s stories, backgrounds, culture, religion, and traditions.
Care: Take care of the Museum and Gardens
Many of the plants, animals and objects in our spaces are fragile, and all of them are special. Please only touch them when you are invited to.
Access: Move around safely
Our spaces are shared and can get busy and noisy. Stay with your adults and group, follow signs, and be aware of others. Our Visitor Hosts are here to help!
Action: Join in and take part
Ask questions, share ideas, and enjoy learning something new.
Hope: Keep it tidy
Use recycling bins for your rubbish to help us look after the planet. Save food and drinks other than water for the lunch space or enjoy them in our Gardens.
Your actions make a difference.
Be respectful, open and friendly – this helps others do the same.
Thank you for helping make the Horniman a welcoming place for everyone.
Before your visit
Pre-Visits for teachers
We strongly recommend that teachers make a pre-visit to familiarise themselves with the site before your school visit.
The Museum is open 7 days a week from 10am-5.30pm
No need to book
Teachers can access paid areas if it is relevant to your planning, just inform the reception desk when you arrive
Read about our Galleries, Exhibitions, and Gardens on
our webpages
Journey planning
We encourage schools to travel to the Museum via public transport where possible:
London schools can apply for free travel through TfL’s
Travel for Schools
scheme
The Museum is located a c.10minute walk uphill from Forest Hill Train and Overground (Windrush line) Station
Bus stops for numerous bus routes are located right outside the Museum, with a pedestrian crossing for stops on the other side of London Road
Getting the most from your day
Curriculum and topic-linked resources can be found on our
resources pages
. Printed copies are also available at the Museum
We offer a range of resources, including sensory backpacks, to
support learners with additional needs
Some parts of our new photography exhibition, ‘Meeting Mohini’ explore complex themes, and topical issues such as grief, and discrimination; we strongly recommend reading our teacher guidance before your visit:
Meeting Mohini: Teacher Guidance – Horniman Museum and Gardens
Risk assessments and maps
Download key documents to plan your visit at the bottom of the page:
Self-led visit risk assessment (xlsx)
Taught visit risk assessment (xlsx)
Museum floor plan (pdf)
Gardens map (pdf)
On the day of your visit
Find out here what to expect on the day of your visit.
Please note that, on a morning, we prioritise greeting and supporting groups with early workshops, to ensure that the day’s timetable runs smoothly. If you have a later workshop, or self-guided-only visit booked, we may ask you to wait while we welcome groups with early workshops.
If you booked a workshop
Arrive at the Museum from 10am, waiting at our schools meeting point by the main Museum entrance
If you have booked for several classes from your school to visit at once, you can arrive together if you would like to do so.
You’ll be greeted by a Learning Assistant who will:
Give a friendly welcome for your classes
Brief your group on safety
Direct you to the cloakroom, toilets and workshop space, and give you information about your lunchroom slot
Answer any questions you may have about your day
Give your printed copies of resources to support your visit
Make your own way to your workshop and any booked areas at the correct time on your booking form
If you’ve booked a self-guided visit (without a workshop)
Arrive at the Museum from 10am, waiting at our schools meeting point by the main Museum entrance
A staff member will welcome you, answer your questions and show you where to leave coats and bags (and to your lunchroom, if applicable)
Make your own way to any booked areas at the correct time on your booking form
Ask our on-gallery team for help anytime
To ensure the best experience for everyone
Learners- including secondary school students- must always be supervised during their visit
Please be mindful of moving in larger groups through our spaces, and especially of younger visitors
Food and drink (except water) should only be consumed in our lunchrooms, public outdoor picnic benches or Gardens. The café tables are for café customers only.
Water refill stations are available in our Gardens, bring refillable bottles where possible to reduce waste.
Groups of up to five learners can visit the shop at once. They should be accompanied by an adult.
The Horniman is a public place so please remind students to respect other visitors, exhibits and staff. For health and safety reasons you must actively supervise your students at all times.
Facilities
Toilets
Our schools lunch room also has a number of toilets for sole use by school groups. These toilets can be crowded at lunch time, so we encourage schools to use the main Museum toilets at other times of the day.
Accessible toilets are located in Gallery Square (down one level, via lift) and in our schools lunch room.
Unfortunately, we do not currently have changing facilities with a hoist, but please do let us know in advance if any of your group requires a changing table; we would be happy to arrange this for you
Cloakroom and Lunchroom
We offer coat and bag storage for all large, pre-book school groups
We have dedicated slots in our lunchroom for all school groups visiting for workshops. To ensure the day runs smoothly, please ensure that you start and finish your slot promptly, and leave the space tidy for the next group.
Where possible, we try to accommodate self-led groups in our school lunchroom. When space is not available, classes are welcome to eat in the Gardens or Dutch Barn building (close to the Animal Walk).
Most schools choose to eat in our Gardens in warmer months, and you are very welcome to do the same!
The Horniman has several water refill points; we encourage groups to bring refillable water bottles on their visit to reduce plastic waste.
School groups should not use the café tables for picnicking and should not eat in the Museum as food attracts pests that damage our collections.
Self led visits risk assessment
(xlsx, 21.58kb)
Download
Taught visits risk assessment
(xlsx, 26.65kb)
Download
Museum floor plan
(pdf, 1.85mb)
Download
Gardens map
(pdf, 302.71kb)
Download
Garden access map
(pdf, 1.74mb)
Download
Contact our Schools Team
Please contact us for more information and to book.
The telephone lines are monitored weekdays between 9am-5pm. Please email if you cannot get through, as we are a small team.
0208 291 8686
schools@horniman.ac.uk
Continue exploring
Schools resources
Explore our downloadable resources to support your pupils’ visit to the Horniman,…
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Virtual workshops
Outreach sessions 1-hour interactive classroom session with object handling. Gloves can be…
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Display
Free
Gardens
Open daily
(Closed 27 June, 31 October, 25 December)
7.15am (Monday - Saturday) or 8am (Sunday and Bank Holidays) until 7.30pm
Alongside the Grasslands and Sunken Gardens are a number of…
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About the Horniman
The Horniman connects us all with global cultures and the natural environment, encouraging us to shape a positive future for the world we all share.
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