The V&A has released its autumn programme, and there’s plenty for families across its London sites this September and October. Highlights include Wallace & Gromit at Young V&A, free design installations at V&A South Kensington and a monthly family design workshop.
Many of the events are free, making the V&A a great option for a rainy weekend or the October half term.
Young V&A: Wallace & Gromit and family workshops
Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends runs until Sunday 8 November 2026, so it’s still open over half term. The exhibition goes behind the scenes of stop motion animation, with over 150 items from Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and more. Look out for sketches, props, set models and never-before-seen storyboards from Aardman’s archives. Tickets are £12.50.
The free Family Design Challenge takes place on the second Saturday of each month from 12pm to 4pm, running until March 2027. Families solve, design and make together using a variety of materials and tools. The next sessions fall on 10 October and 14 November.
This Saturday, 26 September, is the last chance to catch Meet the Designer with Christie Swallow, a free drop-in in The Shed studio. Christie is using Young V&A’s collection of miniature habitats to design homes for birds.
Free things to do at V&A South Kensington
Entry to V&A South Kensington is free, and it’s open daily from 10am to 5.45pm, with late opening until 10pm on Fridays.
V&A x London Design Festival: Awakenings is a free series of installations spread across the museum, exploring how design, craft and technology can spark curiosity. Wandering between them makes for a fun trail with kids.
Budding artists should head to the V&A Illustration Awards 2026 before it closes on Sunday 4 October. The free display includes winners from the Illustration for Children category.
Also new and free is The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon in the Prince Consort Gallery, telling the story of the famous coat from military wear to fashion icon.
Older children and teens can try Woodworking Saturdays, a free carpentry workshop for under 26s led by artist Sebastian Chaumeton. It runs until 28 November and booking is essential.
V&A East Storehouse: a video game in a museum
At V&A East Storehouse on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Guanyin II: The Caretaker by Lawrence Lek is a free playable game set in a reconstruction of the museum’s conservation studio. Players hunt for fragments of a model of the ArcelorMittal Orbit. It closes on Sunday 18 October.
The Storehouse is open daily from 10am to 6pm, and until 10pm on Thursdays and Saturdays.
For full listings, tickets and booking, visit www.vam.ac.uk.
