Visit our free galleries – the World Gallery, Music Gallery and Natural History Pop-up display in The Studio – no advance booking needed. Please note the Natural History Gallery and Nature Base are currently closed for redevelopment until 2026 as part of our Nature + Love project.
To book the Aquarium, Butterfly House and The Robot Zoo we encourage visitors including Members to book tickets in advance to guarantee entry, particularly during busy periods such as weekends and school holidays.
NEW: The Robot Zoo
Daily until Sunday 2 November 2025, 10am to 5.30pm How do chameleons change colour? What makes grasshoppers leap so high? How do bats see at night? Enter the fascinating world of The Robot Zoo and discover the mechanisms that give animals their amazing abilities.
This family-friendly exhibition features larger-than-life animals that have been cleverly recreated using a variety of familiar machine parts and gadgets to reveal how their real-life counterparts see, eat, hunt and hide. Interactive exhibits also give you the chance to try jet-propelled squid racing and shoot a chameleon’s ‘tongue-gun’.
Tickets: Adult £10.75, Child £7.25, Under-3s free, Family of four £28.60, Family of three £21.50, Universal Credit £1. Horniman Members and Benefactors enjoy free, unlimited entry. Advance booking recommended. Book online at horniman.ac.uk.
Special events
The Enchanted Cinema: Ghibli’s Forest Saturday 5 April 11am, 1pm, 3pm Sunday 6 April 10am, 12noon, 2pm
Join us for the premiere of The Enchanted Cinema’s latest interactive show. You’ll become part of a pop-up orchestra who’ll create sound FX and a musical soundtrack for a selection of Studio Ghibli favourites.
Climb into the forest canopy using your hands and voices and experience hand-crafted animation from 100 years ago. Team up to play instruments to create a live score to the mysterious bamboo forests and baby turtles of Studio Ghibli’s The Red Turtle (2016) and cat-bus and flying scenes from My Neighbour Totoro (1988). Tickets: Adult £12. Child £6. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets available from horniman.ac.uk
Horniman Spring Fair
Saturday 19 April, 11am-4pm Join in with seasonal fun and games at the Horniman Spring Fair this April! Enjoy live music, crafts, street food, bubbles and lots more!
Surrounded by the Horniman’s blossom filled Gardens you can practice your circus skills, enjoy traditional fete games, take part in an Easter bonnet parade and discover more about what the natural world is getting up to in Spring. Tickets: Adults £6, children un 16 £6, under 2s go free. Tickets available from horniman.ac.uk
Butterfly House
Daily, 10.30am-4pm (last entry 3.30pm)
Get up close to hundreds of beautiful butterflies in our tropical indoor garden. The specially planted habitat is the perfect place to experience butterflies free flying all around you and to discover amazing facts about the lifecycle and behaviour of these fascinating creatures.
Tickets: Book online at horniman.ac.uk. Members and Benefactors enjoy free, unlimited entry.
Aquarium
Daily, 10.30am-5.30pm (last entry 4.30pm)
Take a magical journey through rivers, seas and oceans in the Horniman’s highly acclaimed Aquarium.Our 15 exhibits showcase aquatic environments from around the globe, ranging from the British pond to Fijian coral reefs.
Tickets: Book online at horniman.ac.uk. Members and Benefactors enjoy free, unlimited entry.
Family Craft Saturdays
Saturdays, 2-4pm. Last entry 3.30pm
Join in family craft activities inspired by the Horniman’s collections. Learn about some of the 350,000 objects in the Horniman’s collections, and discover more about music, nature, wildlife, and the world around us as you get stuck into some crafts and have fun at these volunteer-run sessions for all the family.
- 1 and 8 March – celebrate our new exhibition The Robot Zooby creating your very own robot animal!
- 15 and 22 March – as spring approaches, join us for this craft activity all about frogs and toads.
- 5 and 12 April – create your very own nature binoculars to use in the Gardens and see what spring wildlife you can spot.
- 19 April – please see the website
- 26 April – as ladybirds come out of hibernation, join us for a ladybird, spotty themed craft!
- May – please see the website
Our Family Craft volunteers were Highly Commended in the Marsh Awards for Volunteers in Museum Learning 2023.
Free. Drop in. Suitable for ages 3+.
Hey Jukebox! Tuesdays, 3.30pm
Hey Jukebox! is a changing playlist for the Music Gallery, playing every Tuesday from 3.30pm. Each month a new theme inspires a different playlist featuring musical choices linking to the Horniman.
- March – Storytelling in Music
- April and May – please see the website
Check the website for details of each month’s playlist or join us in the Music Gallery.
Horniman Cafe
Daily, 10am-5.00pm Enjoy a delicious range of hot and cold meals, sandwiches, cakes, snacks, fair-trade teas and coffees, cold drinks and ice cream at the Horniman Cafe. Our Cafe operator Colicci partners with local suppliers and producers to offer menus for adults and children, with vegan and vegetarian options, as well as gluten-free foods. Dine in, al fresco on the Cafe Terrace, or takeaway.
The Horniman Museum is free to visit and open daily, 10am to 5.30pm. Full details of Gardens opening hours are on our website – horniman.ac.uk.
100 London Road, Forest Hill SE23 3PQ
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