Discover an unforgettable day in South Kensington with our guide to free events. Delve into guided tours through galleries, embark on self-led walks, immerse yourself in our new series of Lates events, explore captivating free displays, and journey through miles of galleries showcasing art, science, design, natural history, and beyond.
Their collection of photography from the United States – one of the largest outside North America – reveals the breadth of the country's photographic traditions and the central role of image-making in American life.
Until 16th May 2027
10 am - 6 pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for American Photographs at V&A South Kensington
The Royal College of Music Museum’s special exhibition explores the world of contemporary folk traditions, celebrating how and why folk musics continue to evolve, live and thrive.
Until 25th Oct 2026
Tue - Fri: 10.15 am - 5.45 pm; Sat - Sun: 11 am - 6 pm
Royal College of Music
Visit Website for Shared Airs: Our Thriving Folk Musics at Royal College of Music
Dora House galleries are closed until autumn 2026, but outdoor works continue, including Richard Hudson’s Tear on the terrace as part of a two-site exhibition with The Roof Gardens.
22nd May - 11th Sep
24/7 Outdoor Installation
The Royal Society of Sculptors
Visit Website for Tear by Richard Hudson MRSS at The Royal Society of Sculptors
Featuring around 50 ‘lost’ performance spaces from the 1980s to 2010s, this display celebrates music venues as centres of creativity, shining a light on both their cultural contribution and the challenges they face as a sector.
Until 30th Oct 2027
10 am - 6 pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for Lost Music Venues at V&A South Kensington
Marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation, supported by Griffin Catalyst will uncover the science that shaped and was shaped by land, peoples and power towards the emergence of the United States.
23rd Oct 2026 - 25th Apr 2027
10 am - 6 pm
Science Museum
Visit Website for Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation at Science Museum
Running for two weeks, from Monday 29 June to Thursday 2 July and from Monday 6 July to Thursday 9 July, Open House offers free entry to BST Hyde Park with a range of events and activities for all.
29th June - 2nd July & 6th - 9th July 2026
Times vary
The Royal Parks
Visit Website for BST Hyde Park Open House at The Royal Parks
Rituals are portals to ancestral wisdom, collective resonance, and belonging. Drawing on diasporic memory, colonial histories, and contemporary culture, this Friday Late gathers artists reinventing what spirituality might become.
26th June 2026
6.30 pm - 10 pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for Friday Late: Rituals of Becoming at V&A South Kensington
Rituals are portals to ancestral wisdom, collective resonance, and belonging. Drawing on diasporic memory, colonial histories, and contemporary culture, this Friday Late gathers artists reinventing what spirituality might become.
26th June 2026
6.30 pm - 10 pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for Friday Late: Rituals of Becoming at V&A South Kensington
The V&A Illustration Awards is a free, biennial competition celebrating excellence in illustration and contemporary practice, and judged by a panel of prominent illustrators and industry experts.
2nd July - 4th Oct 2026
10 am - 5.30 pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for V&A Illustration Awards 2026 at V&A South Kensington
This year's Design Researchers in Residence are responding to the theme of ‘mineral’. Visit the display to explore four of the UK’s geological landscapes (lithium, copper, silica, and chalk) and their relationships to the green transition.
Until 20th Sept 2026
Mon to Thur: 10 am – 5 pm; Fri to Sun: 10 am – 6 pm
the Design Museum
Visit Website for Design Researchers in Residence: 2025/26 Mineral at the Design Museum
Celebrate Pride month with this open, welcoming singaround session of tunes, songs and stories.
Join one of the volunteer guides to explore the Science Museum Group Collection through the lens of gender and sexual identity.
Join Serpentine throughout the summer for a vibrant series of Family Days. Enjoy hands-on workshops, creative activities and performances for all ages inspired by the Serpentine Pavilion, and exhibitions by David Hockney and Cecily Brown.
19th July & 23rd Aug 2026
11 am - 3 pm
Serpentine
Visit Website for Serpentine Family Days at Serpentine
This is a rare occasion to see treasures from one of the greatest collections of books, manuscripts and artworks about the natural world. You’ll have the chance to chat to NHM's staff and learn about our work as shown through the library collections we care for.
26th June 2026
11 am - 3 pm
Natural History Museum
Visit Website for Library and Archives Open Day at Natural History Museum
Presented at Serpentine North, the exhibition will showcase seminal works, shown in the UK for the first time. This event is free!
12th Mar - 23rd Aug 2026
10 am - 6 pm
Serpentine
PLATFORM is an annual display dedicated to showcasing contemporary design practice. Opening in February 2026, the second edition in the series will present the fascinating work of designer Simone Brewster.
13th Feb 2026 – Jan 2027
Mon to Thur: 10 am – 5 pm; Fri to Sun: 10 am – 6 pm
the Design Museum
Visit Website for PLATFORM: Simone Brewster at the Design Museum
Over three decades Brown has gained a reputation for her unique approach to painting, characterised by vigorous brushwork, a vivid sense of colour and dynamic all-over compositions that hold the viewer in an active space of looking.
What if the design and construction of buildings were shaped by local, climate-resilient, mixed-species forest?
25 Nov 2025 - 30th Oct 2026
10am-5:30pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for dRMM: Building from Forests at V&A South Kensington
This free display explores some of today’s most pressing issues through diverse approaches to contemporary image-making.
15th Nov 2025 – 12th Sept 2026
10am-5:30pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for Photography Now at V&A South Kensington
The Museum is excited to finally share Fixing Our Broken Planet, their first new permanent gallery since 2016! Explore the biggest challenges facing the planet and discover science-backed, hopeful solutions that will help us to create a more sustainable world.
Open daily from 3rd April.
10:00am - 5:50pm
Natural History Museum
Visit Website for Fixing Our Broken Planet Gallery at Natural History Museum
See iconic spacecraft, out-of-this-world objects and discover inspiring stories of human achievement in space travel in the Museum's exciting free gallery.
Celebrate the innovative printmaking techniques and bold visions of 25 women printmakers from 1900 – Now. From Käthe Kollwitz to Faith Ringgold, explore the work of artists who have used print to make their own lasting impression. This event is free!
Closes 27th Sept 2026
Mon to Sun: 10 am - 5.45 pm; Fri: 10 am – 10 pm
V&A South Kensington
Visit Website for Lasting Impressions: Women Printmakers 1900 – Now at V&A South Kensington
A free exhibition examining how science can help us find more sustainable ways to grow and produce, purchase and cook, eat and enjoy food to help protect the planet.
Until 1 September 2026
10 am - 6 pm
Science Museum
Visit Website for Future of Food at Science Museum
In this free display, look at the life of the man whose vision led to the creation of the Natural History Museum. On display for the first time are a selection of his published works and original drawings.
18 July 2025 – 23 July 2026
10am-6pm
Natural History Museum
Visit Website for Sir Richard Owen: A Natural Legacy at Natural History Museum