Visit the V&A Museum of Childhood

Whilst a museum was founded here in 1872, using money raised from the Great Exhibition of 1851, and reusing an old building relocated from museum-land in South Kensington in 1866, it not until the 1920s that the now V&A Museum of Childhood, in Bethnal Green began to on children, and in 1974 it became a specialist museum of childhood, at the request of the then Director of the V&A.


The building is now Grade II listed, and recently underwent a £4.7 million refurbishment, reopening in December 2006. It is now home to the largest collection of children's objects in the country, and whilst you don't have to be a child to visit, it does help if you can cope with endless kids running around shouting, something which your author is not used to.

It is a very interesting museum though, and particularly as museums are few and far between in East London, your author is very happy it is here. Entry is free and the museum is open 10am until 5.45pm Monday-Sunday, and 10am until 9pm (surely past the bedtime of some visitors, on the first Thursday of every month. For more information, see http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc.

_{^Picture from Flickr courtesy of slushpup^}