What’s on

Find out what’s on at Bristol’s free museums – world class exhibitions and events for the whole family to enjoy.

Visiting information

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Find out how you can help Find out how you can help Find out how you can help
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Highlights Tour: Difficult Conversations at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Our Difficult Conversations tour offers you a different view of our collections and an insight into the complex ethics of museums in the modern world.
  • 2 April 2024—31 December 2027
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • Free
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Highlights Tour: Difficult Conversations at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Our Difficult Conversations tour offers you a different view of our collections and an insight into the complex ethics of museums in the modern world.
  • Permanent display
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • Free
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Highlights Tour: M Shed

Join us for a tour of M Shed! Let us introduce you to our museum, share some stories you won't find on the labels and tell you how we came to be.
  • 2 April 2024—31 December 2027
  • M Shed
  • £9
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Highlights Tour: Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Welcome to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery! Our welcome tour offers you a captivating introduction to the magnificent building and extensive collections housed within our walls.
  • 2 April 2024—31 December 2027
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Highlights Tour: Hidden Histories, Women Artists, Muses and Rebels

This tour guides you through Bristol Museum's Art Galleries, focusing on women's stories from our art collection and highlighting work by women artists.
  • 2 April 2025—31 March 2027
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9

Your support

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Our charity, Bristol Museums Development Trust, relies on visitor donations to help deliver the amazing work we do.

Donate now
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Highlight Tours: Bristol's Dinosaurs

Let us take you on an imaginary trip back in time to meet the dinosaurs of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery!
  • 1 June 2025—31 March 2027
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Behind the scenes tours

Join a tour of M Shed's collection stores and get up close to the city's industrial and maritime past.
  • 1 January 2026—31 December 2027
  • M Shed
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Highlights Tour: Treasures of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery is a treasure house of beautiful things!
  • 10 January—31 December 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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The Neon Hieroglyph by Tai Shani

The Neon Hieroglyph is a feature-length 57-minute video installation by artist Tai Shani.
  • 10 February—28 June 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Exhibitions
  • £9
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Mini-museum hunt! 50 years of Aardman

Families and curious explorers of all ages can pick up a detective map and track down all the Aardman secret treasures.
  • 13 February—13 September 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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Blaise Museum Highlight Tours

Let us introduce you to our grand historic house and its impressive estate.
  • 1 April—31 December 2026
  • Blaise Museum
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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The Georgian House Museum Highlight Tours

Join us on an exploratory tour of the Georgian House Museum, learning about the history of the house and the people who lived there.
  • 1 April—31 December 2026
  • Georgian House Museum
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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The Red Lodge Museum Highlight Tours

Let us introduce you to our historic house and share some stories you won't find on the labels!
  • 1 April—31 December 2026
  • Red Lodge Museum
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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1926 General Strike Bristol

Created by Bristol Radical History Group, this exhibition looks at the strike in Bristol, and includes original printed sources and filmed interview.
  • 12 May—21 June 2026
  • M Shed
  • Exhibitions
  • £9
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Train rides

TRAIN: Take a train trip on Britain's only dockside steam railway behind one of our Bristol-built locomotives.
  • 16 May—1 November 2026
  • M Shed
  • Families,Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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Bristol Museum Morning Yoga

EXPERIENCE: Join us for Sunday morning yoga in the Enlightenment Gallery this year.
  • 17 May—20 December 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Special events
  • £9
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Family activity: Story Box

Join us in May when we open our Story Box to celebrate National Share-a-Story Month!
  • 19—26 May 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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Home Educator workshop: Saxon Bristol

How did the city of Bristol get its name? Our Home educator workshop investigates everyday life in Saxon Bristol.
  • 19 May 2026
  • M Shed
  • Families,Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Historical Walk: Old City

Discover a millennium of history on this 1.8 mile walk around the old city of Bristol.
  • 21 May—18 June 2026
  • M Shed
  • Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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Historical Walk: Bristol Abolition

Discover the names and places associated with Bristol's thousand-year fight to end the city's involvement in slavery.
  • 21 May—19 November 2026
  • M Shed
  • Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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Family activity: Magnificent minibeasts at Blaise Museum

Join us for a relaxed family session where children and adults can get creative together.
  • 28 May 2026
  • Blaise Museum
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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Spring Family Fun at The Georgian House Museum

This enchanting activity weekend will celebrate spring with something to do for all the family.
  • 29 May 2026
  • Georgian House Museum
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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Visit the Villa

Visit Kings Weston Roman Villa for some family friendly fun.
  • 30 May—26 September 2026
  • Blaise Museum
  • Families
  • £9
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Crane visits

Experience a working crane on the dockside with visits inside the electric cranes, M Shed's biggest exhibits!
  • 30 May—4 October 2026
  • M Shed
  • Families,Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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Boat trips

Take a boat ride with a difference! All three of our historic working boats offer scenic trips around Bristol Harbour.
  • 30 May—25 October 2026
  • M Shed
  • Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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Spring Family Fun at The Red Lodge Museum

These enchanting activity days will celebrate spring with something to do for all the family.
  • 31 May 2026
  • Red Lodge Museum
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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Historical Walk: Floating Harbour

Join our guides for a tour of Bristol docklands, exploring the maritime heritage of the harbour and its modern regeneration.
  • 2 June 2026
  • M Shed
  • Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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Historical Walk: Pirates and Prejudice

Explore Bristol's old dockside on this Pirates and Prejudice walk, shattering the myths around Bristol's literary and piratical past.
  • 4 June 2026
  • M Shed
  • Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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The Bristol Tapestry Talk

Explore the story of how The Bristol Tapestry came to be made at this talk.
  • 5 June—4 December 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Historical Walk: 1831 Riots

Our knowledgeable guides will vividly retell the history of this tragic episode, exploring some of the sites that played a prominent role in the unrest.
  • 7 June 2026
  • M Shed
  • Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)
  • £9
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Steam engine and crane driving experiences

Have a go at driving the steam engine, Henbury and one of the iconic electric cranes outside M Shed.
  • 8—12 June 2026
  • M Shed
  • Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes),Special events
  • £9
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Villa Open Afternoons

Visit Kings Weston Roman Villa in the afternoon to find out about this fascinating archaeological site.
  • 9 June—15 September 2026
  • Blaise Museum
  • Families
  • £9
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William Hogarth's Altarpiece

See Hogarth's vast triptych and learn about its remarkable journey around Bristol since it was painted for St Mary Redcliffe in 1755/56.
  • 18 June—19 November 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Cracking Exhibition, Gromit! 50 Years of Aardman in Bristol

It is time to grab the whole family and jump into the brilliant world of Aardman!
  • 20 June—13 September 2026
  • M Shed
  • Exhibitions
  • £9
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Home Educator activity: Kings Weston Roman Villa

Home educators can explore Kings Weston Roman Villa with our Senior Curator of Archaeology.
  • 26 June 2026
  • Blaise Museum
  • Families,Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Bristol Palaeobiology Festival

This exciting family day is filled with hands-on activities and adventures for curious minds!
  • 4 July 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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Home Educator workshop: Ancient Greeks

What was life like in ancient Greece? Investigate pottery and other artefacts in this hands-on workshop.
  • 15 July 2026
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Families,Talks, tours and workshops
  • £9
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Visit the Villa for the Festival of Archaeology

Visit Kings Weston Roman Villa for some family friendly fun.
  • 29 July—1 August 2026
  • Blaise Museum
  • Families
  • £9
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Summer Family Fun at The Georgian House Museum

This activity day will celebrate the literary excellence of Jane Austen with something to do for all the family.
  • 2—22 August 2026
  • Georgian House Museum
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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Summer Family Fun at The Red Lodge Museum

These enchanting activity days will investigate the past at The Red Lodge Museum with something to do for all the family.
  • 8—30 August 2026
  • Red Lodge Museum
  • Families,Special events
  • £9
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British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers

The British Art Show is the largest and most significant recurring exhibition of contemporary art in the UK.
  • 19 June—19 September 2027
  • Bristol Museum And Art Gallery
  • Exhibitions
  • £9