Top 10 things to do

Jump into the joy of play in our Mudlarks gallery for children aged up to eight years old. Expect dock-themed fun with soft play, dress-up and a water table.

City rat Riley Ratcliffe wants help finding members of her furry family around the museum. Discover what life was like on the docks along the way with this self-paced activity. Pick up your trail map from the family desk when you arrive at the museum or download it online.

Discover how dockworkers unloaded and moved goods, including rum and sugar. Peer through to the quayside below and imagine you’re pulling heavy sacks up into the warehouse. See if you can find the mummified cat and rat in this gallery.

The Legal Quay is a busy place to work. A treadwheel lifts cargo off the ships and puts them on land. Hop on and see if you can lift the barrel – it’s hard work.

Channel your inner Brunel and help build a tunnel under the bricks. Or see if you can make a bridge strong enough to walk across. Try your hand at these challenging activities one brick at a time.

Wind your way through the dark streets of Victorian London in our recreated Sailortown free gallery. Peep into the Animal Emporium and chandler's shop or pop into the Three Mariners pub for a tipple.

Learn how the port survived and aided the war effort from Dunkirk to D-Day. Step inside our recreation shelter to imagine what it might have been like during an air raid – sirens and all.

Help guide Tube trains along the network and learn how they linked the docks with the rest of London in our New Port, New City gallery.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man, bake me a cake as fast as you can! Admire the bakes in our recreation of a Docklands bakery from the early 1900s and have creative cooking fun in our kitchen role-play area.

Keep toddlers busy in these free, monthly play sessions on the last Wednesday of every month. There’s always plenty to keep little ones busy at their own pace: building, role-play, puppets and more.

Everything you need to know before you visit us, including floor plans to you find your way around.