London Museum Docklands

A beautiful day out was had at this hidden museum. I had no idea what to expect but we saw more than we had anticipated. Rated 4* as wish I knew more about what was happening and then paid in advance to attend. There’s plenty for children and adults to do to learn and have fun including the family trail, under 5 and over 5 trails around the museum. There are some activities to complete on the Sainsburys floor and a cafe on the ground floor for food, drinks and chilling out.

Highly recommend this free museum to everyone. We went to see the slave trade trail secrets of the Thames and the exodus exhibition but spent hours here looking at everything. this place is fantastic for children, young and old, with interactive displays, touch and dress up areas sprinkled throughout. they also had free talks so you could find out about particular things and the walkthrough areas make it even more interesting. A great day out, easy walk from stations and next to lots of food places. we left to get lunch and came back no problem.

London Museum Docklands is a fantastic place to visit! The museum is child-friendly, with plenty of interactive exhibits and events—we visited on a Saturday, and there was a special event happening. Entry is free, and it was great to see so many families and kids enjoying themselves. The museum is well-organised across multiple levels, with clear directions and maps to guide you. The galleries are fascinating, offering a deep dive into the rich history of the Docklands and London in general. There’s also a nice café on the ground floor for a break. Highly recommend for history lovers and families alike!

This is a good museum and well worth visiting but the behavior of some children was horrible—they were actively trying to break things—and there were no security personnel to intervene (the parents did nothing). The texts and graphics on WWIi and the Nazi bombings were fascinating. Also some good films but lacking audio.

The museum is on the three floors jam-packed with so much history about the docks. It's free entry as well. The ambience of the museum is warm, cosy and inviting. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of the history of slavery which took place around the docks. The museum is tucked away in the far corner of the quayside. The museum is ideal for young children as well as there were a few there at the time. I visited on a Saturday afternoon. It was quiet in the museum at the time.

This is a underrated museum and it is way larger than it looks like from outside. The museum is very creatively designed and have a lot of artifacts, I learned way more about London’s history from this museum, wonderful place to add to your itinerary if you are visiting the Canary Wharf area.

A brilliant museum offering insights into the trade history of the River Thames, which is inextricably linked to the transatlantic slave trade and migration histories during that era up until the post-WWII era. It also displays the rapid (and rather contentious) development of Docklands and Canary Wharf as London’s main business district. I loved how they provide thematic spots for both adults and children to discover throughout the museum. I spent 2.5–3 hours by myself, which is a reasonable amount of time to digest the accompanying captions (though I didn’t read them all - some of the captions are quite packed with text, and it would probably take two separate visits to actually finish them).

Visited Canary Wharf with my family on a Saturday and found the museum by chance as we were shopping around the area. So glad we did. Too much to mention on here. Please do visit the museum when in the area and set aside a few hours (at least 3 hours) as there is so much history presented here and we were blown away at just how much there is to learn and what's on display. Plus its free! They do accept donations - cash or card. On a very recent trip to Prague, we had to pay for all attractions including museums, so its refreshing that some museums (all?) are still free in England. Donations keep it that way. Definitely worth a visit!

This place is nothing short of brilliant. Yet again the Brits show their superb talent at putting together a fine museum. Even though the building is old the exhibits don't look like they have been there too long. Congratulations to whoever designed the layout which is quite modern. It is an easy 1/4 mile walk from Canary Wharf tube and you should allow 2 - 3 hours.

It's free! (but make a donation, mmmkay?) Keep cool things in London free. Or at least buy a little something from the cafe or gift shop. My husband thought it would be hilarious to buy a little rubber toy rat for our son. It's consequently freaked out every person that has come to visit us. It's now mysteriously absent -- makes me think the babysitter threw it out. Regardless! Support given. We were meeting some friends nearby at *Tom's Kitchen for brunch (recommended!) and decided to use the Canary Wharf excursion to check out Museum of London Docklands, where a soft play area was rumored to be housed. And indeed -- a very nice little area for the little ones can be found here. There's a pretty large, enclosed area containing: water/sand play (probably best for 2+), HUGE building blocks section, fun little toys about shipping and transport (they manage to make them fun and durable), and of course, a soft play centre with requisite slide, nets, climbing and big soft squishy shapes. Bookings for these sessions can be made in advance -- though I couldn't figure out how, so we just turned up on a Sunday and lucked out that there was space. IF it is a busy time of year (half term, etc) I do suggest calling ahead to book. It runs in sessions so once the end of the session comes, everyone is out and a new batch is let in. This worked well for us as we spent about 40 minutes inside...but our timing was purely luck. Next time we'll book and know when it starts/ends. We took the opportunity to view the museum -- also very child and pram friendly. It's very nicely curated, interesting and most importantly with a child -- relatively fast. You can go through the entire Museum in about 20 minutes, should you need to. Situated right on the Docklands (obviously) this is a great kid-friendly stop if you are out seeing the sights or visiting the area.

Having been to the Museum of London a few weeks ago, I was expecting the Docklands museum to be repetitive. I was wrong. While London itself has so much history, the Docklands area is a thread all of its own and there is a story to be told here. With displays on three levels and several interactive and video-driven exhibits, the museum starts with the Vikings, the earliest Roman occupiers and through post-Roman inhabitants, past the Victoria age and the growth of Docklands as the port to England and the modern age of banking and skyscrapers. There's even an empty room at the end, for the Docklands history that hasn't yet been written. Like many in the city, the Museum of London Docklands is free. The do offer picnic areas inside and out if you bring your own nibbles. A great time to be had here, I can't recommend it enough!

I would recommend this museum! Fantastic location, a great place to take the whole family and entrance is free! If you are interested in learning about the history of Docklands or just happen to be in the area, then this is the place to be! Museum is in a warehouse that have three floors and you start from the top and make your way down to the bottom. My favourite part of the museum is "Sailortown" Thomas Beames wrote of the area around the docks: "Go there by day and every fourth man you meet is a sailor. This part is a recreation of Sailortown with cobbled floors, wooden planks and tiny warehouses. Its quiet dark, eary and you could even smell the dampness in the atmosphere. I had a wonderful experience and would definitely visit again

I didn't really have high expectations for this place but i have to say what a pleasant surprise! This museum is so well structured that it will keep you engaged until the very end. The exhibit starts with the vikings, and reaches all the way until the modern age. They even have an empty room at the end for the history that hasn't been written yet. And of course the whole exhibit is full of great miniature models. I wouldn't say this is an exhibition young kids will enjoy but they have a free kids playground on the ground floor with a cafeteria right next to it.

I popped into the MOL Docklands briefly to see the Soldiers and Suffragettes: The photography of Christina Bloom. Although very impressive that this woman had a career as a photographer at a time when women were very oppressed, I was disappointed to find that there wasn't any representation of Black and Asian soldiers & suffragettes which were very evident during the war. Perhaps the museum could exhibit a full or better photographic exhibition in the future, although I appreciate this was one photographer's work. This was my first visit here but I'd to revisit and see what else they have to offer.

The museum has a lot to offer and it is interesting. I mainly went to see a temporary exhibition, which was quite good, but with half an hour to go before the advertised closing time, set out to quickly view the main galleries. Unfortunately they egregiously close the galleries 20 minutes before the advertised closing time and ask visitors to leave. That's unacceptable, if advertised as open until 1800 then it should be possible to visit until that time.

I throughly enjoyed our visit to the Museum in Docklands. It's a very interesting museum with lots of history itself. It is unlike any other museum in London and is a good mix of dockside warehouse and modern museum. The exhibits stem from the London Transport Museum and all document the history of the Docks in London. This is a very good place to visit and it needn't take all day - you can easily spend the whole morning there and then enjoy the rest of your day taking in the sights at the Docks.

This is a great place to go if you are interested in London's history. The Sugar and Slavery exhibition was very well done, and a while back the MOL Docklands had a very good Jack the Ripper exhibition, which gave an excellent insight on what life in Whitechapel was like back then (for those who are wondering - it was quite grim). The Museum has a very good book section which specialises in books on London's history. This place is very child-friendly, has a playroom on the ground floor and apparently hosts child-friendly events. I could imagine that the MOL Docklands gets very busy on weekends but I would recommend it as a good place to go, especially given the fact that it is next door to several restaurants with extensive outdoor seating, besides having its own café.

Great day out, good access for wheelchair users, good disabled ameinities. The dock outside is great for dining alfresco if the weather permits. I don't understand the Jack The Ripper exhibition, which costs extra to see, (£7!) when all they seem to show are items freely displayed in other museums and record offices, and since when did Jack the Ripper haunt the docks? I feel this is a stunt to lure tourists. Still this finishes in November, when sanitly is restored.

If you visit Canary wharf then be sure to stop in at this museum. So interesting to learn about the area

Love the museum, kids room and welcoming staff! Don't like the food and cakes served in the cafe, especially because I got food poisoning. But the chairs are comfy and my baby loves the view.

We stumbled upon the Museum of London Docklands and I have to say, this is a great museum!! We came for the special exhibit on Captain Kidd and were impressed with the efforts made to tell the story and make it interactive at the same time--it was worth the ticket fee for certain. I was very impressed by the exhibit exploring the British involvement in the slave-sugar trade even after the outlaw of slavery in the UK. The exhibit was frank and honest about the role that sugar played in the on-going support of slavery, as well as efforts to abolish the enslavement of people around the world. In addition to this exhibit and the special exhibits, the rest of the museum provides a lovely historic perspective on London as a river town. While much of the rest of the museum is not as interactive and hands-on as the Captain Kidd exhibit, the approach to the labels and display of artifacts was informative. There is a separate children's area that looked pretty fun and well loved by those who were there. There's a good mix of contemporary issues and how history helps to shape and influence our view of them.

A really interesting museum focusing on an integral and thus unfashionable aspect of the development of London. Being the story of river trade and the movement of goods into the Capitol, this museum's story is the story not merely of one region (Docklands) but the story of London and the British Empire itself. The most interesting material for me regarded the redevelopment of the Canary Wharf and the controversy surrounding it, a brave piece of storytelling, especially when located so close to the belly of the beast. The section on Docklands during the Blitz (of which it was the prime target) was also quite informative. Corny though their make-believe port village is it is in fact a pretty evocative recreation of what it might have felt like to negotatiate the dark, sinister alleyways of a lawless town. When I visited I made a woman scream by appearing quietly around a corner. Uninentional, I promise. A large space on the main floor is used for temporary exhibits, most recently of Jack the Ripper, and education initiatives run throughout the year for all ages. Definitely worth the trip away from the regular museum district.

Great to see where the Docklands area comes from (ancient Times) and how this now very modern and almost futuristic part of London has evolved. An unexpected but interesting (and horrifying) exposition is about the slave trade and the role of England and even the Docklands. The museum is well designed and interesting and fun to visit.

A great place to take kids, and pretty interesting for adults too. The museum starts on the third floor and you work your way down. The themes covered include shipping through the ages, migration and the early history of London. The exhibits are interesting with a number of interactive touch screens explaining their historical context. Many of these are short clips of Tony Robinson, which makes them significantly more interesting than the average dry museum material. Downstairs there is a children's area called Mudlarks, where they can play in a nautically themed soft-play area, build Canary Wharf out of foam and build dams out of gravel. During term time, this area is not open to the public until half past two, so try no to arrive too early.

For some reason i'm always wary of smaller museums as if they can't possibly live up to the likes of the British Museum. Nothing of the sort! £5 entrance fee is reasonable considering they don't get the level of donations that the larger Museums do for upkeep - I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Infact if you keep the ticket you can come back for free within 12 months. I've always been fascinated about the transformation of the docks from the 1900's to todays city of steel and this whole museum is dedicated to this. Don't miss the recreation of 'Sailortown' - it's amazing considering the size of the museum and its restrictions. You can even sit in the little shops in the recreation! As well as older docklands history there is plenty of coverage of the protests in the 1980's from residents of the area to the building of canary wharf.

Like some of the other reviewers I visited this museum with friends who wanted to see the Jack the Ripper exhibition. The Jack the Ripper exhibition was much better that I expected; instead of focusing on the murders the exhibition was focused on London at the time. The backdrop of the time and the poverty maps of London were incredibly interesting, and provided a real insight into the history of the city and how areas have developed. I was lucky enough to have time to look through the museum and was amazed at how well the exhibitions were presented and laid out in a timeline of the docklands history. I think there is plenty here to keep both adults and children occupied and the exhibits on slavery and the docks are something that you would be hard pressed to find in other museums. The building itself is made of old timbers and an exhibit in it's own right. There is a small cafe in the museum and access to all floors by lift. The various eateries of Canary Wharf aren't far away and a visit tot the museum is easy to include in a trip out to Canary Wharf from the centre of London on the river. Well worth the price of entry!

One of THE MOST relevant museums in one of the the most relevant locations in London. This is a place people must go to. This particular museum reports on the creation of the docks from when they were based in Ancient Londinium on the Thames right the way through to the present and the docks at the Thames Gateway. It shows amazing insight into everything that made the east end what it is. Including a pretty nifty jack the ripper exhibition. It gives you a look over why each area was built and how it was and even how two world wars dented it. And even how Canary Wharf itself got regenerated in the modern era. It can be seen as a good way to show that at it's peak, this was the financial powerhouse for the world, and how they lost it

I came to the Docklands museum to see the Jack the Ripper exhibition on a Sunday afternoon. I used one of the tfl 2 for 1 ticket offers for people who have an oyster card. The Jack the Ripper exhibition was very interesting, but has now finished, so there's not much point in me writing about it. However after I'd been round that exhibition I had a little time before the Museum closed to look around the other floors. The Museum details the entire history of London. I thought it was an interesting museum to visit with Children, as there ar reproductions of historical London shops and models for kids, and lots of interesting history for adults. Theres probably enough to keep you occupied for at least a couple of hours in the museum.

A great day out with the kids, this museum is one of the best I've been to. The staff are very friendly, but alswell as being hosts, they also know alot about the exabitions, which makes the whole experience very educational. Thumbs up!

From Roman settlement to Docklands' regeneration, unlock the history of London's river, port and people in this historic warehouse. Discover a wealth of objects from whale bones to WWII gas masks in state-of-the-art galleries, including Mudlarks, an interactive area for kids; Sailortown, an atmospheric re-creation of 19th century riverside Wapping; and London, Sugar & Slavery, which reveals the city's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. FREE ENTRY

Incredible, intimate museum - possibly and improbably my favorite in London. The Sugar and Slavery exhibit is the best I've seen on the British slave trade including the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The museum is housed in an old sugar warehouse and has a really cool historical feel to it - sloped floorboards, huge timber rafters, etc. It's only a 5 or so minute walk from Canary Wharf station

Awesome museum, fascinating history of London and its Docklands, well laid out and lots of different styles of gallery. In an old warehouse which adds to its charm. The standout thing for me is the Mudlarks gallery for children, a free soft play and exploratory area for kids, with ticketed sessions (free) so it is never too busy. It has been a lifesaver with a toddler. There is a café on site which is ok, expensive coffee though. They do special evening events which I'd love to go to, but not made it yet!

A great museum that's well worth the entry fee. In fact it's worth 2 entry fees as there's so much to see and learn, you may have to go twice to take it all in!

A bit difficult to find if you follow available signage but once you find it, and you have an under 5 in tow, you will be so happy. This museum offers an overview of the history of the London Docklands, of course. The stand out to me was the free access to the children's playroom. Ideally designed for those ages 1-4, what a marvelous space. There is a soft play area, a water area, a lego building area, a balance boat, weighted ropes, and more. The best part is access is free! Fantastic way to spend a rainy afternoon. There is a cafe just outside the playroom and ample pram parking. If your child has fun, do the right thing and pay the £5 suggested donation.

Great day out for the family, there's lots of stuff to see. There's a small but reasonable entrance fee and if you want to know about london and its past, this is the best place to go. Right in the heart of the business centre, this museum is a whole different world to the boring, business place that is outside. there 3 floors if i'm not wrong, which is reasonable big and there's lots of stuff to touch. Reasonable price, there is a cinema nearby too so you can take a look there after you've browsed the museum. Great family day out!

Brilliant museum in West India Quay on the history of the docks and life around it. There are fun and interactive areas for kids such as Sailortown (a model village) and London, Sugar & Slavery. The museum is very interesting with so much to do you will need a few hours here to get the most out of it. Prices are very good value. Admission is £5 for adults and kids go free.

I only went to this museum to see the Jack the Ripper exhibition and was quite surprised to see how good the rest of it is. I didn't have time to look at all the other exhibits but will definitely go back. It only costs £5 for an annual ticket and there is so much to see you could easily want to go there a few times.

I went to the Museum in Docklands for a day out with work and thought it was one of the best museums I've visited! There was an exhibition on Sugar and Slavery which was really interesting, despite the name - I always like things where you get to sit and watch a film! Really sad, but really inspiring. There was also the Jack the Ripper part of the museum where you get to walk through the 'streets of London' in the 1800s. It was actually really quite frightening, especially when I got lost! Well worth a visit - I hope to go back with my family soon!

I moved to near the docklands almost a year ago now, and feel ashamed that I have only been to this museum once. It is tucked away on West India Quay between the many bars that make up that part of Canary Wharf. The time I went to see it they had on the Jack the Ripper exhibit. This was great (if that's the right word). They had a whole tour, from a review on the east end, to the police force of the time, to the suspected people who committed the crimes. This place is great to visit and is in the perfect spot to finish off a bit of knowledge gathering with a drink.

Great collection and exhibits covering some of London's most exciting colonial maritime history. Gave me a new perspective on my city and its long journey to the modern era. Also has a free soft play area and children's exhibits in the Mudlarks room, ask for tickets for a timed 40 min session at the reception coming in.

This extremely interesting museum is in a fantastic revitalized area of the London Docklands. I loved taking the DLR out to this area and getting to see a whole other historic side of London. You would almost think you were in another city all together. This museum is jam packed full of information on the history of the Docklands itself and of London. I have to say a bit of the museum information turned a little too much towards slavery and seemed almost too apologetic for the decisions of people of the past. Although the information provided and the points being made were extremely important and critical to the history of the UK, I think it detracted from the original intention of this space as being part of the Docklands revitalization. Be prepared for a TON of reading... luckily they have these great little fold up chairs you can carry around with you. You'll see alot of history and a bit about things to come for this area. It really has the makings to be one of the better museum's in the area; I just dont know if they have gotten all of the focus and organization down just yet.