Last updated March 2026
Whether you’re at the Museum, on your computer or calling us up, we’re here to help. Our friendly team want everyone to have an amazing experience. We’re constantly working to make our buildings, exhibitions, online content and the collections we care for as accessible as possible.
Our building can get busy at times, but we do our best to make everyone comfortable. We monitor visitor numbers so that we don’t exceed a safe capacity, but you’ll likely experience crowds on your visit. It’s difficult to control temperatures in our spaces, as our historical building has no air conditioning. Ask our staff if you need help finding warmer or cooler areas.
For more information on accessibility, visit AccessAble.
If you have any feedback or questions, we want to hear from you.
For more information on entrances, transportation and parking, visit our getting here page.
If you need help onsite, find our staff, they’ll be wearing green and blue uniforms. They can help you:
We may search your bags when you arrive at the Museum. Don’t bring any sharp objects, including knives and scissors, as they may be confiscated.
There’s no smoking allowed in our buildings or gardens – this includes electronic cigarettes and vaping products.
Find out more about our security and safety measures.
Our building is wheelchair accessible, with lifts and step-free access to most areas. Occasionally, some of our lifts may be out of service, which can affect access to certain spaces. Check the current lift status in our maintenance works section before your visit.
A limited number of manual wheelchairs are available to borrow from our cloakrooms. They can’t be reserved in advance and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Borrowing a wheelchair is free, but you’re welcome to make a donation during your visit.
Guide dogs are welcome at the Museum, except in our Zoology Spirit Building in our West Wing. Water for them is available on request. Non-assistance dogs and other animals aren’t allowed.
We have large print guides for all our temporary exhibitions. You can borrow a hard copy in the exhibition space or download a digital copy from the exhibition’s webpage.
Our large print guides are designed for visitors with sight loss who require larger print. The guides also include features that make them helpful for those with dyslexia.
Most of our exhibitions and galleries include a range of tactile objects, interactives, audio, smell points and other ways to engage with the content.
Our visual guides are designed to give you a reference of what some of our spaces and events look like.
You can also download our Museum map.
Hearing loops are built in at our information desks and at key points around our building. Ask our staff for more information.
We have Deaf Messaging Services (DMS) installed. The DMS are linked to our fire alarm system and can notify DMS subscribers to a fire alarm activation via their mobile phone. Three DMS zones cover our building. Find information on how to sign up or unsubscribe to the DMS.
Audio guides are available for different parts of the Museum. All our audio content is available for free, and you can listen to it on your personal devices either here at the Museum or at home.
Choose from our 24 guides in SoundCloud, including an audio-described tour of Hintze Hall narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Download audio description and orientation of our spaces:
All our films as well as augmented reality and virtual reality experiences have captions and/or a transcript available. Ask our staff if you need subtitles turning on or a transcript.
For an overview of our facilities, including galleries, toilets, lifts, entrances, restaurants and more, see our Museum map.
You can enter through any of our three entrances:
For more information on our entrances, as well as public transportation and disabled parking, visit our getting here page.
We have many toilets, these are all marked on our Museum map, including wheelchair-accessible toilets and baby-changing facilities.
We have self-contained all gender toilets opposite our Zoology Spirit Building in our West Wing.
We also have a Changing Places toilet on the Ground Floor of our North Wing. If it’s out of order, go to the main information desk in Hintze Hall and our staff will give you access to our second one in our Nature Activity Centre.
Seating is available throughout the Museum, with a variety of seating types in most galleries. If you need any assistance finding a seat, ask our staff and they’ll be happy to help.
You can borrow one of our folding stools for free from our cloakrooms. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and availability can’t be guaranteed. There are also folding stools available in our temporary exhibitions for use in those spaces, including the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.
We have two cloakrooms:
Our cloakrooms are subject to availability, so we recommend you avoid bringing luggage if possible. You can’t take large or wheeled suitcases around our building, they have to be left in our cloakrooms – these are charged according to weight.
Prices per item:
Our members get to use our cloakrooms for free.
The Museum can get very busy, but the following spaces usually have lower noise levels and fewer people than the rest of the Museum. They all provide seating and are marked on our Museum map.
Read more about these spaces in our quiet spaces and galleries guide. You can also pick up a hard copy of this guide from our information desks.
We have cafes, restaurants and gift shops throughout our building. Grab a bite to eat at our family-friendly cafes and restaurants or pick up a souvenir of your visit from our shops. Visit our eat, drink and shop page to find out more about our menus, facilities and opening times.
Book a free entry ticket to the Museum to skip the queue when you arrive.
If you or someone in your group has access requirements, speak to our staff and they can fast-track your entry.
We don’t ask for any ID or proof of disability.
For paid exhibitions: We offer free companion tickets for people who have a disability. You can book these in advance when paying for the exhibition tickets through our ticket booking system.
For paid events: To request a free ticket for a disabled person’s companion call us on +44(0)20 7942 5000, Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00. Tickets are subject to availability.
Below you’ll find some of our most popular accessible events. To see all our events, check out our what’s on page.
We run British Sign Language deaf-led tours around the fascinating spirit collection we care for.
Tickets: £15
These sessions are especially designed for our disabled and neurodiverse children and their friends and families. Supported by our neurodivergent-aware facilitators, it allows you to explore the Museum before we open to the public for the day.
Free, booking required
Experience our exhibition’s breathtaking photography in a quieter setting at one of our relaxed viewings, designed for our disabled and neurodiverse visitors.
Tickets from £15.50
Get to experience our spectacular 360° cinematic experience away from the crowds.
Tickets from £20
Experience our new exhibition Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep in a session designed for our disabled and neurodiverse visitors.
Tickets from £14
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