Photo: Ad Meskens You are free to use this picture for any purpose as long as you credit its author, Ad Meskens . Example: © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons If you use this work outside of the Wikimedia projects, a message or a copy is very much appreciated. This image is not in the public domain. A statement such as "From Wikimedia Commons" or similar is not by itself sufficient. If you do not provide clear attribution to the author you do not comply with the terms of the file's license and you may not use this file. If you are unable or unwilling to provide attribution you should contact Ad Meskens to negotiate a different license., CC BY-SA 4.0Museums and history days out for kids in Kent
35 museums and history days out in Kent that suit families, each checked against official sources. Of these, 11 are free to enter, 34 have indoor space and 2 are marked as suiting toddlers.
Opening days and times at smaller museums change through the year, so check the listing and the venue's website before you travel.
Free to enter
Free entry. Parking, food and activities inside can cost extra, so check each listing.
Image: Crab MuseumCrab Museum
Crab Museum is a small, playful, not-for-profit museum in Margate devoted to crabs and other decapods. Its displays of specimens and found objects mix humour with a strong message about the sea, which makes it a fun stop for families and curious adults. Allow up to an hour, then carry on exploring Margate.
Photo: Nessy-Pic, CC BY-SA 4.0Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery
Dover Museum in Market Square tells the story of Britain's historic port town through local history and archaeology. Its star exhibit is a prehistoric boat around 3,500 years old, found in Dover in 1992 and shown in its own gallery. It suits families and history fans, takes an hour or two and is free.
Photo: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0Eden Valley Museum
A volunteer-run social history museum in a listed building on Edenbridge High Street, telling the story of the Kent Eden Valley through its people, buildings and landscape. Displays include the Chiddingstone Hoard and a Second World War shelter in the courtyard.
Image: Folkestone MuseumFolkestone Museum
Folkestone Museum, in the town's neo-classical Town Hall at the bottom of Sandgate Road, traces Folkestone from the dinosaurs to the Second World War. Displays cover its days as a coastal community and fashionable seaside resort, with interactive areas for children. It is free and works well as a one or two hour visit in the town centre.
Image: Kent Police MuseumKent Police Museum
Kent Police Museum, inside Faversham's historic police station, tells real stories of crime, punishment and policing in Kent. Step into original Edwardian cells, look at genuine case files, uniforms and equipment, and try hands-on displays about how crimes were solved. It is free, suits families and takes about an hour.
Image: Maidstone MuseumMaidstone Museum
Maidstone Museum is a free town-centre museum with a collection of more than 600,000 objects spanning archaeology, art and natural history. Galleries range from Ancient Egypt to Victorian Maidstone, and there is a regular programme of exhibitions, workshops and family events. It is an easy free rainy-day option next to the town's shops.
Image: Roman Painted HouseRoman Painted House
The Roman Painted House is a Roman building from around AD 200, discovered in Dover in 1970 and part of the town's Roman military site. It is known for its painted wall plaster and underfloor heating, and is often described as the finest Roman house on show in Britain. It is free, takes under an hour and suits anyone curious about Roman Britain.
Image: Sandwich Guildhall MuseumSandwich Guildhall Museum
Sandwich Guildhall Museum, in the town's 16th century Guildhall, tells the story of Sandwich from its early beginnings to today. Its treasures include the town's 1300 copies of Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest, alongside finds back to the Mesolithic. It is free and makes a good hour on a wander round the medieval town.
Image: Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial MuseumSpitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum
The Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum at Manston airfield is headlined by its Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft, with displays on the pilots and RAF Manston. You can also try a lifelike Spitfire flight simulator. Entry is free, it suits families and aviation fans, and an hour or two is enough.
Image: The Beaney House of Art & KnowledgeThe Beaney House of Art and Knowledge
The Beaney is Canterbury's free museum, art gallery and library on the High Street. Browse the art and museum collections, join a spotlight tour, and pick up visitor information for the city. It is an easy indoor stop between the cathedral and the shops.
Image: The Amelia ScottThe Amelia Scott
The Amelia Scott is Tunbridge Wells' cultural hub, bringing the town's museum collections, art galleries, library and family activities together under one roof. Entry is free, there are changing exhibitions and a cafe for a break. It is a reliable rainy-day option in the town centre.
Paid entry
Each card shows the price band; the listing has the details.
Image: Battle of Britain MemorialBattle of Britain Memorial
The national memorial to the aircrew of the Battle of Britain stands on the White Cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne with wide views over the Channel. Alongside the memorial itself are the Christopher Foxley-Norris Wall, the Blade of Honour and replica Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft. Inside The Wing, the Scramble Experience tells the story of the summer of 1940.
Image: Canterbury Roman MuseumCanterbury Roman Museum
Canterbury's Roman Museum sits below street level around the excavated remains of a Roman town house, a scheduled ancient monument in the city centre. The star is a Roman floor mosaic still in its original position, one of very few left in the UK. It is a compact, family-friendly look at life in Roman Britain and an easy wet-weather stop near the cathedral.
Image: ChartwellChartwell
Chartwell was the family home of Sir Winston Churchill, on a hillside near Westerham. Walk through rooms of the family house, see the largest collection of Churchill's paintings in his studio, and explore the rose garden, walled garden and woodland that inspired him. Allow half a day, and book a timed ticket for the house.
Image: Chiddingstone CastleChiddingstone Castle
Chiddingstone Castle is a historic house in the countryside near Edenbridge, home to wide-ranging historic collections. Visit the house and tea room in season, or come at any time of year to walk the free grounds, lake and woodland trails. It is a quieter alternative to the bigger castles nearby.
Image: Dover CastleDover Castle
Dover Castle sits high above the White Cliffs, with a medieval Great Tower above ground and a network of secret wartime tunnels below. Climb the tower to discover the court of King Henry II, explore the Under Siege exhibition and let children loose in the siege play area. Give it a full day.
Image: Eastgate HouseEastgate House
Eastgate House is a Grade I listed Elizabethan townhouse on Rochester's historic High Street, run by Medway Council. Its rooms tell the story of the building as a family home, a Victorian girls' school, a hostel and a museum. In the garden stands the Swiss chalet where Charles Dickens wrote, which links neatly with Rochester's Dickens trail.
Image: Kent Battle of Britain MuseumKent Battle of Britain Museum
The Kent Battle of Britain Museum on the former RAF Hawkinge airfield holds what it calls the world's largest Battle of Britain collection, with artefacts from over 700 crashed aircraft. Explore hangars, the armoury and original airfield buildings, then the aircraft displayed in the grounds. It suits families with older children and aviation fans, and deserves two to three hours.
Image: Lashenden Air Warfare MuseumLashenden Air Warfare Museum
Lashenden Air Warfare Museum is a volunteer-run charity museum at Headcorn Airfield, a working aerodrome, with displays on air warfare and the airfield's history. Admission is low, and you can add a tour of the main aircraft hangar for a small donation. It suits aviation fans and families, and an hour or two is plenty.
Photo: Roger Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0Maison Dieu
Maison Dieu began in the 13th century as part of a royal hospital and pilgrims' rest house on Watling Street, the road to Canterbury. The flint and timber-framed building is now a small volunteer-run museum of Roman and Saxon finds from around Ospringe. The 2026 season ends at the end of October.
Photo: Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0Quebec House
The Georgian town house in Westerham where General James Wolfe, who won the Battle of Quebec in 1759, spent his childhood. Rooms are set out as the family knew them in the 1730s, with a small garden of period planting and an exhibition in the Coach House. It pairs well with Chartwell, a few minutes up the road.
Photo: Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 4.0Queenborough Guildhall Museum
Queenborough Guildhall Museum is a small volunteer-run museum on the Isle of Sheppey covering the town's naval links and local history. Browse hundreds of photographs of naval vessels and old Queenborough, then let children ring a ship's bell, hunt for the cat-o'-nine-tails and try the old prison cell. It suits families and makes a quick Saturday stop.
Image: Visit MedwayRochester Guildhall Museum
Rochester Guildhall Museum on the High Street packs in local history, from a 200,000-year-old hand axe to a gallery on Charles Dickens. Climb to the Main Chamber, see Rochester Castle under siege in 1215 and walk aboard a reconstructed prison hulk. It suits families and history fans and pairs well with the castle and cathedral nearby.
Image: Royal Engineers MuseumRoyal Engineers Museum
The Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham is the UK's largest military engineering museum, covering more than two centuries of sappers' work around the world. The collection includes 25 Victoria Crosses, Wellington's map of Waterloo, a Harrier jump jet, a V2 rocket and a line of bridge-laying tanks. Family activities and a first-floor café make it a solid rainy-day choice in Medway.
Image: The Old City JailWestgate Towers Museum and Viewpoint
The Westgate Towers is England's largest surviving medieval gateway, and its museum explores 600 years of Canterbury history before you climb to the rooftop battlements. Exhibits cover city wars, crime and punishment and Magna Carta. It suits families and couples and takes under an hour, with The Pound bar next door in the old city jail.
Image: Whitstable Museum and GalleryWhitstable Community Museum and Gallery
Whitstable Community Museum and Gallery is a volunteer-run museum telling the town's stories of diving, oysters, fishing, shipwrecks and shipbuilding. Large exhibits include the Invicta locomotive, a 1948 whelk boat and an 1867 fire engine, with hands-on activities for children from age three. It suits families and takes about an hour.
Image: Lullingstone Roman VillaLullingstone Roman Villa
Lullingstone Roman Villa preserves the remains of a Roman country house near Eynsford, displayed under cover so it works in any weather. See its celebrated floor mosaics and finds from Roman Britain, then combine your visit with a walk in the surrounding countryside.
Image: The C.M Booth CollectionThe C.M. Booth Collection of Historic Vehicles
The C.M. Booth Collection is a motor museum in Rolvenden, built around a unique collection of Morgan three-wheel cars from 1909 to 1935. Alongside them are vintage cars, a van, motorcycles, bicycles and cases of toy and model cars. It suits motoring fans and curious families for about an hour.
Image: The Historic Dockyard ChathamThe Historic Dockyard Chatham
The Historic Dockyard Chatham is an Age of Sail dockyard of international importance, now a huge museum site. Climb aboard HMS Gannet, the destroyer HMS Cavalier and the submarine Ocelot, walk the Ropery and explore galleries including Command of the Oceans. One ticket covers a year of visits, so you do not have to see it all in one day.
Check the listing for prices
Prices vary by activity or are set by the venue, so we do not guess.
Image: Headcorn AerodromeHeadcorn Aerodrome
Headcorn Aerodrome, formerly RAF Lashenden, is a historic grass airfield where you can watch vintage aircraft, skydivers and wing walkers, or book a flight of your own. Explore the WW2 Lashenden Air Warfare Museum, settle into the viewing zones and refuel at the cafe, bar and restaurant. It suits aviation fans, families and thrill-seekers, and a half-day visit works well.
Image: Old Brook Pumping StationOld Brook Pumping Station
Old Brook Pumping Station is a preserved 1929 pumping station in Chatham, open as a museum since the early 1980s and run by volunteers from the Medway Industrial Archaeology Group. See the engines and a collection of exhibits on the industrial history of the Medway Towns. It suits engineering fans and curious families and takes about an hour.
Image: Dover Transport MuseumDover Transport Museum
Dover Transport Museum is a volunteer-run charity museum near Whitfield with two large halls of vintage vehicles and recreated street scenes of old Dover. Alongside cars, buses and motorcycles there are shop fronts, ferry memorabilia and a large model railway that visitors can operate. It makes an easy family outing of an hour or two.
Image: Quex House & GardensQuex House, Gardens and Powell-Cotton Museum
Quex Park near Birchington combines a Victorian family house, working gardens and the Powell-Cotton Museum, known for its huge natural history dioramas and collections from Africa and Asia. Free guided tours run through the museum and house. It makes a varied half day on the Thanet coast, with enough indoors for a grey day.
Image: English HeritageRichborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre
Richborough is where the invading Roman army came ashore in AD 43, and the fort here saw the start, height and end of Roman rule in Britain. Climb the reconstructed timber gateway for views over the site, explore the ruins and museum, and walk out to the amphitheatre earthworks. It suits families and history fans and needs about two hours.
Image: St Augustine's AbbeySt Augustine's Abbey
Founded in AD 598, St Augustine's Abbey marks the return of Christianity to southern England and is part of Canterbury's World Heritage Site. Walk the extensive ruins, from the Saxon monastery to the Norman rebuild and the later Tudor royal palace, then visit the site museum. It sits just outside the city walls, a few minutes from the cathedral.
Questions people ask
Which museums and history days out in Kent are free to enter?
Our listings show free entry at Crab Museum, Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery, Eden Valley Museum, Folkestone Museum, Kent Police Museum, Maidstone Museum, Roman Painted House and Sandwich Guildhall Museum and 3 more. Check each listing for anything charged on top, such as parking, food or activities.
Which of these suit toddlers?
Our listings mark Whitstable Community Museum and Gallery and The Amelia Scott as suiting toddlers and young children.
Which of these have indoor space?
Our listings show indoor space at Battle of Britain Memorial, Canterbury Roman Museum, Chartwell, Chiddingstone Castle, Crab Museum, Dover Castle, Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery and Eastgate House and 26 more. The others are listed as outdoor visits, so dress for the weather.