CATEGORY · RAINY DAY APPROVED
Museums in Sheffield
Sheffield does museums without much fuss about it. The Millennium Gallery sits right in the centre and costs nothing, with a café for the biscuit bribery afterwards. Weston Park Museum, a couple of miles out, mixes Egypt and wildlife with a play bus that earns its keep on a wet Tuesday. Down by Endcliffe Park, Shepherd Wheel is a free look inside a working water-powered grinding shop from the 1500s, easy to fold into a walk. For toddlers, Weston Park's play bus and the free entry at Wakefield Museum, a longer trip out, both help. Older kids do better at the National Emergency Services Museum, climbing into fire engines and Victorian cells, or Creswell Crags out at Worksop, where Ice Age caves and rock art fill an outdoor afternoon. If buggies are a problem, note Eyam Museum's first floor has stairs only. Mr Straw's House, also in Worksop, only takes four people at a time, so book ahead.
14 places 1 upcoming event 6 free to visit
What's on: museums
Places for museums
FreeCannon Hall - Museum
Cawthorne
Free entry to a hall packed with sensory toys, plus woodland trails, tepees and a proper adventure playground outside.
Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféDog friendly+7 more
from £5Creswell Crags
Worksop
A limestone gorge, Ice Age caves and rock art to hunt out, with a museum and lakeside walk to fill the rest of the day.
Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesBlue badge parking+19 more
from £2Eyam Museum
Hope Valley · ages 0-16
Plague village history told through trails and dressing-up clothes, with a first floor you'll need to leave the buggy for.
Gift shopGroup bookingsParkingPushchair friendly+2 more
FreeMillennium Gallery
Sheffield
Free city-centre gallery near the station, open every day but Monday, with a café for the inevitable snack break.
Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+7 more
from £4.50Mr Straw's House
Worksop · ages 5+
A 1920s house left exactly as one family kept it, seen on small pre-booked tours of just four people at a time.
Bike parkingBooking requiredFree parkingGift shop+9 more
from £5.50National Emergency Services Museum
Sheffield · ages 0-60
Climb into old fire engines and ambulances, try on a uniform, and poke round Victorian police cells across three floors.
ToiletsCaféGift shopWheelchair accessible
from £14National Tramway Museum
Matlock
Ride vintage trams down a rebuilt period street, then loose the kids in a woodland sculpture trail while you eat into a free return visit.
Free parkingParkingGift shopFood on site+6 more
FreeShepherd Wheel
Sheffield
A free peek inside a real water-powered grinding workshop from the 1500s, tucked by Endcliffe Park.
Step-free access
from £4.50South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum
Doncaster
Climb into a real Vulcan Bomber and a Hawk T.1 jet cockpit among a full collection of parked aircraft and helicopters.
CaféDog friendlyEV chargingGift shop+3 more
FreeSouth Yorkshire Transport Museum
Rotherham
Old buses and cars you can get right up close to, plus free rides on the historic fleet, one Sunday a month.
Blue badge parkingCaféCard onlyFree parking+4 more
from £2.50The Vulcan Experience - Pre-booked visits only
Doncaster
Get up close to the Avro Vulcan XH558 and an English Electric Canberra, with engineering demos thrown in.
Booking required
Thoresby Park
Newark
Newark - Thoresby Park estate with play park, courtyard cafe, woodland walks and a free military museum.
Booking requiredCaféGift shopIndoor play+6 more
FreeWakefield Museum
Wakefield
Free museum with craft Saturdays and a weekly Museum Minis session for the under-fives, no ticket needed.
Breastfeeding friendlyCaféDog friendlyHearing loop+2 more
FreeWeston Park Museum
Sheffield
Free Sheffield city museum - Egypt, wildlife and a play bus for under-fives when rain hits.
Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféGift shop+4 more
Good to know: museums in Sheffield
Are any of them free?
Yes, Cannon Hall - Museum, Millennium Gallery, Shepherd Wheel, South Yorkshire Transport Museum and 2 more are free to visit.
What does a paid visit cost?
Paid entry starts from £2 at Eyam Museum. Prices, ages and facilities are listed on every place page, taken from each venue's own published price list.
Whereabouts are they?
You'll find museums in Cawthorne, Worksop, Hope Valley, Sheffield, Matlock and 4 more. Every place we list is in or around Sheffield, and each listing has the full address and directions.
More ways to plan a day out
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