A group of people crafting things on a table with pens and pencils.

Free family-friendly things to do at V&A Dundee

Looking for cool stuff to keep the whole family entertained?

Discover unique hands-on activities and creative fun for all ages at V&A Dundee.

Our free Families programme is generously supported by Players of People's Postcode Lottery.

Drop in + Design: Sketch

Drop in to our learning studios for an afternoon of family-friendly, play-based design challenges

A group of children playing with toys on the ground.

Wee Design + Play: Maps

Make and play together in our creative learning studios. This month we’re imagining landscapes, roads and the places know, choosing different materials to create tactile maps inspired by A Fragile Correspondence.

Spring into Animation!

Our team of designers will be on hand to help you design a unique, wonderful woolly jumper design for Shaun the Sheep this spring! You’ll find lots of inspiration throughout the museum, from the Fair Isle sweater in the Scottish Design Galleries to our collection of books, bursting with pattern-tastic prints and collages.

Two children doing a drawing activity with an adult

Be a Design Buster

Pick up a Design Busters activity sheet then draw, colour and solve a design challenge together. Even if you’re small, you can have big ideas and designers have the power to change the world. Get creative and design a patch, logo or symbol for new Design Busters everywhere to wear.

Children and their parents playing with KAPLA blocks in the foyer of V&A Dundee

Twist and Shape

You can have endless fun in the Twist and Shape design zone creating new structures and forms to play with. There are giant foam Imagination Playground shapes as well as KAPLA planks and architect Kengo Kuma's TSUMIKI stackable triangles. Once you’re done, knock it all down and start again.

A group of young people discussing a videogame

Play Gimbal City

Videogame Gimbal City is located on the upper floor of the museum. Designed by architecture studio iheartblob. You can create a cool interactive world with other players and become architects of your own imagined cities.

Visitors in the Scottish Design Galleries

Explore the Scottish Design Galleries

Featuring over 300 objects, many from the V&A’s world-famous collections of art, design and performance. There are so many stories to discover – don’t miss Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s beautifully conserved Oak Room.

A group of people looking at the Dundee diorama map

Explore the giant Dundee map

Take a look at Sohei Nishino’s giant photographic map, ‘Diorama Map, Dundee’ to spot your favourite sights. Made up of thousands of black and white photographs of Dundee, have fun looking at all of the details – from people in the streets to planes and even seagulls.

Follow the Selkie Trail

Explore the museum's architecture with museum mascot Selkie the Seal. You can find out all about V&A Dundee, which was designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and opened to the public in 2018. After you’ve finished, pick up your Official Explorer Stamp!

Two children building a cities with building blocks

Build with Blockitecture

Young visitors inspired by Kengo Kuma’s magnificent museum design can try building their own towns and cities using the fun and colourful wooden Blockitecture playblocks. Let your imagination flow!

Two children holding a trail guide and ice cream cones

Take a peek outside

Pick up a seek + peek trail map from the welcome desk, then head outside for a playful waterfront trail. This activity is designed to take families on a wander round V&A Dundee, as well as the urban beach and nearby Slessor Gardens. What will you discover and do today? (Doughnuts and ice cream from Heather Street Food optional!)

Don’t be bored... play some board games

Grab a seat and enjoy the views of the River Tay and a board game by the picture window on the ground floor. Who will win at chess? It’s a perfect place to rest a while – you might even spot a seal in the water or on the sandbanks!