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.
Story Studio
Our open studio runs throughout the winter holidays and is packed with cool comics, games and your favourite characters! Discover and play with costumes, instruments, kimono future fashions and cute Japanese-designed kawaii friends.
Drop in + Design: Fold
Drop in to our learning studios for an afternoon of family-friendly, play-based design challenges and transform patterned papers to fold and design your own dazzling origami decorations to take home.
Shake, Rattle + Stroll: Cosy
Get ready to move and make some noise in this interactive workshop for little museum explorers and step into winter with cosy fireside stories and den building in the studios.
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.
Design a Kimono
Did you know the word kimono translates from Japanese as “the thing to wear”? Our latest exhibition follows the kimono’s journey from 17th century Japan to present-day fashion, where you can design a unique on-screen outfit in the exhibition. Visitors aged 18 and under go free.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Don’t be board... 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!
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!
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!)
Enjoy the Story Space
Take a break, find a picture book and enjoy a comfy chair in the family-friendly Story Space in our Designer-in-residence studio. With lots of titles from which to choose, relax for a while in this lovely space. It’s also a great place to watch as the museum bustles with visitors.
To find out more about everything the museum has to offer, as well as handy info about accessibility, parking and more, head over to our Visit page.
