Museum of London Docklands

I popped into the MOL Docklands briefly to see the Soldiers and Suffragettes: The photography of Christina Bloom. Although very impressive that this woman had a career as a photographer at a time when women were very oppressed, I was disappointed to find that there wasn’t any representation of Black and Asian soldiers & suffragettes which were very evident during the war. Perhaps the museum could exhibit a full or better photographic exhibition in the future, although I appreciate this was one photographer’s work.
This was my first visit here but I’d to revisit and see what else they have to offer.

Incredible, intimate museum — possibly and improbably my favorite in London. The Sugar and Slavery exhibit is the best I’ve seen on the British slave trade including the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The museum is housed in an old sugar warehouse and has a really cool historical feel to it — sloped floorboards, huge timber rafters, etc. It’s only a 5 or so minute walk from Canary Wharf station

Great to see where the Docklands area comes from (ancient Times) and how this now very modern and almost futuristic part of London has evolved.
An unexpected but interesting (and horrifying) exposition is about the slave trade and the role of England and even the Docklands.
The museum is well designed and interesting and fun to visit.

Awesome museum, fascinating history of London and its Docklands, well laid out and lots of different styles of gallery. In an old warehouse which adds to its charm. The standout thing for me is the Mudlarks gallery for children, a free soft play and exploratory area for kids, with ticketed sessions (free) so it is never too busy. It has been a lifesaver with a toddler. There is a café on site which is ok, expensive coffee though. They do special evening events which I’d love to go to, but not made it yet!

I didn’t really have high expectations for this place but i have to say what a pleasant surprise! This museum is so well structured that it will keep you engaged until the very end.
The exhibit starts with the vikings, and reaches all the way until the modern age. They even have an empty room at the end for the history that hasn’t been written yet. And of course the whole exhibit is full of great miniature models.
I wouldn’t say this is an exhibition young kids will enjoy but they have a free kids playground on the ground floor with a cafeteria right next to it.

A bit difficult to find if you follow available signage but once you find it, and you have an under 5 in tow, you will be so happy. This museum offers an overview of the history of the London Docklands, of course. The stand out to me was the free access to the children’s playroom. Ideally designed for those ages 1 – 4, what a marvelous space. There is a soft play area, a water area, a lego building area, a balance boat, weighted ropes, and more. The best part is access is free! Fantastic way to spend a rainy afternoon. There is a café just outside the playroom and ample pram parking. If your child has fun, do the right thing and pay the £5 suggested donation.

It’s free!
(but make a donation, mmmkay?) Keep cool things in London free. Or at least buy a little something from the café or gift shop. My husband thought it would be hilarious to buy a little rubber toy rat for our son. It’s consequently freaked out every person that has come to visit us. It’s now mysteriously absent — makes me think the babysitter threw it out. Regardless! Support given.
We were meeting some friends nearby at *Tom’s Kitchen for brunch (recommended!) and decided to use the Canary Wharf excursion to check out Museum of London Docklands, where a soft play area was rumored to be housed.
And indeed — a very nice little area for the little ones can be found here. There’s a pretty large, enclosed area containing: water/​sand play (probably best for 2+), HUGE building blocks section, fun little toys about shipping and transport (they manage to make them fun and durable), and of course, a soft play centre with requisite slide, nets, climbing and big soft squishy shapes.
Bookings for these sessions can be made in advance — though I couldn’t figure out how, so we just turned up on a Sunday and lucked out that there was space. IF it is a busy time of year (half term, etc) I do suggest calling ahead to book. It runs in sessions so once the end of the session comes, everyone is out and a new batch is let in. This worked well for us as we spent about 40 minutes inside… but our timing was purely luck. Next time we’ll book and know when it starts/​ends.
We took the opportunity to view the museum — also very child and pram friendly. It’s very nicely curated, interesting and most importantly with a child — relatively fast. You can go through the entire Museum in about 20 minutes, should you need to.
Situated right on the Docklands (obviously) this is a great kid-​friendly stop if you are out seeing the sights or visiting the area.

A great museum that’s well worth the entry fee. In fact it’s worth 2 entry fees as there’s so much to see and learn, you may have to go twice to take it all in!

Love the museum, kids room and welcoming staff!
Don’t like the food and cakes served in the café, especially because I got food poisoning. But the chairs are comfy and my baby loves the view.

Great collection and exhibits covering some of London’s most exciting colonial maritime history. Gave me a new perspective on my city and its long journey to the modern era. Also has a free soft play area and children’s exhibits in the Mudlarks room, ask for tickets for a timed 40 min session at the reception coming in.

This extremely interesting museum is in a fantastic revitalized area of the London Docklands. I loved taking the DLR out to this area and getting to see a whole other historic side of London. You would almost think you were in another city all together. This museum is jam packed full of information on the history of the Docklands itself and of London. I have to say a bit of the museum information turned a little too much towards slavery and seemed almost too apologetic for the decisions of people of the past. Although the information provided and the points being made were extremely important and critical to the history of the UK, I think it detracted from the original intention of this space as being part of the Docklands revitalization. Be prepared for a TON of reading… luckily they have these great little fold up chairs you can carry around with you. You’ll see alot of history and a bit about things to come for this area. It really has the makings to be one of the better museum’s in the area; I just dont know if they have gotten all of the focus and organization down just yet.

We stumbled upon the Museum of London Docklands and I have to say, this is a great museum! We came for the special exhibit on Captain Kidd and were impressed with the efforts made to tell the story and make it interactive at the same time – it was worth the ticket fee for certain.
I was very impressed by the exhibit exploring the British involvement in the slave-​sugar trade even after the outlaw of slavery in the UK. The exhibit was frank and honest about the role that sugar played in the on-​going support of slavery, as well as efforts to abolish the enslavement of people around the world.
In addition to this exhibit and the special exhibits, the rest of the museum provides a lovely historic perspective on London as a river town. While much of the rest of the museum is not as interactive and hands-​on as the Captain Kidd exhibit, the approach to the labels and display of artifacts was informative. There is a separate children’s area that looked pretty fun and well loved by those who were there.
There’s a good mix of contemporary issues and how history helps to shape and influence our view of them.

Having been to the Museum of London a few weeks ago, I was expecting the Docklands museum to be repetitive. I was wrong. While London itself has so much history, the Docklands area is a thread all of its own and there is a story to be told here.
With displays on three levels and several interactive and video-​driven exhibits, the museum starts with the Vikings, the earliest Roman occupiers and through post-​Roman inhabitants, past the Victoria age and the growth of Docklands as the port to England and the modern age of banking and skyscrapers. There’s even an empty room at the end, for the Docklands history that hasn’t yet been written.
Like many in the city, the Museum of London Docklands is free. The do offer picnic areas inside and out if you bring your own nibbles. A great time to be had here, I can’t recommend it enough!

A great day out with the kids, this museum is one of the best I’ve been to.
The staff are very friendly, but alswell as being hosts, they also know alot about the exabitions, which makes the whole experience very educational.
Thumbs up!

I would recommend this museum! Fantastic location, a great place to take the whole family and entrance is free!
If you are interested in learning about the history of Docklands or just happen to be in the area, then this is the place to be!
Museum is in a warehouse that have three floors and you start from the top and make your way down to the bottom. My favourite part of the museum is «Sailortown» Thomas Beames wrote of the area around the docks: «Go there by day and every fourth man you meet is a sailor. This part is a recreation of Sailortown with cobbled floors, wooden planks and tiny warehouses. Its quiet dark, eary and you could even smell the dampness in the atmosphere.
I had a wonderful experience and would definitely visit again

This is a great place to go if you are interested in London’s history. The Sugar and Slavery exhibition was very well done, and a while back the MOL Docklands had a very good Jack the Ripper exhibition, which gave an excellent insight on what life in Whitechapel was like back then (for those who are wondering — it was quite grim).
The Museum has a very good book section which specialises in books on London’s history. This place is very child-​friendly, has a playroom on the ground floor and apparently hosts child-​friendly events.
I could imagine that the MOL Docklands gets very busy on weekends but I would recommend it as a good place to go, especially given the fact that it is next door to several restaurants with extensive outdoor seating, besides having its own café.

Von der römischen Besiedlung bis zur Erneuerung des Hafenviertels; erschließen sich die Geschichte des Hafens und auch der Menschen in diesem historischen West Indien Kai. Zu Entdecken ist eine Fülle an Objekten in den Galerien von Walknochen bis hin zu Gasmasken aus dem 2. Weltkrieg. Des Weiteren gibt es einen interaktiven Bereich nur für Kinder; die so genannte Seefahrer-​Stadt, eine eindrucksvolle Nachbildung historischer Gegenden des 19. Jahrhunderts, welche die Verwicklung der Stadt in den transatlantischen Sklaven-​Handel deutlich machen.
Lohnenwerter Auflug, auch für Kinder, zu vernünftigen Preisen.
Öffnungszeiten
Montag bis Sonntag 10.00 bis 18.00 Uhr
(Letzter Eintritt 17.30 Uhr)
Geschlossen: 24. bis 26. Dezember; Neujahr
Preise
Erwachsene £5.00
Konzessionen £3.00
Kinder (unter 16 Jahren) kostenfrei

A really interesting museum focusing on an integral and thus unfashionable aspect of the development of London. Being the story of river trade and the movement of goods into the Capitol, this museum’s story is the story not merely of one region (Docklands) but the story of London and the British Empire itself.
The most interesting material for me regarded the redevelopment of the Canary Wharf and the controversy surrounding it, a brave piece of storytelling, especially when located so close to the belly of the beast. The section on Docklands during the Blitz (of which it was the prime target) was also quite informative.
Corny though their make-​believe port village is it is in fact a pretty evocative recreation of what it might have felt like to negotatiate the dark, sinister alleyways of a lawless town. When I visited I made a woman scream by appearing quietly around a corner. Uninentional, I promise.
A large space on the main floor is used for temporary exhibits, most recently of Jack the Ripper, and education initiatives run throughout the year for all ages.
Definitely worth the trip away from the regular museum district.

A great place to take kids, and pretty interesting for adults too. The museum starts on the third floor and you work your way down. The themes covered include shipping through the ages, migration and the early history of London. The exhibits are interesting with a number of interactive touch screens explaining their historical context. Many of these are short clips of Tony Robinson, which makes them significantly more interesting than the average dry museum material.
Downstairs there is a children’s area called Mudlarks, where they can play in a nautically themed soft-​play area, build Canary Wharf out of foam and build dams out of gravel. During term time, this area is not open to the public until half past two, so try no to arrive too early.

Great day out, good access for wheelchair users, good disabled ameinities. The dock outside is great for dining alfresco if the weather permits.
I don’t understand the Jack The Ripper exhibition, which costs extra to see, (£7!) when all they seem to show are items freely displayed in other museums and record offices, and since when did Jack the Ripper haunt the docks? I feel this is a stunt to lure tourists. Still this finishes in November, when sanitly is restored.

I throughly enjoyed our visit to the Museum in Docklands.
It’s a very interesting museum with lots of history itself. It is unlike any other museum in London and is a good mix of dockside warehouse and modern museum.
The exhibits stem from the London Transport Museum and all document the history of the Docks in London.
This is a very good place to visit and it needn’t take all day — you can easily spend the whole morning there and then enjoy the rest of your day taking in the sights at the Docks.