13 and 15 year olds - which museum would you recommend?

What are their interests? Are they more inclined toward history or science? Are they focused on technology/phone or interested in arts? Have they looked at the websites for the museums to see what they offer and provide input?
Without knowing their interests, I think Natural History might be more appealing with some interactive exhibits than British Museum which tends to be more focused on history and archeology.

I think it would be helpful to know what other activities you already have planned to see if something different may be more interesting for the teens.

The attitude I am dealing with right now is "No museums" and I said that is fine - you can sit in the cafe if you like but we are going... of course I am hoping that once we are inside the museum they will be happier with the choice mom has made for them that morning. After the museum we have The Dungeons and London Eye planned for that day.

I think of the options you gave, Natural History or Science may be better than British Museum.

I haven't been to London in a while but I know they have some new immersive museums that teens love. I believe Mardee (a regular here) was there recently with 2 of her teen grandkids. I hope she'll see this post and chime in. She has a blog you can find through her account which might give you some new ideas to consider. https://community.ricksteves.com/users/30997

They said no museums and you want at least two? I know you are the parent, and the financial backing for this trip, but teenagers can be so difficult, and make things miserable; even though they are good humans. London was the first international trip we did with our teens. I tried to focus on doing things like seeing Stonehenge and Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Richmond Great Park to see the red and fallow deer which date back to 1625; those type experiences to make sure they found the international travel experience something they'd love to continue doing in the future. If I'd inundated them with traditional museums, it might not have gone as well. We went to Greenwich which was interesting. Lots to do. My seafaring husband really enjoyed the museum/observatory; the kids found it interesting; but there was a lot of other things to see and explore. We have a fun picture standing at the Greenwich Mean Time marker! I'd choose one museum. Not make a big deal about it being on the itinerary and then commit to a couple of hours; giving them the freedom to explore but not sit in the cafe. Enjoy! Now our adult kids pay their own way and love international travel! One just got back and visited the Guggenheim in Billbao Spain and another, the Vatican Museums in Rome...so they grow up and broaden their museum horizons!

Although I've always made sure to see "the" museums wherever we've traveled in the world: since I was a kid, for some crazy reason I always feel queasy (which I never feel anywhere else). I think it's the lighting; the lack of air circulation; not an aversion to relics. I"m not sure why. I passed out in the Churchill War Rooms in London (otherwise fabulous if either kid is into WW2) in my 20's. I guess that's why I tried not to "over" museum my family on trips. Slow and steady!

How about thinking out side of the “tourist box”? Maybe these ideas will interest the kids more? Or do you already have them on your itinerary?

Maybe they will warm up to the eclectic John Soames Museum. It’s small and stuffed with almost everything imaginable. https://www.soane.org/

There’s also the Churchill War Rooms. You can tie it in to a more modern history lesson. https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms

Tying the musical SIX to a Hampton Court visit gives the teens an evening entertainment and a Henry the 8th lesson. (We saw SIX the evening before visiting Hampton Court.)
https://sixthemusical.com/london/
https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/

And there’s always Tower of London. Crown Jewels for your princess and weapons and armour for your prince.
https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/

Enjoy your trip!

Perhaps Imperial War Museum would interest them?

The British Museum has the major stuff that you can’t see anywhere else. It’s also an impressive building. Take them there are tell them you’re just going to see 3-4 big items and then they can sit in the cafe.

When I took my daughter she spent the whole visit on a bench in the lobby because ‘Too many dead people’s things’. At least I tried!

Not wishing to gender stereotype, but if you opt for either the Science or Natural History Museum - the V&A is right there too with its marvellous costume and jewellery collections that I would have loved aged 13. (If there are two parents, that is).

Also: read up on any museums first and decide which rooms/collections you’re going to prioritise!

Also they all have great gift shops.

I'd suggest a brief visit to both the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. They are next door to each other and free to enter - don't be intimidated by in-person requests for voluntary donations. Just see the highlights or the exhibits that they have a special interest in - you've got to be pretty hard-hearted not to like the dinosaurs. You could probably do this in an afternoon, or if the museums are close to where you are staying then arriving after about 3pm and having a look around until closing time might also be an option.

You don't say when you are coming. These museums can be quite crowded at weekends and during English school holidays (last week July to 1st week of Sept). If you can visit outside these times, it will be noticeably quieter, particularly once the school groups have to leave around 2.30 to 3 pm

A few suggestions not already mentioned:

The Old Operating Theatre Museum. This fantastic place is close to London Bridge Station - and so is convenient to the Shard and Borough Market and the Golden Hinde, among other things - and it is filled with cool, semi-gruesome medical stuff that would have totally floated my boat when I was a teen. It is extremely cool, although not for everyone. I loved it as an adult! https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/

Very close by is The Clink Prison Museum. This is kind of cheesy and not a “proper museum,” but it’s not expensive and would be fun for reluctant teens. Despite the cheese factor it does include actual historical artifacts and is well-researched. Your teens will definitely learn something, which is part of the point of a museum, right? My niece loved it when she was in middle school (that was only 5 years ago.) https://www.clink.co.uk/

The Royal Observatory and related museums in Greenwich are really excellent. There is maritime and astronomical stuff galore. Rick and this site have lots of info on Greenwich, which is fun as a family day out, with lots to explore. We’ve been to the Observatory a couple of times, and I highly recommend it. https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory

London also has crazy cool small museums that are not on the beaten tourist path: toy museums, a sewing machine museum, a pumping station museum, the Foundling Museum (which I found crazy amazing!) and more.

I would also tentatively proffer an opinion that might not be popular here: I do not recommend the Sir John Soane Museum for teens who aren’t museum buffs. I am an over-educated history nerd and I love it, but I am gonna go out on a limb and say it probably won’t grab a teen who said “no museums.” For an immersive “what was life like that back then” museum, I’d highly recommend Dennis Severs’ House. It is MIND BLOWING. https://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/

It’s a bit hard to say without knowing what your children are interested in.
Neither the Science Museum nor the National History Museum would have interested me at that age. To be honest they don’t interest me much now. But I have always loved the V and A.

Of the three you have mentioned I think the British Museum is probably the best option if you pick only certain galleries. The Egyptian exhibits are always very popular.

Another option is an art gallery. My nephew really enjoyed some of the paintings in the National Portrait Gallery. We weren’t there for long( I’m not stupid!) but he enjoyed seeing portraits he had seen on TV or at school, for example the Tudors, and also trying to work out how some of the more detailed/ lifelike portraits were done.

If you haven’t already why not point them in the directIon of the Timeout London and Londonist websites so they can find stuff they will find interesting?

I would agree that a day in Greenwich should give you something for everyone. A cruise down the river one way and the DLR on the way back would be good in themselves. Then a selection of all that Greenwich has to offer to fill in the day. As someone else suggested splitting up for different interests would work well if possible.

A left field choice would be the newish V&A Warehouse in Stratford could be interesting. Its USP is that you can order items from the collection to be seen and talked about by an expert for your visit. If there was anything there that the kids would be particularly interested in that would likely engage them. (And there's a bit shopping mall next door if that helps!).

What’s great about most London museums is they are free. So easy to just pop in and see just one part that interests you. You don’t have to spend the whole day or even the whole afternoon. And at least some of them have free docent led tours either the highlights or special topics. Browse their websites and see what appeals. As examples I went to the Natural History Museum just to see the gemstones. I went to the V&A to see a special exhibit about Valentines. And I went to the British Museum just to do a docent tour of the Egyptian collection.

Parent/grandparent here so I understand clearly that most teenagers lack the maturity and good judgment to always make their own decisions and in many cases need to be directed for the sake of their own best interest. Thast said, I despised being dragged to museums and art galleries as a child/teen and despite being assured that one day when I was older I'd realise how wonderful they are, that day has not and in all probability will never come. In fact, being forced to endure musems as a teen cemented my determination never to cross the threshold of a museum as an adult, and thus far (in my 70s) I have not. My spouse of nearly 50 years cannot fathom why any normal person could disdain spending hour upon hour wandering the dusty musty moldy halls of every museum in every city on earth, but I spend those hours exploring the living world outside. And that is not to say I've no knowledge or interest in history, because that couldn't be farther from the truth.

So I cast my lone vote in favour of not forcing teens to endure museums LOL.

They can see Natural History and Science museums in many other cities. But the British Museum is one of a kind. It will not hurt them to be "required" to spend a couple of hours there. My 4 year old did it(after bribing her with a Flintstones Happy Meal at a nearby restaurant)-your teens can do it too. There are plenty of Instagramable-worthy things to see there. Just don't make them get up early in the morning to do it. It sounds like you are already giving them input into what they want to see and do on this trip. Be the parent and don't let this trip be totally about them. Not all "typical teenagers" have this attitude. When my daughter and her friends were teens, they would have been happy to spend two hours in a museum if they got a trip to London out of it. It's my understanding that the London Eye is very expensive-maybe you need to skip this if they can't be more cooperative about going to one museum.

The British Museum has the major stuff that you can’t see anywhere
else.

That's what I'm thinking too. There are many versions of Science and Natural History museums throughout the U.S. (and other places in the world) but only one British Museum. As suggested, you don't have to spend an entire day there but just choose a select few galleries. Tower of London? Absolutely a 'museum' of sorts that shouldn't be missed but maybe is already on your list?

The Old Operating Theatre Museum... That would have been up my personal alley, more than a military museum, but maybe not if they're particularly squeamish.

Helen's daughter's ‘Too many dead people’s things’ perfectly expresses the feelings of both of our sons and both of our grandchildren. We did not force them to be more like us, but we did ask them to accompany us into a few "escapable" museums and churches where they could opt out and read a book or something. I have a nice photo of our younger son, age 9, reading a Harry Potter book in the ruins of Pompeii.

Our daughter-in-law has bad memories of being dragged all over Italy as a teenager --- not a museum person then or now.

I don't know, maybe make some kind of deal with them so that you can visit the museum you want to visit? That seems fair.

Hi, I'm Mardee, the one that Joy mentioned above. In late March 2025, I took my then 12-year-old granddaughter and 15-year-old grandson to London for 10 nights.

We did go to the British Museum, and while they thought it was okay, I could tell that they weren't all that into it. It was pretty overwhelming, for one thing, because it is so large and so crowded, and they really just wanted to go to the cafe and have tea and cakes. 😊

But they absolutely loved the Science Museum! They wanted to stay there forever. In fact, I just sent the two of them off by themselves, and I sat in the cafe and had some coffee while I read my book. They really enjoyed it a lot. They also love the gift shop, which is an amazing gift shop. There are some cool things in there, and they chose some things to use their spending money on. It was probably one of their favorite places in London. And to be honest, neither one of them is really that interested in science. They're both soccer fanatics, and my granddaughter is creative and likes to draw, and my grandson plays video games, but they really enjoyed this museum. I don't think you need to be a science nerd to appreciate it.

They also loved going to two different optical illusion museums—the Twist Museum and the Paradox Museum. My niece found out about the Twist Museum and asked if we could go there, so I agreed, and they had the best time. They really enjoyed it a lot. In fact, I also liked it. It was pretty fun and interesting and unusual. Then they found another optical illusion museum—the Paradox Museum—so we went to that one as well, and they enjoyed it just as much

The other museum that they really liked was the V&A. That kind of surprised me, but they both really liked it. My granddaughter loved the costume section where they have beautiful period dresses from hundreds of years ago and even contemporary clothing. My grandson loved the military section with all the weapons and everything. I do think they would have really liked the Natural History Museum, but the day we were over in that area, they had spent so much time in the Science Museum that they were ready to just head out and be sans-museums for a while. 😂

And sometimes they just wanted to hang out. They really enjoyed going off on their own to places like Gail's Bakery and picking up croissants in the morning. One day they went to a movie by themselves, which they loved. I think that was part of the fun for them; doing things on their own in a foreign country and going to everyday places like the movies, but in a foreign country. They really enjoyed that experience a lot.

Kate mentioned the Tower of London. My grandson loved the Tower of London a lot. He was enthralled by the guided tour and what was said, and enjoyed looking at everything. My granddaughter got bored pretty quickly, so she and I kind of did our own thing while my grandson went off with a guide. We followed in the background and sat there while he listened to what the guide was saying. I think that's kind of an individual thing.

I'm linking a copy of my trip report here if you'd like to read it. It goes into a lot of detail about the museums and what they liked and didn't like. It might give you some ideas or help you out. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/london-and-paris-and-grandkids-oh-my-march-and-april-2025-trip-report

We did all 3 last trip with my kids, the only one either asked to go back to in our next trip is the British Museum which my 14-year-old girl asked as a must do again.

The Imperial War Museum is also being added to our list, we haven't gone yet but I think both my kids will like it.

None of us loved the Natural History Museum (way too busy, like couldn't walk busy) and the Science Museum was just meh to everyone.

Highlights of the British Museum for sure. You've got two of London's most incredibly overpriced, worst tourist traps planned for later that day (London Dungeon and London Eye) -- Madame Tussauds would have been strike three! -- so do something else that is actually a genuine world class attraction and free to boot, and as noted, many other cities have museums of science and natural history, but nowhere else will you find the Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles or Sutton Hoo treasures, among many others.

Thanks so much for all the info - most of our trip does take into account what the kids want to - I am not a complete tyrant ;) I was going to make them do one museum at least and the question was which one.

Mardee, I did go through your blog and made a note of the bakeries and restaurants/pubs you mentioned. I will definitely be following some of your suggestions. It was super helpful.

Thanks everyone!!