Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum with kids – review

Almost a century older than the British Museum in London, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is the oldest public museum in the UK – and if simply dating from 1683 isn’t the biggest selling point for your family, here’s why a visit to the Ashmolean Museum with kids is actually a fantastic day out.

It’s not just the collections which are tempting, although as these range from the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks to Anglo-Saxons and Guy Fawkes, along with displays on Persia, China, Japan and India, Viking hoards and artworks galore, there’s masses to discover inside.

Because the museum has also put in a lot of effort to make it family-friendly. When we visited in the summer, we decided to try out the special interactive family guide but year-round, there are also free trails to follow, including ones for under-fives, as well as some designed for older kids.

In total, there are over 60 galleries and more than 200,000 items in the collection – although not all on display – as well as a whopping 300,000+ coins. So the question isn’t whether you should visit the Ashmolean Museum with kids, it’s which part to visit first.

Of course, you could just walk in and wander – the museum is free to enter and you don’t need to prebook tickets.

For more things to do in Oxford with kids

But it’s well worth checking out the different galleries beforehand or going to the website to download the map (copies are also available in the museum, for a requested donation of £2) to avoid missing the highlights and emerging overwhelmed.

We also followed the Top 10 Treasure Trail, which starts towards the top of the museum with a Samurai helmet and mask, whisking you through China’s imperial court, to the time of Alfred the Great, past a divine bull and an intricate octopus to a smiling sarcophagus, a Native American artefact and Guy Fawkes’ lantern.

It’s a fun way to get a flavour of everything, including some of the museum’s key pieces, and if you’re short of time it’s a good way to keep kids engaged – there are lots of questions in the trail, from counting dragons to imagining what’s causing the carved face on the sarcophagus to smile.

But if that doesn’t tempt, you’re spoiled for choice for other ideas: creative kids can get drawing as they explore, while the Ancient Egyptian Animal Adventure or Sam Snail’s Art Trail are perfect for the youngest visitors, getting them to do everything from making hippo noises and crocodile imitations to mimicking a clock.

Dog lovers can follow a trail focused on Helpful Hounds, finding everything from guardian dogs to royal companions, or challenge your kids to be a hero of Ancient Greece, posing like Zeus and coming up with thrilling dangers to defeat.

You can mix and match them all too, plus there are audio tours to download to your smartphone – just scan the QR code when you’re there (better for older kids) – as well as activity stations dotted around.

After several hours of concentrated exploring, my daughter loved sitting down to make her own geometric design, inspired by the beautiful Islamic tiles and other artefacts on display nearby, while staff were also running school holiday craft sessions at various points during the day.

And while you needn’t spend a penny, if you’re looking for a free family day out in Oxford, we really enjoyed the Ashmolean Adventure digital guide – priced from £10 for a family of two.

With linked devices, one person gets to lead the adventure: you are encouraged to keep swapping throughout to keep arguments at a minimum – although I quickly allowed my 11-year-old to take charge.

And it’s a really fun addition to all the other family-friendly activities. Beginning by one of the mummies in Ancient Egypt, we were challenged to spot various symbols, rub out the sarcophagus to reveal the skeleton and write his name – the tongue-twisting ‘Djed-Djehuty-Iuef-Ankh’ – in hieroglyphics, just for starters.

Moving on to Minoan Crete and the Minotaur, there was an animated retelling of the myth and quiz, which brought back happy memories of our own trip to Knossos.

Then a treasure hunt through Islamic design, a chance to spot one of the world’s oldest bank notes and design your own money, and discover how traditional Japanese kimonos influenced a style of art and fashions today.

In fact, after spending nearly two hours working our way through the list of 11 objects (with a few detours to the nearby galleries and the cafe), we were still only around half-way through – and had our eye on the other trails and the other galleries as well.

So much for my original plan that we would while away an hour or two before lunch: I was starting to regret not having set aside the entire day to explore – visiting with a friend and her five-year-old, they easily filled a couple of hours doing some of the other trails as well. You could quite easily lose days in here!

So with so much to cover, this post would be more of a catalogue than a review if I tried to list everything there is to see and do, but to add in a few personal highlights, we loved the exhibition on money, showing early coins and bank notes, counterfeiting measures, displays on how much you could buy with your money over time and a whole lot more.

The nearby displays on the development of writing were equally fascinating, including some interactive fun such as trying to write in cuneiform (not easy!)

That was far from the only chance to get hands on – we spun the wheel of destiny to see what the ancient Mesopotamian sun god would predict for us.

My daughter escaped a king’s curse, but he was less decided about my fate, with ‘maybe’ coming up over and over again.

Shamash might not have been able to make up his mind, but there was no doubt in mine – whether you’re looking for ideas for a rainy day in Oxford with kids, or it’s the sunny summer holidays, a day out at the Ashmolean Museum with kids is among the best things to do in the city.

Visiting the Ashmolean Museum with kids: Need to know

Entrance to the Ashmolean Museum is free, and there’s no need to book timed ticket slots – just turn up and explore whenever you fancy. Inevitably, it’s busier in school holidays.

If you want to do the interactive family trail, or one of the other special activities which run at the Ashmolean Museum for kids, tickets are available from the museum website – our digital tour cost £10 for two people, with options for bigger families.

You’ll also find family tours and a string of other activities – visit the Ashmolean Museum website for the latest details of events for families. You can also download the free trails before you visit.

Open daily, the museum opening hours are 10am-5pm.

How to get there – the Ashmolean museum is walking distance from the town centre, around 10-15 minutes on foot from the train station, or just a short journey by bus.

Where to eat? There’s a cafe in the bottom floor of the museum, with drinks, sandwiches, hot food and cake, or the museum is also in easy walking distance of places to eat in Oxford with kids.

If you want to bring your own food, the family lunch room is open from 12-2pm at weekends and during the school holidays on the lower ground flor.

Other family essentials? There are also toilets on the same floor as well as baby changing on the lower ground floor and the top floor. There are accessible toilets as well, and free nappies at the welcome desk.

You can bring your pushchair, or store it on the ground floor at the entrance, and lockers are available for a £1 fee.

For more ideas of things to do in Oxford with kids, check out my review of Oxford Castle with kids and a Harry Potter walking tour of Oxford

Images copyright MummyTravels

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