V&A Museum of Childhood to Undergo Dramatic £13 Million Transformation

The V&A Museum of Childhood closes it’s doors for two years, starting this May. The Museum is undergoing a radical £13million reimagination, in which all of its collections, galleries and exhibits will be transformed into a world-class leading centre of creativity for children.

The new museum will shift its focus to be shaped entirely around the way in which children, aged 0-14 explore, engage and learn. There will be objects displayed at toddler height, dressing up boxes and couture fashion, all designed to create a hands-on experience. This will be the most ambitious redevelopment of the V&A Museum of Childhood to date.

One of the targets of the new museum is to champion the role of creativity on the school curriculum and to mature and inspire the next generation of artists, designers, makers and innovators. The aim is to create an unforgettable first museum experience for children, one in which will keep them coming back and exploring new museum and heritage sites. The museum will house Hollywood props and costumes, from the original Superman Costume to Frankenstein’s monster, all set out in theatrical displays to captivate and inspire the screenwriters, authors and storytellers of tomorrow.

The museum will include exhibits that feature the works of leading creatives, such as Issey Miyake and Yves Behar. Visitors are encouraged to explore how objects are made in open studio environments, as a way of introducing young innovators of the future to inspirational design. There will also be a 125 person capacity performance space, called “The Stage.” This forms the new centrepiece for the museum’s popular daily programme of family activities, which also doubles up as a space for children to perform their own shows.

With the museum due to close it’s doors on the 11^th May, a three-day Re-Invent Festival is being held from 8^th-10^th May. The festival will feature live performances, a specially commissioned artist installation and drop-in events, that celebrate the current museum before we see the dramatic transformation begin development.