Kids in Museums Takeover Day

There are so many interesting museum roles out there: curators, press officers, tour guides, conservators and more - but there isn't often the opportunity for children to get up close and personal with museum life, even if you frequently take them to exhibitions.

Charity Kids in Museums wants to make sure kids can fully immerse themselves in museum life, for a day at least. On Takeover Day, November 22, libraries, archives, galleries, historic homes and museums invite youngsters from the toddler years and up to take over museum jobs normally done by adults (about 160 heritage sites and over 5,500 children took part in last year's event, at venues across the country).

Children also get to participate in co-curating exhibitions and events like gigs and sleepovers, creating shop merchandise, hosting learning workshops for other kids and getting stuck in working as museum cleaners or behind the tills at gift shops.

Curating at Burgh House & Hampstead Museum. Photo: Jayne Lloyd, Kids in Museums

Teens can get involved even sooner: Teen Digital Takeover Day takes place on August 16th, where teens get the opportunity to take over a range of social media platforms for different museums and heritage sites. Finally, a benefit to those endless hours they spend creating Instagram Stories...

Kids in Museums has been running Takeover Day since 2010 and is supported by Arts Council England.

Watch this space to see which museums are participating and for info on any events happening in London on the day - even if your child isn't the one in charge, think how happy they'll be to see another five-year-old doing the job.