💷 Free entry
Pitt Rivers Museum
Atmospheric ethnographic museum in Oxford, packed with objects from cultures across the world.
✦ We visited
Borrow a torch and let older children loose on the cases, the shrunken heads are the most asked-about object. It is dark and dense, so very young ones may prefer the dinosaurs next door.
The Pitt Rivers Museum, reached through the back of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, is one of the most atmospheric museums in the country. Crammed into dimly lit cases are tens of thousands of objects from cultures across the world, arranged by type rather than place, so a single case might hold instruments, masks, toys or boats from every continent. It is dark, dense and quietly thrilling.
For families it is a treasure hunt of curiosities, with torches available to peer into the cases, family trails and the famous shrunken heads that older children make a beeline for. The sheer density of strange and beautiful objects rewards close looking, and the free entry means you can dip in and out. It pairs perfectly with the dinosaurs in the museum you walk through to reach it.
It suits primary-age children and older more than toddlers, who can find the dim, busy cases overwhelming. Borrow a torch at the desk and let curious children explore at their own pace.
Good for: history, rainy-day, sensory. Ages: 5–7, 8–11, 12+.
Good to know
Is the Pitt Rivers Museum free?
Yes, entry is free, with donations welcome.
How do you get into the Pitt Rivers Museum?
You reach it through the back of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on the same site.
Is the Pitt Rivers Museum good for young children?
It suits primary-age children and older, as the dim, densely packed cases can overwhelm toddlers.