The Army Museum & Play Base (A Secret Soft Play in Chelsea, London
London has so many great family-friendly museums. One that we’d never heard of before moving here, is the National Army Museum in London, and it was surprisingly great for little kids! Who knew there was a soft play in Chelsea? I didn’t!
We enjoyed the free museum and also the Play Base soft play which is a paid area. So, here is our reveiw of the National Army Museum in London for little kids and everything you need to know before visitng.
For reference, my boys were 4.5 years old and 16 months at the time of our first visit here and we have been a few times since!
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Good To Know Before You Visit The National Army Museum
Getting There
You’ll find The National Army Museum located in the beautiful area of Chelsea. The address is National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 4HT.
The closest tube station is Sloane Square (just a 10-minute walk), however, this is not an accessible station. If you have a pushchair (stroller), be prepared for escalators and around 50 steps.
London Victoria Station is the closest accessible option. It’s a 20-minute walk and it is a beautiful walk, so I’d recommend doing that!
How to get Tickets for the National Army Museum in London
This museum is completely FREE to visit and there’s no need to book in advance.
The play space costs £6.50 per child, with a £1 booking fee if you buy online. It sometimes gets fully booked, especially on weekends, so do book in advance to avoid disappointment. I’ve linked the Play Base website here.
Note: the museum is closed on Mondays, but Play Base soft play still runs two sessions.
Accessibility
The museum is very spacious and accessible for pushchairs. This museum is generally a lot quieter than some of London’s other museums, making it easier to manage two children on my own there.
Some of the baby-changing toilets weren’t large enough to fit the pushchair in and one didn’t have an adult toilet, which was slightly annoying for a mum on her own with two kids! However, overall, this museum is very pushchair/ toddler friendly!
Eating at the National Army Museum:
The museum has its own cafe offering a range of meals and tea/ coffee and cakes. Alternatively, there are some benches you can use if you’d like to eat your own picnic.
Review of the National Army Museum for Little Kids
If your kids love planes, trucks and tanks, then they’ll be happy here! As you enter, there’s a suspended helicopter hanging in the centre which kids will love to see. You’ll also get a good view of it from the cafe which is really fun for little kids.
You can pick up a free activity sheet/ treasure hunt from the cart just past the front desk, these are great for keeping older kide engaged throughout the visit. My son started enjoying this type of worksheet at around age 4.
The museum isn’t massive compared to others such as the history or science museums, you probably need 1-2 hours here (excluding the play space.)
The museum recommends you start on the lower level and work your way up. We found that there isn’t much for kids on the lower level, so we just had a quick look there. Floors 2 and 3 were best for kids. There are some kid-friendly activities, including an army tank that kids can go inside.
Of course, the museum focuses on various wars that have taken place throughout history. This led to a lot of questions from my eldest, some of which were difficult for me to answer! MUM TIP: tell them to ask Daddy when they get home!
There are plenty of other hands on activities around the National Army Museum that are perfect for young kids, such a dress up, interactive games and a craft activity.
Review of Play Base at the National Army Museum
This space is really great for central London! It has an assault course-style soft play area with a climbing wall, rope bridge and slide. They also have a small soft area for babies.
Along with the soft play, there’s a roll play area. Here you’ll find, dress-up items, a large kitchen and an army tank you can ‘drive.’ In my opinion, this area could be improved, for example, the kitchen has a small amount of food and a few plates but no pots and pans. They also have a lot of army-related items in boxes that children can look at but not play with.
COST: as I mentioned above, this play space costs £6.50 per child plus a £1 booking fee if you book online. This is for a 1 hour play session.
Adults are free, however, on their website, it says only 1 adult is allowed with two children and 2 adults with 3-4 children. On the day we visited, we were the only ones in the play space, so I’m sure they would be flexible on the number of adults if they’re not fully booked.
They also don’t usually allow photography. Again, as we were the only ones there, they were happy for me to take photos!
Thank you so much for reading our guide on the National Army Museum in London. I hope we’ve inspired your trip. We’ve lived in London for 6 months now and have written lots of family-friendly guides. Don’t forget to check them out!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
6 LONDON MUSEUMS WITH GREAT KIDS PLAY SPACES
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Happy Exploring,
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