Culture Crawler: 10 Babe-Friendly Exhibitions in London this Spring

Our pick of major shows and exhibitions at museums, galleries and arts spaces in London that are cool to visit with babies, toddlers and kids of any age.

1. Looking in Wonderland at Arts Depot, 5 Nether St, Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley, N12 (West Finchley tube)
Catch a kids’ show at Arts Depot, then visit the Apthorp Gallery to see original engravings and illustrations from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 12-4pm, FREE (until Mar 22)

2. David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture at Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, W1 (Piccadilly Circus tube)
The must-see show of the season explores Hockney’s fascination with landscape in various media including his famous iPad drawings. Big, bold and colourful – perfect for little eyes and imaginations. Sun-Thu (10am-6pm), Fri (10am-midnight), Sat (9am-midnight); adult £14/ages 12-18 £4/ages 8-11 £3/under 7s FREE. NB: Advance tickets sold out, limited tickets available on day. (until Apr 9)

3. Quentin Blake: As Large as Life at Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, WC1 (Russell Square tube)
An exhibition of 60 works created for hospitals by the Roald Dahl illustrator, features creatures from the Planet Zog, mums meeting babies for the first time underwater and more quirky treasures. There’s even an iPad app! Tue-Sat (10am-5pm), Sun (11am-5pm), adult £7.50/under 12s FREE (until Apr 15)

4. Crib Notes: Gillian Wearing at Whitechapel Gallery, 77-81 Whitechapel High St, E1 (Aldgate East tube)
In a special event for parents and carers of infants, curator Daniel F. Herrmann leads a relaxed viewing and discussion of the Gillian Wearing exhibition. Babes in arms welcome. 10am, £8.50/babies FREE (May 2)

5. Cathie Pilkington: The Value of the Paw at V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Rd, E2 (Bethnal Green tube)
The sculptor borrows ideas from many of the toys on display to recast figures from popular fairytales alongside her own strange creatures. 10am-5.45pm, FREE (until May 7)

6. David Shrigley: Brain Activity at Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 (Waterloo tube)
Known for his wry, observational humour, Shrigley’s range of art works shown here include sculpture, paintings, animations, music and more. Some dark stuff, but plenty to tickle the little ones also. 10am-6pm daily/late nights until 8pm (Thu-Fri); £11.75 incl. booking fee/under 12s FREE (until May 13)

7. Lucien Freud at National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s Place, WC2 (Charing Cross tube)
This huge retrospective is a hot ticket so try booking for later in the run (April/May), unless you can stomach queueing for dailies. The NPG hosts regular family events and is a great place to visit with babies, since they’re mesmerised by faces. NB: The Freud show contains full-frontal nudes, in case that sort of thing unsettles you. 10am-6pm (Sat-Wed), 10am-9pm (Thu-Fri) £14/under 12 FREE (until May 27)

8. Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 (Southwark tube)
Explore the artist’s frenzied dot patterns then unleash the kids in the Obliteration Room (until Mar 18) where they can use stickers to ‘redecorate’ the walls and floors, inspired by Kusama’s works. 10am-6pm (Sun-Thu), 10am-10pm (Fri-Sat); £10/under 12s FREE (until Jun 5)

9. Picasso and Modern British Art at Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1 (Pimlico tube)
Hop on the Tate to Tate boat trip to check out another of this year’s major shows, tracing the journey of Picasso and artists he influenced including Francis Bacon and David Hockney. 10am-6pm daily, adult £14/under 12s FREE (until Jul 15)

Coming Soon

10. Christian Louboutin at Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 (Tower Hill tube)
One for the haute mamas, the first ever retrospective of the shoe designer features all his objects of lust from lace-up boots to studded sneakers. 10am-1.45pm & 2pm-5.45pm (daily) & evening show 6-9.45pm (Sat); £6-£11. Book early to avoid the crush! (May 1-Jul 9)