Young V&A museum to reopen after £13m upgrade

The Victoria and Albert museum dedicated to children and young people will reopen to the public on 1 July, following a three-year closure and £13m refurbishment.

Young V&A – formerly known as the V&A Museum of Childhood – features over 2,000 objects dating from 2300BC to the present day. They are displayed across three new galleries: Design, Imagination and Play.

The range of different zones include an open design studio, a games design space for teenagers and an interactive Minecraft installation in the Play zone.

The museum, located in Bethnal Green, caters for children aged up to 14 and could help to fill the gaps in state school cultural provisions, said Tristram Hunt, the V&A’s Director.

“The V&A believes in the transformative power of creativity, and it’s critical we work to support and develop the next creative generation,” he said.

“The optimistic and transformative power of creativity radiates through Young V&A and we cannot wait to unleash it upon our teenagers to toddlers.”

The museum is free to enter and will run a programme of events and themed exhibitions throughout the year, beginning in October with an exploration of the influence of Japanese history and folklore on popular culture, technology and design.