Family fun at The Mary Rose | The Mary Rose
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Families at The Mary Rose

Bring your crew to meet ours this Easter!

Easter ActivitiesInformation for Grown-UpsBuy tickets!

"Brilliant all round. Kids loved it."

Tripadvisor

Mary Rose Family

Discover life in 1545 with real Tudor objects, ranging from cannons to nit combs, recovered from Henry VIII's favourite ship, the Mary Rose! 

From handling tables and interactive displays to our amazing light show that brings the ship to life, not to mention our great activities, there's something for children of all ages at The Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The Mary Rose isn't just an ship, it's a time capsule, preserving life in Tudor England. 500 years is just a heartbeat away from a great family day out.

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Mother and Son on Top Deck
Trail Booklet
Prepare for adventure!

Experience the Mary Rose’s miraculous story in a whole new way with a new interactive trail for families.

Based on the book "You wouldn't want to sail on the Mary Rose", this trail book is packed with activities to do both in the museum and after your visit! 

Discover more!
Downloads For Families
Can't make it to Portsmouth?

There's no reason to miss out, download our worksheets and models and experience some of the world of the Mary Rose at home!

Things to Make and Do

What's On this Easter?

Dive the Mary Rose 4D

OPENING 31st MARCH

10am-4pm

Dive into the untold story of the finding, excavation and recovery of the Mary Rose in our new immersive 4D cinema experience, brought to life with a combination of archive footage and CGI, as well as multi-sensory features including sounds, smells, bubbles wind and movement. 

Find out more
Easter Colouring competition

1st - 8th April 2023

10am-4pm

Complete a Mary Rose Diver colouring in sheet to take part! Children can collect a competition colouring sheet inside the museum, create their image of a Mary Rose Diver and hand in at reception to enter the competition. 

We ask for a recommended donation of £1 for each entry. 

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Divers’ Hands-on Experience

1st - 16th April 2023

10am-4pm

This Easter, discover the equipment the dive team excavating The Mary Rose wreck site used to uncover the ship and her many thousands of fascinating Tudor objects. 

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Divers Carry Bag - Show and Tell Experience

1st - 16th April 2023

10am-4pm

This Easter, take a look inside an original divers’ bag and uncover fascinating facts about the equipment used to dig up the Mary Rose!

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Mary Rose Museum Tour - Diver's Stories

1st - 16th April 2023

10am-4pm

  • Adults: £15.00
  • Child: £5.00

A brand new tour experience running for a limited time only…

Make your visit even more memorable this Easter by booking a place onto one of our Diver’s Stories, Mary Rose Museum Tours. 

This tour goes beyond your average visit and takes visitors through the main and lower decks of the museum, led by an expert guide. Learn how a team of over 500 dedicated divers, both professional and amateur, dedicated years to the recovery, excavation and salvage of The Mary Rose and over 4,000 of her artefacts.

Please Note: All tours are an add on to your existing attraction ticket, please ensure you also have a ticket to gain access to the museum. You are unable to gain entry to the site or museum without an attraction ticket. 

Tours run at 11am and 2pm - book your place now! 

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This is just one of the exciting activities and events we have this year.

Find out more on our events page!

More upcoming events
Information for Grown-Ups
Opening TimesHow to find usBuy tickets
The Mary Rose in 1983
The Mary Rose in 1999
The Mary Rose in 2013
The Mary Rose Today
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE MARY ROSE

If you visited the Mary Rose on a school trip in the 80s, 90s or early 2000s you may have memories either getting wet or trying to look through misted-up windows at what you could just about make out as a Tudor warship.

We've changed a lot since then, The sprays were turned off in 2013, the ship and her objects are now in a state-of-the-art museum and the ship is easier to see and understand, with new displays, lights and sounds!

Book your tickets today!

VISITING

Please be aware that for the safety of our visitors we have a 100% bag search policy. All bags, buggies and mobility scooters must be kept with you at all times.

The historic dockyard site and the museum itself are fully accessible to buggies and pushchairs, and the museum has baby changing facilities. Lifts are available to move along the visitor route.

FOOD

Although eating and drinking are not allowed inside the museum itself, the Mary Rose café offers a wide range of hot and cold drinks, as well as freshly made food.

The café has highchairs available and staff will be happy to warm bottles for baby feeding.

Nursing is permitted throughout the museum.

Find out more

LIGHTING

The lighting within The Mary Rose is kept low to create a stunning atmosphere and display, as well as helping protect the delicate collection of objects within the gallery showcases.

For visitors with visual impairment or autism, relaxed opening mornings are held monthly. More information can be found at the link below.

Relaxed opening

Blue Peter badges

The Mary Rose Museum is one of over 200 attractions around the UK that Blue Peter badge holders can get into for free. 

To gain free entry, each child (under 16s only) must have a badge and valid badge card and free entry is only available when a full paying Ultimate Explorer ticket is purchased (adult or concession). Not available online or with any other discount or special offer. Excludes special ticketed events. Blue Peter Badge must be produced at time of purchase. Tickets must be purchased from the Visitor Centre, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard only. Please note walk up tickets are more expensive than tickets purchased online

Find out more on the Blue Peter website.

More information about visiting the museum

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Maps and trails

We have a number of useful maps, trails and other downloads that can help enhance your visit to the Mary Rose.

Maps and Trails
If you have any further questions about visiting The Mary Rose please do not hesitate to contact us.

+44 (0) 23 9281 2931

The Mary Rose
Main Road
Portsmouth
PO1 3PY

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Kids In Museums Manifesto Logo
We're signed up to the Kids in Museums manifesto, which means we strive to make everyone feel welcome to the museum.

What is the Kids in Museums Manifesto?

Our Manifesto is a set of simple guidelines for museums created with children, young people and families. It sets out what they feel makes a museum a great place to visit.