Royal Air Force Museum

Royal Air Force Museum
Grahame Park Way
Colindale
London
Greater London
NW9 5LL
England

Website

www.rafmuseum.org/london

E-mail

Telephone

Main Switchboard Number

020 8205 2266

Fax

020 8200 1751

All information is drawn or provided by the venues themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

Wing your way over to a wonderful collection of aircraft, interactives, medals, uniforms, film shows and memorabilia on display and trace the story of the RAF and aviation itself.

Visit the awe-inspiring sound and light show that takes you back in time to the Battle of Britain. The Aeronauts Interactive Centre offers hands-on entertainment and education for all ages and includes cockpit controls, co-ordination tests, engine lifting, air speed, drop zone, pilot testing and more.

New for 2011, take your visit to the next dimension by entering the Museum's 4D Theatre and discover how it feels to glide amongst the clouds. Don't forget to explore the Grahame-White Watch Office, the museum's latest permanent exhibition, which will transport you back to the pioneering days of flight at Hendon during the Edwardian period.

The onsite museum shop is packed with models, toys and gift items as well as exclusive magazines, books and videos. There is also a cafe and licensed restaurant and picnic area to take care of catering needs. Pay and Display Parking available.

A FREE, fun and fantastic day out for everyone.

Venue Type:

Museum, Library, Gallery, Heritage site

Opening hours

Daily 1000-1800
Open Bank holidays except Christmas Period

Closed: 24 - 26 December, 1 January and between 9 - 13 January 2012

Admission charges

Admission is FREE to the Museum. A responsible adult must accompany children under 16 at all times. Please note, the museum now levies a small car-parking charge for vehicles. This is £2.50 per vehicle for a stay of up to 3 hours and £3.50 per vehicle for a stay of up to 6 hours.

Getting there

If you’re travelling to the Museum by road, the Museum is signposted within easy reach of the A5, A41, M1 (junction 4 southbound) and North Circular A406 roads. Just follow the brown and white tourist signs.

If you’re using SatNav please input our road name, “Grahame Park Way” not our postcode, as this has been incorrectly indexed on some systems. If your system will not accept Grahame Park Way, please enter the postcode NW9 5QW. This will direct you to the small industrial estate next to the Museum.

If you’re visiting the Museum by public transport please take the Edgware Branch of the Northern Line to Colindale tube station, the Museum is only a short walk along Grahame Park Way.

Alternatively, you can take the Thames Link to Mill Hill Broadway, and catch bus number 303 to the Museum, which also runs from outside Colindale Tube Station. This service will drop you directly outside the Museum's main gates.

Additional info

Research Department open to the public by appointment only. Please contact the Department in the first instance to arrange an appointment to meet with a curator.

Collection details

Archives, Aviation, Costume and Textiles, Personalities, Science and Technology, Social History, Weapons and War

Exhibition details are listed below, you may need to scroll down to see them all.

Fresh Air

21 May 2012 — 31 May 2013 *on now

Over the last decade David Bent’s modern and distinctive style of aviation art has won a plethora of devoted fans including the Red Arrows, with whom he has collaborated as Artist in Residence.

Considered as challenging, thought provoking and innovative, David’s works combine art with technology and compel the viewer to stop and take notice.

Each composition demands time for re-examination as details, previously hidden when first viewed are revealed anew forcing multiple re-interpretations of the paintings seen.

Big, bold and captivating - whether wittily subverting the destructive power of nuclear arms race, celebrating the sheer joy of pilots in flight or enticing the viewer to work out the hidden imagery contained within his works - David Bent’s style is considered by many to be a breath of fresh air for aviation art.

Suitable for

Any age

Where

The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to Fresh Air is free of charge.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whatson/event.cfm?event_id=536&title=Fresh-Air

Airfix - Making History

1 June — 31 December 2013

The Royal Air Force Museum London will be launching in Summer 2013 a signature exhibition commemorating and celebrating the national institution that is Airfix.

This exhibition will chart the history of this Great British Institution by displaying original Box Art as well as Airfix’s most popular models from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s in the Museum’s Art Gallery.

An important part of the exhibition will be the examination of how Airfix has permeated the social fabric of the United Kingdom and how it has influenced the leisure activities of generations of young men and women since the company’s foundation - inspiring many to take up their own careers in the aviation industry.

1st and 2nd of June Only

To celebrate the launch of this exhibition we will be giving all our visitors aged 8 and above the opportunity to make and take home for free their own 1:72 scale model of an Airfix Hurricane. Craft sessions will be from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4.

Please note : Any children wishing to participate in this experience must be accompanied at all times by a responsible adult who can assist them if necessary. Whilst paints used to decorate the models are water-based we can not guarantee that the paint will wash out of all clothing types, therefore we would ask that children are supervised through out this experience by an adult that is known to them. The Museum accepts no responsibility for any damaged caused to clothing during the course of this experience.

Suitable for

Any age

Admission

Free Entry

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whats-going-on/events/airfix-making-history/

Events details are listed below. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all. For events that don't have a specific date see the 'Resources' tab above.

Search and Rescue Week

27 — 31 May 2013

Enjoy this Half Term break by being rescued at the Royal Air Force Museum!

In this free, family activity visitors are invited to climb aboard an RAF life-raft and learn how to survive at sea without ever leaving the safety of dry land. The RAF’s role in mounting Search and Rescue operations in hazardous conditions will be highlighted and there will be the opportunity to get hands-on experience of life-saving kit.

The activity runs continuously from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm and from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm Monday to Friday and is based by the Dermot Boyle Wing in the Historic Hangars.

For further information, please telephone 020 8358 4896.

Suitable for

Family friendly

Battle of Britain Weekend

14 — 15 September 2013

The Museum's annual pageant commemorating Veterans of the Battle of Britain inclusive of talks, tours, tableaux and concerts.

Elements that have been confirmed for the weekend are as follows:

Concerts of music inspired by the Royal Air Force underneath the Museum's Lancaster in Bomber Hall at 12:30 and 2:30 pm.

Informal tours of the Museum's Battle of Britain Hall with one of our experts at 11.15 am, 1.15 pm and 3.15 pm

Screening of the classic film 'Battle of Britain' in the Museum's lecture theatre on the Sunday afternoon at 3pm.

Scramble re-enactments of the Museum's helipad, subject to weather conditions, based on events taking place at RAF Hendon on 15th of September 1940 at 11.30 am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30 pm.

Archive film footage taken from summer 1940 on display in the Museum's lecture theatre together with news reels from the period - 10:30am to 12 noon.

More details to follow soon.