Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s lost treasures
Until 1 March 2026 | 10am-5pm | Tickets from £16 | All ages

Explore the hidden world of the mudlarks.
Twice a day, the River Thames dramatically recedes to expose a landscape unknown to most Londoners. Among the mud and the stones, the tides reveal remarkable objects from every era of London’s rich past.

The exhibition features over 350 mudlarked objects, from intimate personal items to historical relics, with many on display for the first time. Step into the shoes of a mudlark and explore the foreshore, uncover artefacts and learn how they identify and curate their personal collections.

The journey ends with a space for reflection on the mysteries of the moon and the tides that make mudlarking possible, leaving visitors with a powerful, contemplative memory of their time uncovering the secrets of the Thames.

Blending archaeology with contemporary art and digital experiences, Secrets of the Thames offers fresh perspectives on London and all its people – past and present.
What will you discover?

Arty exploration: The works of Luke Jerram
14 Sep 2025 | 1.30pm – 4.30pm | FREE | All ages

Be inspired by the artworks of Luke Jerram, whose sculpture The Moon features in our Secrets of the Thames exhibition. Find out more about his sculptures focused on light and time and create your own artwork in this sensory collage activity.

The Oyster
11, 18, 24 Sep and 2 Oct 2025 | 1pm – 5pm | FREE | All ages

The global, sprawling city of London is intimately connected with a small, unassuming organism: the oyster.
From food source to climate mitigation, oysters have played a key role in not only waterway ecosystems, but in our imaginations. It’s inspired Shakespeare’s famous epithet along with the creation of TFL’s Oyster cards.
Taking inspiration from London Museum’s collection alongside independent research and creative practice, this display explores the historical, cultural and environmental significance of the oyster in London’s waterways.
Boats Brings Bonds is a curatorial project created by students from UCL. Our names are Ailin, Yuxin, Yufei, Shuwan, Starry and Eva. We are interested in the past, present and future of London’s waterways. We work to centre compassion through co-production and collaborations through creativity.

Please note, this event takes place at London Museum Studios, First Floor, Studio Smithfield, 1 East Poultry Avenue, EC1A 9PT.

Traces
15, 22, 29 Oct, and 5 Nov 2025 | 1pm – 5pm | FREE | All ages

A curatorial display using items of lost property that reveal personal stories of London’s bus users.
Every day, thousands of Londoners hop on and off the bus on a journey. Who are they? Where are they going? What are they leaving behind? The traces of their forgotten objects tell us unforgettable stories. We invite you to reflect on the unseen moments of care, connection and humanity that unfold every day on London’s buses – where even the smallest gestures can leave a lasting impact.
Traces is a curatorial project created by students from UCL, aiming to explore personal narratives, community co-curation and human connections.

Special events:

Mudlarking weekend (series)
27 – 28 Sep 2025 | Various times | From FREE | All ages

Join us for a discovery-filled weekend as we celebrate the world of mudlarking in all its muddy glory, with expert talks, a free-to-visit object showcase with mudlarks and their fascinating collections, and much more. Experience the thrill of holding history in your hands. Explore the playful spirit of Londoners through toys and miniatures uncovered along the Thames foreshore.
Discover the long-lost tools once used by those who lived and worked beside the river, and learn about the vital role the Portable Antiquities Scheme plays in documenting archaeological finds made by the public. While you’re here, don’t miss Secrets of the Thames, the UK’s first-ever exhibition dedicated to mudlarking.
Mudlarking weekend is part of the Totally Thames Festival celebrations.

Includes:

Mudlarking showcase
27 – 28 Sep 2025 | 10am – 5pm | FREE | All ages

A showcase of London’s forgotten objects discovered on the Thames’ foreshore.
Come and see thousands of historic artefacts recovered from the riverbed and meet the mudlarks who found them. In this interactive showcase, you’ll hear the intriguing backstories about the artefacts on display in the museum. Each object reveals a unique story about the people who once lived and worked in London’s Docklands. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hold history in your hands and talk to the mudlarks who discovered the ancient artefacts. A wide variety of interactive, river-related arts and crafts activities will be offered by mudlark artists. You’ll also have the chance to explore the museum by following a mudlarking trail.

Toys from the Thames
27 – 28 Sep 2025 | 2pm – 3pm | From £12 | All ages

Delve into the playful side of Londoners through rediscovered toy treasures in this lecture from Hazel Forsyth, Senior Curator at London Museum.
London Museum holds the largest collection of medieval and early modern base-metal toys and miniatures in the world – almost all recovered by mudlarks.
In this lecture, Hazel Forsyth, Senior Curator at London Museum and author of Toys, Trifles & Trinkets, will consider how the toys were found, made and used and who they were intended for. Whether they were playthings for children or novelties for adults, they all offer fascinating insights on the cultural life of London and Londoners.

Mudlarking alchemy
27 – 28 Sep 2025 | 11am – 12pm | From £12 | All ages

Join mudlark Monika Buttling-Smith as she reveals tools uncovered from the Thames foreshore – objects that offer a powerful connection to London’s long-lost riverside workers.
For centuries, blacksmiths have worked iron into practical items that have helped Londoners thrive.
When these were lost or discarded in the Thames, the anaerobic river mud enveloped the tools and protected them from the oxygen that would have otherwise allowed them to rust away.
In this lecture, Buttling-Smith will share tools she’s discovered that tell the stories of the countless dockworkers and people who lived and worked along the river centuries ago.

Moonlit masterpieces
14 Sep 2025 | 1.30pm – 4.30pm | FREE | All ages

Join us for a sensory craft session to create a tactile moonscape – and take it home with you.
Be inspired by the moon’s influence on the Thames foreshore, where mudlarks search for lost treasures.
Use different 3D craft materials to decorate your own full moon and recreate the reflection on the sea using different art techniques.
Fun for all ages, skills and abilities.

St Bartholomew’s Hospital patient wellbeing day
23 Oct 2025 | 10.45am – 3pm | FREE | All ages

Working in partnership, London Museum, Barts Heritage and St Bartholomew’s Cancer and Cardiac teams invite you to a wellbeing day in the historic area of West Smithfield.
You’ll have the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of heritage-based creative health activities, which promote relaxation, restoration and connection.
The St Bartholomew’s Cancer and Cardiac teams will be delivering a prevent and recover programme with expert advice, speakers and workshops designed to support the recovery of body and mind and to contribute to illness prevention in the future.
Engaging with heritage has many positive impacts upon wellbeing, for example:
Connecting with heritage helps us think about our own identity and belonging, giving us a stronger sense of self.
Learning about Londoners from the past improves our empathy and feelings of connection to other people.
Restoration and conservation of objects and stories from our collection speaks to personal care and restoration, and a sense of new beginnings.

Walks & talks:

Designing London Museum at Smithfield
15 Sep 2025 | 6.30pm – 8pm | Tickets from £10 | Adults only

Join us for an unmissable panel discussion with Paul Williams, Asif Khan and Mel Allwood, the architects and designers remodelling Smithfield’s historic market buildings into the new home of London Museum. Discover how this award-winning team is reimagining one of the capital’s most iconic heritage sites, blending bold contemporary design, architectural history with an innovative approach to sustainability, in the heart of the City of London.
Bringing his unique insight to the conversation, architecture critic and former Design Museum director Emeritus Deyan Sudjic, will offer a critical perspective on the project’s significance for London’s cultural and urban landscape. Alice Black, Governor of London Museum and former co-director of the Design Museum, will host the conversation.
This will be a rare opportunity to explore how design and architecture can transform urban heritage with four of the best minds shaping it.

Post-war Poplar & Call the Midwife
12 Sep 2025 | 1.30pm – 3.30pm | Tickets from £18 | Adults only

A guided walk of Poplar featuring stories and sites connected with the internationally-renowned memoir, Call the Midwife.
Join our guide to explore the history of the streets of Poplar and their connections to Jennifer Worth’s bestselling memoir, Call the Midwife, about her work as a midwife in London’s East End in the 1950s.
Stops include the Lansbury Estate, Poplar High Street, the site of Poplar Workhouse, Chrisp Street Market, All Saints Church and St Frideswide’s Mission House – the very building that inspired “Nonnatus House” in the memoir.
Hear about the local community, as well as the nurses and nuns of the Order of St John Divine who served them.

Wonders of the warehouse tour
13, 14, and 17 Aug 2025 | 1.30pm – 2.15pm | Tickets from £8 | All ages

Our building is one of the last remaining fragments of the old West India Docks. The warehouse was once a hive of activity and stored imports like sugar, rum and tea – eventually closing for business in the 1980s. You’ll have the opportunity to visit some areas not usually open to the public, to learn more about working lives of the dockers who once walked these floors.

In & around Smithfield Market
19 and 28 Sep 2025 | 3pm – 4.30pm | Tickets from £17 | Adults only

Join our guide for a stroll through Smithfield, passing famous landmarks and getting into the fascinating and surprising stories behind them. Delve into the lives of past Londoners and explore the dissolution of the monasteries, the plague and public executions. You’ll also hear stories of William Wallace, Henry VIII and even Sherlock Holmes.
Stops include the Charterhouse, St-Bartholomew-the-Great (one of London’s oldest churches) and of course: the famous meat market. Please note that this is a guided tour of the Smithfield area and does not include a visit to our new museum site.

Caribbean Voices: Shaping Docklands trail
Until 24 Jan 2027 | 10am – 5pm | FREE | All ages

A museum trail shedding light on the Caribbean community’s contributions to London Docklands, created in collaboration with local partners.
This trail highlights the need to reclaim the histories of colonised Caribbean nations, the role of Caribbean produce in shaping Britain, the contributions of Second World War veterans, and the many ways the community has influenced the local area’s past and present.
Pick up your guide on the Third Floor, continue the trail on the Second Floor, and find the six stops that showcase the stories of Caribbean contributions to London Docklands.

Workshops:

How to care for your iron objects
12 Sep 2025 | 2pm – 4pm | From £27.50 | Adults only

Learn some first aid tips on how to look after your mudlarked iron objects from one of our archaeological conservators.
In this workshop, Luisa Duarte ARC will talk about the best ways to look after waterlogged iron objects – whether they’re from the Thames or further afield.
The workshop will involve a presentation on what to do from the moment you find waterlogged iron, how to spot signs of degradation and how to store it to ensure long-term survival.
There’ll also be opportunities to ask questions and to look at storage materials and equipment.
This event is run in partnership with ICON Archaeology Group (Institute of Conservation) and CIFA Finds group (Chartered Institute of Conservation).

How to care for your ivory & bone objects
7 Nov 2025 | 2pm – 4pm | From £27.50 | Adults only

Learn some first aid tips from one of our archaeological conservators on how to look after your wet ivory and bone objects. In this workshop, Luisa Duarte ARC will talk about looking after waterlogged ivory and bone objects – whether from the Thames or further afield.
It will involve a presentation discussing what to do from the moment a waterlogged ivory or bone object is found, some tips on how to identify ivory and how to best store your object to ensure their long-term survival.
There’ll be opportunities to ask questions and get to look at ivory and bone under the microscope to better understand their differences and help identification.
This event is run in partnership with ICON Archaeology Group (Institute of Conservation) and CIFA Finds group (Chartered Institute of Conservation).

Saturdays at the Studios
Until 6 Dec 2025 | Various | FREE | All ages

Free community days every first Saturday of each month with spaces for relaxing, rooms for studying and fun activities for all ages. This August, we’re excited to be hosting our final tangible archive workshop at London Museum Studios, using objects from our collection to inspire your own fabric artwork, including tote bags to take home.
We’re also hosting a free, family play craft workshop this summer, bringing our famous Play Cycles arts, crafts and activities inside for the holidays.
And as always, there’ll be chance to just drop in for a cup of tea and a chat with friends and neighbours in our new community space.

Shell as threshold: Creative writing workshop
9 Sep 2025 | 2pm – 4.30pm | FREE | All ages

Join curatorial collective Boats Brings Bonds and writer Megan Hullander for a creative writing workshop exploring the oyster’s significance in London. 
As a poetic device, oysters filter, absorb and host our metaphors and desires – even our solutions to environmental catastrophe.

Taking artist Astrida Neimanis’ idea of ‘watery commons’ as a starting point, this workshop will use creative writing and mark-making to explore co-existence, kinship and care with the oyster.
We’ll aim to ask: what future worlds can we imagine when we write from the threshold of the oyster’s shell? 
The material generated from this workshop will then form part of a sonic piece, co-created with musical artist Frances Glass.

Notes to Editors

The museum changed its name on 24 July 2024, it is now known as London Museum and London Museum Docklands. This is part of the museum’s transformation as it prepares to move from its old site at London Wall to a new home in Smithfield. For more details, visit: The Vision – Museum of London

High res images available ​Folder icon HERE

About London Museum Docklands
London Museum Docklands is located at West India Quay in east London. Opened in 2003, it occupies one of the few remaining original Grade 1 listed warehouses, built in 1802 to store produce from the West Indies.

A shared place in the heart of the East End, where stories cross and collide, it confidently shows how international trade, migration, enslavement and the river Thames were integral to shaping London and the world we live in today.