This Summer, London will welcome a bold new cultural journey through the ancient world. TIMEWALK, a major new immersive exhibition from DEM Museums, will open at Immerse LDN at Excel Waterfront in July 2026, inviting visitors to explore the rise and fall of human civilisation through spectacular audio and visual storytelling.
Created as an immersive walk-through adventure rather than a traditional gallery display, TIMEWALK brings ancient civilisations roaring back to full scale, restoring their grandeur, atmosphere, and human stories through vivid, multi-sensory environments.
Beginning with Göbeklitepe, the moment humanity moves beyond survival to create ritual, meaning, and collective consciousness, TIMEWALK traces the earliest known chapters of civilisation and follows the echoes of human life across centuries. Göbeklitepe is also recognised as the site of the world’s earliest communal gathering. Visitors will continue through legendary ancient worlds, including Babylon, the emergence of order, urbanisation, and systems of knowledge, Ancient Egypt, the pursuit of immortality and cosmic balance, the Maya, understanding the universe through mathematics, astronomy, and cyclical time, and Rapa Nui, the cultural and spiritual significance of the Moai statues as ancestral and protective figures of the island, encountering these cultures not as distant ruins, but as living places filled with movement, meaning, and memory.
Visitors will become immersed in TIMEWALK, stepping beyond the present and into the shared story of humanity. Civilisations rise around them: cities waking at dawn, temples glowing at night, monuments towering overhead, and daily life unfolding in rich detail.
From sailing the Nile at sunset to passing through ancient city gates of Babylon, TIMEWALK reveals how civilisations built, believed, and belonged, and how their ideas still shape the world we live in today. Moving beyond traditional interpretations to present history at full scale, it offers visitors of all ages a way of connecting with the past that goes far beyond objects and information. Designed to restore the emotional depth and human dimension of ancient civilisations, it enables visitors to experience what it may have felt like to inhabit these remarkable societies.
With breathtaking visual effects, heart-pounding soundscapes, and spellbinding narration, TIMEWALK brings history to life as a living, breathing spectacle that fuses together elements
of space, water, and time. Grounded in archaeological research and brought to the present through cinematic storytelling, it creates a powerful sense of wonder, curiosity, and perspective, offering a multi-sensory journey through ancient civilisations that goes far beyond the limits of a conventional museum setting. A 25-language audio guide will further enhance the experience, making TIMEWALK’s universal story more accessible and inclusive for international visitors.
TIMEWALK is created by DEM Museums, known for pioneering experiential cultural destinations, including the globally awarded Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum and the Ephesus Experience Museum. As DEM expands its work internationally, TIMEWALK represents a major new chapter, bringing the universal story of early civilisation to the heart of London.
Eda Bildiricioglu, CEO of DEM, said: “Ancient civilisations represent an extraordinary heritage that has fundamentally reshaped everything we know about human history. We believe it is a great responsibility to present this heritage to accurately to global audiences.
At DEM Museums, our core mission is storytelling through history. However, we do not do this through conventional methods; we transform it into immersive, multi-sensory experiences through advanced technology. We remind people of what has been forgotten and teach what is unknown.
With 35 years of experience in visual and auditory technologies and having contributed to the realization of 18 museums and cultural complexes, along with earning 15 global awards through the Hagia Sophia and Ephesus Experience Museums, our goal is to bring together the universal narratives of ancient civilisations. By interpreting these through a contemporary storytelling language, we aim to help visitors form deeper and more lasting connections with cultural heritage.”
The exhibition will open at Immerse LDN, London’s next-generation entertainment and culture district, which has welcomed over 1.7 million visitors to date. TIMEWALK will offer the opportunity to explore the ancient world in a fully immersive format in Central London, presenting some of the most influential civilisations in human history as a multi-sensory experience in the heart of the capital.
Damian Norman, Director, Immersive Entertainment Excel London and Immerse LDN, said: “We’re delighted to welcome TIMEWALK to Immerse LDN and to collaborate with the multi award-winning team at DEM Museums, a global leader in technology-driven cultural storytelling. Their unique approach to combining historical research with advanced immersive technologies is redefining how audiences engage with heritage at scale.
Since launching, Immerse LDN has introduced more than 10 groundbreaking immersive experiences to London, selling 1.7 million tickets and further cementing the capital’s reputation as a world-leading destination for immersive entertainment and cultural experiences. TIMEWALK represents another significant step in that journey, bringing a truly world-class cultural experience to the heart of the city.”
Located at Immerse LDN on the Excel London Waterfront, the exhibition is easily accessible via train, London Underground, bus, and car, and is just 12 minutes from Central London on the Elizabeth Line.
General admission ticket prices start from £28.50 and children’s prices from £22.70