Tower Bridge brings Victorian innovation to life for families this Easter
tower bridge is opening its doors this Easter with hands-on family activities marking 140 years since construction began in 1886, offering free-with-admission sessions across the attraction on selected dates and times. Families can drop in to Moving Pictures, a hands-on animation workshop inspired by 19th-century phenakistoscopes, at the Learning Space in the South Tower on specified dates from 10: 00–16: 00 ET. The programme combines making, movement and mechanical marvels so children can explore Victorian engineering from top to bottom of the landmark.
Inside Tower Bridge: Moving Pictures and Victorian mechanics
The headline activity, Moving Pictures, invites families to learn how the illusion of motion works and to create a spinning animation featuring the bridge itself, drawing directly on 19th-century toys called phenakistoscopes. Sessions are designed especially for 6–10-year-olds but are open to all children and run as drop-in activities with no booking required on the announced dates. Each participating family receives a Family Activities Pass that offers free entry on any Family Activities Day within the next six months, and all activities are free with standard admission.
Beyond the workshops, visitors can walk the High-Level Walkways and Glass Floors suspended 42 metres above the River Thames for dramatic city views and a birds-eye perspective when the bascules lift to let ships pass — an event that still occurs around 800 times each year. In the atmospheric Victorian Engine Rooms, the original steam engines, coal-fired boilers and hydraulic systems that once powered the bascules remain on display with interactive exhibits, films and oral histories that bring the engineering story to life.
Activities, access and family offers
The Easter Family Activities combine STEAM subjects — science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — with a family-friendly trail inspired by ‘The Tower Bridge Cat’ and its characters. Families can meet the Bridge Master and his team — Hannah the Cook, Poppy the Painter, Stan the Stoker, and identical twins Eddie the Engineer and Olly the Oiler — as they help visitors complete tasks, answer questions and collect stamps to join Bella’s special team. The attraction is accessible and family-friendly, offering interactive trails, monthly Family Activities, Relaxed Openings for neurodiverse visitors, a dog-friendly policy welcoming well-behaved dogs, and guided tours on selected dates.
Practical session details for the Learning Space in the South Tower are set for Tuesday 31 March, Tuesday 7 April and Saturday 11 April 2026, with drop-in hours from 10: 00–16: 00 ET on each day listed.
What families should expect next
Families attending this Easter can expect a mix of drop-in creativity, mechanical demonstrations and panoramic walkway views, with opportunities to return using the Family Activities Pass on future Family Activities Days within six months. Events and visits will continue to connect children with the Victorian engineering that shaped the Bridge and the city, and visitors should plan around the published Learning Space sessions and the 10: 00–16: 00 ET drop-in hours when arranging their trip to tower bridge.
