It’s always great to find something a little different to do with children; a special day out that they will enjoy and remember. Using the latest technology, these immersive experiences in London create digital and real life adventures that all ages will love.
Take part in thrilling challenges in escape rooms, hop around a life-sized game of Monopoly trying to purchase property, or become part of a classic TV show: these are some of the best immersive experiences in London for children and families.
1. Monopoly Lifesized
Nothing beats a good board game – except maybe a giant one where you’re on the board. Taking it to another level, Monopoly Lifesized is an immersive edition of the family favourite played on a 15m x 15m board, featuring all the well-known properties, stations and features of the tabletop version. Each board can host between eight and 24 people split into four teams, but this giant-sized game covers much more than just the board. Every property has a full-sized, location-specific room behind it that players enter to participate in a challenge to secure that particular location: from mental puzzles to physical trials, each featuring a historical or present day reference to London. Add in music and flashing lights and this 80-minute game is a fun-packed assault on the senses. Look out for the nod towards the classic Monopoly game board pieces such as the Scottie Dog, Boot and Racing Car.
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2. Frameless
Imagine standing inside a famous work of art, seeing it from all angles. This is the magical experience on offer at Frameless. With an ever-changing canvas, London’s first permanent immersive arts experience opened its doors in October 2022 and has be thrilling guests ever since, with spectacular giant displays featuring iconic masterpieces from some of the world’s greatest artists including Cézanne, Kandinsky, Monet, Dali, Van Gogh, Canaletto, Rembrandt and Klimt. Four distinct galleries bring their work to life with floor-to-ceiling projections that visitors can walk through. As marvellously visual as it is, there’s also plenty to listen to as well with music accompanying the art work. Plus, you’ll find information on the work displayed – artists, curation, music and more – in the Crossing Gallery, just before you enter each space and QR codes as you move through the galleries. This is not a stuffy museum: children are free to explore and there is plenty of space to move around. If you visit when the gallery is not busy you will be allowed to take a pushchair inside, otherwise you must leave it at the buggy store.
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3. The Paddington Bear Experience
One of the most exciting immersive experiences for children is set to open in London later this year. The Paddington Bear Experience will run at the former LCC County Hall building on the city’s South Bank. The creators are keeping the exact details of what the famous bear will be getting up to under fairly tight wraps at the moment, but it’s sure to involve lots of interactive fun and larks that little visitors will love taking part in. So far we know that the experience will include embarking ‘on a mission to help Paddington and the Brown family prepare for a very special day’ and that ‘this multi-sensory experience incorporates ground-breaking design, live performance and video’. It’s sure to be hugely popular, so head to the website to sign up for priority access and snap up some tickets as soon as they are released.
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4. BBC Earth Experience
This is the must see immersive experience for children in London. An audio-visual, virtual journey through the natural world, it highlights the extraordinary diversity of the seven unique continents including a huge variety of animal and plant species, all with narration from the legendary Sir David Attenborough. From flying over mountain tops, forests and lakes, to panoramic views of jungles and savannahs, the BBC Earth Experience showcases awe-inspiring footage on an epic scale across multiple multi-angle digital screens. Get up close to tiny insects and prides of lions, or dive with underwater creatures as you travel around the world discovering different habitats. The whole experience takes approximately an hour, but you can stay for longer, and children are encouraged to roam around and explore. Housed in The Dalkin Centre at Earl’s Court this attraction has only been open for a few months but has already become a firm favourite with families. Under threes go free but you can’t take a buggy into the main exhibition.
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5. The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience
Today’s youngsters will not remember the thrill of watching contestants battle through challenges on the hit nineties’ TV show The Crystal Maze, but now they can go one better and actually take part in the show themselves. Just as in the show, the goal is to get as much time in The Crystal Dome and score as many points as you can by visiting four different zones – Industrial, Futuristic, Mediaeval and Aztec – to solve mysteries and tackle mental and physical challenges against the clock. The more challenges you complete successfully, the more Crystals you win, and the more time you’ll have to grab tokens in the Dome. Children aged nine and over can join the fun and each team has a fully trained Maze Master who will tailor the challenges to the requirements of the team, ensuring it’s suitable for youngsters. Based in Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West End, this is a completely immersive, interactive and oh-so-fun activity to enjoy as a family.
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6. Dopamine Land
This multi-sensory experience combines media, technology and play in one place. Made up of 11 different rooms, the aim is to create a physical and emotional response to different environments in a really fun and engaging way, and to trigger the happiness hormone, dopamine – hence the name. There’s a room filled with bags of popcorn, a giant ball pit, an interactive light room with surfaces that illuminate up at your touch, and even a graffiti room where visitors can draw on the walls. A feast for all the senses. The experience lasts between 35 and 55 minutes and all ages are welcome but children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. A maximum of eight guests can enter at one time within their 15 min session time but private or large group sessions are available on request – and it would be a great place to host a child’s party.
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7. Enigma Quests Escape Rooms
Set your children a super-fun challenge with one of Enigma Quests’ Escape Room experiences. Fully immersive and incredibly exciting, transport your family to one of three different sets: a daring bank heist, a submarine in trouble on the ocean floor, or a school for witches and wizards inspired by the adventures of Harry Potter. The aim of the game is to complete the challenge in an allocated time – usually an hour – with a range of puzzles and quests to fulfil in order to unlock the room and ‘save the day’. The rooms are so well designed that youngsters will truly feel like their mission is real. This is a great family day out that kids of all ages can join in with, though it’s ideally suited to those aged nine and above. Sessions are available seven days a week for teams of three or five people at the company’s base in Shoreditch.
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