Quick answer
Hull has free museums and parks with animals, plus free days out in Beverley and Hessle. On a wet day, try the four Hull Museums in the city centre. On a dry day, visit East Park, Pickering Park or the Humber Bridge Country Park in Hessle. The Hull Museums close 24 to 28 December and on 1 January. Hull Maritime Museum advises a free timed ticket. Water play in the parks is summer only, and some extras cost money, such as the planetarium show and café food.
Free museums in Hull city centre
These four Hull Museums share the same hours: Monday to Saturday 10am to 4.30pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm. They open on bank holidays except Good Friday, and close 24 to 28 December and on 1 January.
- Streetlife Museum, High Street: a transport museum with a 1940s high street, a static tram and a retro arcade. Entry is free and you do not need to book. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. The car ride costs £1, and the arcade games take 20p or 50p coins. There is no café, and you cannot eat or drink in the museum. On 13 November 2026, a banner said the Streetlife entrance to the Museums Quarter was closed for heat network works. It asked visitors to use the main entrance opposite Chapel Lane. The signal box and the platform above the train have steps only, and parts of the floor are cobbled. The upstairs carriage and bicycle galleries are darker.
- Hull and East Riding Museum, High Street: a life-size woolly mammoth, an Iron Age village and Roman mosaics. Entry is free and you do not need to book. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Some galleries are quite dark, and the visual story says some people might find the skeletons or mannequins scary. Walkways can be narrow, and it can be hard to turn back on the set route. The first displays are up 6 steps or a platform lift. There is no café, but there is an outdoor picnic area in the Museums Quarter Garden.
- Ferens Art Gallery, Queen Victoria Square: paintings to explore, plus Explore Art, a ground floor gallery designed for children aged 0 to 5. Entry is free and you do not need to book. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Most artworks must not be touched, and Explore Art holds real paintings, so stay close to little ones. The café costs extra, with a £7.00 Little Artists Menu.
- Hull Maritime Museum, Queen Victoria Square: whale skeletons, a three-storey atrium and an 8-minute planetarium show. Entry is free. Hull Museums advises booking a free timed ticket, although walk-up entry is available daily. The booking page says late visitors, or those without a ticket, may not be let in. On 13 November 2026, the booking calendar showed no slots from 23 to 27 November, so check before you travel. The planetarium costs £2 for adults and £1.50 for under 16s, sold on the day. It can be quite noisy from 10am to 2pm at busy periods. Outside, the stretch of Carr Lane past the museum is for buses, taxis and bikes only, so keep children close.
A free museum in Beverley
- Champney Treasure House Museum, Beverley: a free museum and art gallery with costumes to try and Baby Art Explorer bags for under 2s. It opens Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.45pm and Saturday 9am to 3.45pm. It is closed on Sundays and bank holidays. The building does host one Sunday event: Christmas in the Collections on 13 December 2026, 11am to 3pm, with a free pop-up display outside the museum. There is a lift between floors and a Changing Places toilet. The café costs extra and closes earlier than the museum. Pay and display parking behind the building is open to visitors on Saturdays only.
Free parks with animals and play
- East Park, Holderness Road: Hull’s largest park, with a free Animal Education Centre, a large play area and a boating lake. The council lists no entry charge. Its provisional table gives park hours of 8am to 4pm for every week ending 8 November to 27 December 2026. The Animal Education Centre opens daily from 10.30am to 3.45pm, with last entry at 3pm. Under 16s must be with an adult there. The water play area opens only in summer. The council page gives no times or prices for the splash boat or swan boats, or whether they run in winter. Keep children close by the lake, the model yacht pond and the waterfall. The council’s East Park page does not mention baby changing.
- Pickering Park, west Hull: a free aviary with African birds, meerkats, porcupines and tortoises, plus a play area. The council pages list no admission charge for the park. Live It Hull lists the aviary as open every day from 10.30am to 3.45pm, with last admission 45 minutes before closing. Live It Hull says school groups get exclusive access during their visits, so ring 01482 300 300 before a weekday trip. The paddling pool opens only in the school summer holidays. The fishing lake is a real hazard for toddlers. The official pages do not mention a café or a car park. On 13 November 2026, the Friends of Pickering Park listed a paid Santa Fun Run in the park on Sunday 6 December.
In both parks, the council says only assistance dogs are welcome in the play areas.
A free country park near Hull
- Humber Bridge Country Park, Hessle: a free nature reserve of woods, meadows, ponds and chalk cliffs, with waymarked nature trails. The council’s Hessle Foreshore record lists free parking for 100 cars along the Foreshore and at the Old Black Mill. Only the Hessle Foreshore entrance is step-free. The upper car parks reach the park by flights of steps. The council asks everyone to keep out of the ponds, and its July 2020 leaflet says not to climb the cliffs. Toilets are listed with no opening hours. The official pages do not mention a café or baby changing. The July 2020 leaflet says the park is open every day, but the current record gives no hours.
Plan your visit: money-saving tips
- Pack a lunch. Streetlife and the Hull and East Riding Museum have no café.
- Bring coins for Streetlife. The car ride costs £1, and the arcade takes 20p and 50p pieces.
- Book the Maritime Museum. A free timed ticket helps you avoid queues.
- Go early in winter. East Park closes at 4pm in the weeks we list. Its Animal Education Centre and the Pickering Park aviary close at 3.45pm.
Frequently asked questions
What can kids do for free in Hull?
Every place in this guide has no entry charge listed. Some extras cost money, such as the planetarium show, the Streetlife car ride and café food.
Is there anything free to do in Hull when it rains?
Yes. The four Hull Museums in the city centre are indoors and free. They close 24 to 28 December and on 1 January.
Where can children see animals for free in Hull?
East Park has a free Animal Education Centre, and Pickering Park has a free aviary. Both open from 10.30am to 3.45pm. East Park’s last entry is 3pm.
Do you need to book Hull’s free museums?
Streetlife, the Hull and East Riding Museum and the Ferens need no booking. Hull Maritime Museum advises a free timed ticket, and walk-up visitors may wait longer at peak times.
Is water play open in Hull’s parks in winter?
No. The council lists water play and paddling pools at East Park and Pickering Park for summer only.
Checked on 13 November 2026 against the official websites, through our Hull venue pages, each checked on 13 November 2026. Prices and opening times change, so check before you travel.
Photo: Hullian111, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).