This October half term, face the facts behind your fears.
Designed for children and their curious grown-ups, Freaky Phobias is a light-hearted – but still spooky – look into the things that keep us up at night.
Why do spiders make us shiver? Why do clowns give us the creeps? And why does our heart race when the lights go out? Discover what fear does to our bodies – and how we can overcome it.
Thackray Science Live: The Fear Factor
Daily | 11:30am, 12:30pm & 1:30pm | Free with museum entry
Our resident Boffins are back with a spine-tingling science show. Discover why we get scared, what fear does to our bodies, and clever ways to face our phobias.
Hands-on Eye Dissections
Friday 31 October | 10:30am & 2:30pm | Age 7+ | Ticket link TBA
Did you know that the eye has approximately 2 million working parts? Learn to identify just a few and get up close to the inner workings of this fascinating body part, as you dissect a real eye* with the help of our team.
*Non-human! Please note that this workshop uses animal products.
Craft: Sleepy Dream Pillows
Daily | 10am–4pm | Free with museum entry
Mix soothing herbs like lavender and chamomile to make your very own sleep pillow — the perfect potion to ward off those bedtime jitters.
Family Trail: Find Your Phobias
Daily | 10am–4pm | Free with museum entry
Spiders, snakes, needles and more… can you match each fear to its phobia? Complete the spooky trail around the galleries and claim a Halloween prize.
Circus Skills with Rosie the Clown
Dates TBC | Free with museum entry (bookable)
How can juggling help us overcome our fears? Meet Rosie, who works using juggling, balancing and circus games to entertain children in hospitals.
Story & Rhyme Time: Afraid of the Dark
Wednesday 29 October | 10:30am | Under 5s | Pre-book here
Enjoy a spookily special Story and Rhyme Time session. Help Wise Eyes the owl conquer his fear of the dark with mindful exercises, nightlights, stories, and songs.
Under-5s Explorer Bag: Counting Sheep
Daily | 10am–4pm | Free with museum entry
Put on your sheep headband and see how many woolly friends you can find hidden around the museum. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep… zzzz.
From poo to poison, Thackray Museum uses creativity and play to explore a different medical theme every school holiday.
Hungry for more? Grab your Family Membership and enjoy a year’s worth of school holiday activities for free.
Thackray Museum of Medicine
Beckett Street
Leeds
LS9 7LN
United Kingdom
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53.8081998, -1.5186772
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Tickets
Access
Access to the museum
We want everyone to enjoy the museum. It is fully wheelchair and buggy accessible, entry is free for essential companions, and we welcome assistance dogs (and our team are more than happy to arrange a bowl of water for hard-working thirsty dogs – please just ask).
The museum offers quiet openings on the last Sunday of each month from 10am–11am when the lights will be up and the sounds down. You can download a copy of our gallery map, which includes some sensory information and other details here.
You can find more accessibility information by visiting our guide hosted on
Visit Britain’s website.
You can also download the PDF version of the guide.
Gallery Audio Description and BSL
Dressing Disability
Dressing Disability is a display exploring relationships between fashion and disability, which can be found on the first floor of the museum.
Audio description and British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation is provided here to help make the Dressing Disability display as accessible and welcoming as possible.
