The Atkinson
Museums & Science Centres · Southport, Merseyside
Also cinemas & theatre
No reviews yet
Closed — opens Monday at 10am
🏠 Indoor0–11–33–55–88–1212–16🆓 Free entryEducationalSchool holiday activitiesToddler sessions☔ Rainy-day friendly
What’s there
- Café on site
- Baby changing
- Buggy friendly
Access & inclusion
- Changing Places toilet
The Atkinson has no car park of its own. Two Blue Badge bays sit outside on a first come, first served basis, reached via the bollards by Southport Town Hall. On-road pay and display and off-street car parks are nearby; after 6pm there is free on-street parking on Lord Street.
Only facilities we’ve confirmed are listed — anything missing here we simply haven’t checked, rather than know to be absent.
The Atkinson is a Victorian arts centre in the middle of Southport's Lord Street, combining free galleries, a local history museum and an Egyptology room with a theatre, a public library and a café. Families can spend a whole afternoon here without paying for the museum. The local history museum, Between Land and Sea, lets children dress up in historic costume, scan objects with a phone and send a digital postcard. The art galleries have a craft corner where children can colour and make things, and artist-led workshops run through the school holidays. The children's library has a reading ship to climb into, and there are toddler story and rhyme sessions. The theatre stages pantomimes, magic shows and family productions, so it suits a special outing as well as a free visit. Lifts serve every floor and the building has baby-changing and a Changing Places toilet.
Stuff to take with you
The things people wish they’d packed for a day out like this one.
- Refillable water bottleMost places will fill it for free.
- Snacks that survive a rucksackCheaper than the café, and buys you twenty minutes.
- Wet wipes
- Small first aid kitPlasters solve more days out than anything else here.
- Hair bobbles
- Loose changeLockers and old-fashioned car parks.
- Nappies
- Camera for them
- Backseat organiser
- Plasters
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links open Amazon in a new tab and never change what you pay. How this works
Reviews
No reviews yet — been here with your little ones? Be the first to share.
Something not right? Tell us — opening hours and prices change, and we’d rather hear it from you.
Do you run The Atkinson? Claim this listing to keep it up to date and add your own photos.
More museums & science centres nearby
