Great exhibitions in South Kensington

For centuries, scientists and artists have embarked on a succession of expeditions to document the natural world. A rare opportunity to see remarkable never-before-displayed original illustrations and photographs.

How can a building shape our perception of events - past, present and future? Experience the storytelling power of architecture through an exploration of seven monumental projects from celebrated architect Sir David Adjaye OBE.

Spanning 1947 to the present day, this exhibition will trace the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most influential couturiers, exploring the enduring influence of the fashion house, and Dior’s relationship with Britain.

This display highlights Prince Albert’s relationship with the V&A library. The selection of books he chose to make accessible to the public demonstrates his desire to promote knowledge and learning in science and the arts.

From miniskirts and hot pants to vibrant tights and makeup, discover how Mary Quant launched a fashion revolution on the British high street, with over 200 garments and accessories, including unseen pieces from the designer's personal archive.

Step inside the world of Stanley Kubrick, one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. It will offer a unique insight into the director's vast archive through original props and costumes, set models and rare photographs, while tracing the design story behind Kubrick’s body of work.

This display traces the crucial role that the royal couple played in the formation of the V&A and its collection, with the Great Exhibition as a starting point. The display showcases objects that were bought, lent and presented to the museum up until the death of Prince Albert in 1861.

Inviting visitors to participate, taste and debate, this bold exhibition explores current experiments at every stage of the food system – from compost to table.

From gastronomic experiments to urban farming, this exhibition brings together the politics and pleasure of food to ask how the collective choices we make can lead to a more sustainable, just and delicious food future.

Luchita Hurtado (b. 1920 Caravas, Venezuela) is an artist whose approach over the course of a long career is characterised by continuous experimentation, with her paintings and drawings united by a compelling sense of colour, light and movement. The Serpentine exhibition will be her first in an institution.

Discover the story of Princess Victoria, the young girl destined to be queen, in the rooms where she was born and raised at Kensington Palace. This new permanent exhibition will explore how an indulged young princess blossomed into the independent and iconic monarch we remember.

Explore Queen Victoria’s private life behind her carefully-managed public image in Victoria: Woman and Crown. The new display, created to mark the 200th anniversary of Victoria's birth, will re-examine how she balanced her role as a wife and mother with that of Queen of an expanding empire.

Working prolifically since the early 1960s, Faith Ringgold (b. 1930, Harlem, New York) is recognised for her politically charged paintings, story quilts, prints, children’s books, soft sculptures, masks and performances which consistently challenge the perceptions of American identity and gender inequality.

For decades, autonomous vehicles have been heralded as a new technology that could change the way we live our lives. Driverless: Who is in control? opening on 12 June 2019 at the Science Museum will explore how close we are to living in a world driven by thinking machines.

The Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, celebrated for his experimental structures that interpret traditional architectural conventions and reflect natural phenomena, has been selected to design the Serpentine Pavilion 2019.

Discover the remarkable world of codebreaking, ciphers and secret communications in our upcoming must-see, free exhibition. Explore over a century’s worth of communications intelligence through hand-written documents, declassified files and previously unseen artefacts.

Take a backstage look at the creative process of one of the world's most inventive photographers through his photographs, films, photographic sets, and special installations – including a new series of photographs influenced by the V&A's collections.

As we approach another major turning point in automotive design, this exhibition looks at the role of the car in shaping the world we live in today.

The journey to the Red Planet has become one of the great challenges of our time. Through immersive recreations, new commissions and collaborations with contemporary designers, discover how every detail in this extraordinary endeavour must be designed.

Designer Maker User, the Design Museum's only permanent exhibition, features almost 1000 items of twentieth and twenty-first century design viewed through the angles of the designer, manufacturer and user, including a crowdsourced wall.

Find out if you’ve got the problem-solving, big-thinking, team-working skills to be a globe-trotting engineer of tomorrow.

Mathematics is too often perceived as dry and complex, but this new gallery will tell stories that place the subject at the heart of our lives, exploring how mathematicians, their tools and ideas have helped to shape the modern world.

Meet your ancient relatives, trace the origins and evolution of our species, and explore what makes us human.

Showcasing over 1100 objects from the V&A’s collections of 17th- and 18th-century European art and design in a suite of seven galleries.

Artist Lee Ufan brings new public sculpture to Kensington Gardens. Comprised of two, angled, mirrored, steel sheets and two different-sized stones, Relatum – Stage will merge the natural and industrial in an installation that reflects the surrounding environment of the Park.

IKEA and the Design Museum present the Last Straw, an installation featuring the last ever single-use plastic straw IKEA will serve or sell in any store in the UK and Ireland.

See the world through a new lens. Now in its fifty-fourth year, Wildlife Photographer of the Year showcases extraordinary animal behaviour and the breathtaking diversity of life on Earth. Explore the world's best nature photography, exhibited on 100 exquisite light panels.

The exhibition immerses visitors in the iconic Japanese art form and introduces Urasawa’s ideas from inception through development, with more than 400 original drawings and storyboards on display. Selected stories from seven of his major works are presented with full English translations.

The Art of Innovation explores the relationship between science and art over the past 250 years, and how it has helped to interpret, study and explore the world around us.

Marking Sainsbury's 150-year anniversary, this playful display celebrates the work of the relatively unknown but highly successful Sainsbury’s Design Studio.

Museum of the Moon is a touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram. The 6 metre model will be at the Museum in time for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, accompanied by an exciting programme of events for space enthusiasts of all ages.

Come face-to-face with a full-size engineering model of BepiColombo, the European Space Agency’s first ever spacecraft to explore Mercury. Standing over six metres tall, this Structural Thermal Model (STM) of the spacecraft was used to test BepiColombo’s resilience during its seven-year journey to Mercury.