London Explorer · British Museum, London, England

British Museum Explorer

Travel across thousands of years of human history in one extraordinary museum.

Explore the British Museum through iconic objects, ancient writing, monumental sculpture, and questions about how the past is preserved and interpreted.

Where: British Museum, London, England
Time: 1-2 hours
Missions: 8 · complete 6 to finish
Collection: London Explorer

Museum
Ancient
Family

What this adventure explores

Archaeology and historical evidence
Ancient Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, and Asia
Writing systems and cultural exchange
Museums, preservation, and responsible interpretation

Missions

8 missions at British Museum Explorer

Mission 1
The Great Court
The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court transformed the museum's central courtyard into a bright public space surrounding the historic Reading Room.
Mission 2
The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone carries the same decree in three scripts. Comparing them allowed scholars to make major progress in reading Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Mission 3
Mummies of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians preserved bodies and placed them with objects, texts, and symbols intended to support the deceased in the afterlife.
Mission 4
The Parthenon Sculptures
These marble sculptures once formed part of the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena. They depict gods, people, animals, and ceremonial movement.
Mission 5
Assyrian Lion Hunt
The Assyrian lion-hunt reliefs show a king hunting lions in carefully arranged scenes. The carvings communicate power while also showing remarkable observation of animals.
Mission 6
The Lewis Chessmen
The Lewis Chessmen were carved mainly from walrus ivory in the 1100s. Their expressive faces and clothing give clues about medieval society and craftsmanship.
Mission 7
Treasures of Asia
The museum's Asian collections include sculpture, ceramics, prints, ritual objects, and everyday items from many regions and centuries.
Mission 8
Journey Through Time
Museums allow visitors to compare objects separated by geography and time. Similar needs - communication, belief, play, leadership, memory - appear in very different forms.