The Mini Explorers Totally Serious Guide to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
17/03/2026
A family day out in Portsmouth this Spring.
Ahoy there, grown-ups. You might think you’re in charge of today’s outing, but let’s be honest. The real captains of any family day out at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard are the Mini Explorers.
Welcome to the Mini Explorers guide to the Dockyard, the official handbook for the next generation of explorers. Your mission: discover ships, stories and surprises while making sure the grown-ups keep up.
So, buckle up your backpack, pack an unreasonable amount of snacks and prepare to follow the seven golden rules of junior-approved Dockyard exploring.
1. Push All the Buttons
If it flashes, beeps or makes a funny noise, press it. Repeatedly. This is not optional.
Your grown-up might think they’re here to learn about Royal Navy history, but really this is about your button-pressing career. You are now a Commodore of Clicks.
Peak discovery-through-button-pressing action can be found in the National Museum of the Royal Navy galleries at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where interactive displays help young explorers discover stories of sailors, ships and life at sea.
2. Ring the Bell (Loudly)
A true sailor never ignores a ship’s bell. Ding it once. Ding it twice. Ding it until someone gently says, “Alright, that’s enough” and does that awkward smile grown-ups do when they’re secretly begging you to stop. Do not yield.
Bells are for you what coffee is for grown-ups: absolutely essential.
You’ll find excellent bell-ringing action in the play space in our Hear My Story gallery at the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
3. Play With the Toys
Some people say museums are for looking. Junior sailors know our museums are for touching, stacking, poking and pressing things.
At Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, you’ll find spaces designed for younger visitors to explore, climb, build and play while discovering stories of the Royal Navy and life at sea.
You’ll find space to roly-poly, jump, build a tower and kick it over in the HMS Victory gallery while grown-ups sneak a moment to read the displays.
4. Pretend You’re the Captain
Ships are basically enormous toys you’re not allowed to put in the bath, and big ships need small captains. Whether it’s steering a mighty wheel, pretending to fire a cannon or giving orders no one listens to, this is your moment. Shout “ALL ABOARD!” with confidence. Repeatedly. Adults love it.
We recommend HMS Warrior, the gigantic Victorian iron warship you’ll see as soon as you enter. There’s space to explore cannons, ropes, ladders and ship wheels that will keep young adventurers busy
5. Follow the pawprints
Every good sailor needs a map, and the Mary Rose has one made just for little explorers. The Hatch Trail is a treasure hunt designed for the next generation of explorers discovering the story of Henry VIII’s favourite ship. Look for the friendly ship’s dog, follow the pawprints through the museum and tick off discoveries like a true explorer.
Warning: some grown-ups might want to do your stamp for you. Or protest when it takes you 5 minutes to do something that should take 5 seconds. Stay strong.
Pick up your Hatch Trail map at the Mary Rose Museum welcome desk.
6. Activities.
Are you even a Mini Explorer if you don’t race through a craft activity in three minutes that a member of staff has spent months lovingly designing to last an hour? And your grown-up thought they’d get to sit down for a break. Adorable.
Fear not. Our activities cater to a wide range of ages and attention spans. They’ll be tools to try, live experiences, characters to meet and crafts to get stuck into, before you dash off to the next discovery.
7. Snack. Always Snack.
Exploring historic ships and museums is hungry work.
Luckily, the Mary Rose café at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is fully stocked with essential supplies, including lunch boxes for younger visitors and cake for grown-ups.
Visitors are welcome to breastfeed anywhere across the site, and families will find plenty of places to sit, refuel and plan the next adventure.
Pro tip: store half-chewed snacks in pockets, pat them into hair or hide them down the side of the buggy. If your grown-up doesn’t need a chisel to remove it later, you didn’t try hard enough.