Carboniferous Monsters at Northampton Museum

If you’re looking for something free and genuinely interesting to do with the kids, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery has a temporary exhibition on right now that’s well worth a visit. I recently popped along with my two-year-old nephew to check out Carboniferous Monsters: 100 Million Years Before the Dinosaurs, and I came away thinking it would be a brilliant outing for primary-school-aged children especially.

Step back to the Carboniferous period, 100 million years before the dinosaurs. Visit tropical forests and swamps teeming with bizarre and ferocious ancient monsters, some of which had larger teeth than T. rex. Meet the dinosaurs’ distant ancestors, the very first reptiles, the largest creepy-crawlies ever to live, and prehistoric animals unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!

Carboniferous Monsters: 100 Million Years Before the Dinosaurs is on at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, 5-6 Guildhall Road, Northampton, NN1 1DP from Saturday 21 February until Sunday 7 June 2026. Entry is completely free.

Also check out: Free Things to Do with Kids in Northamptonshire

Honestly, what I loved about this exhibition is that it isn’t the usual T-Rex and Stegosaurus line-up — this is a whole world of prehistoric creatures that most of us have never come across before. There are fantastic skeletal displays and some genuinely impressive life-sized models of ancient bugs that, I’ll be honest, gave me the creeps! The lighting creates a cool underwater effect in parts of the exhibition, and there are gentle sound effects running throughout which really adds to the atmosphere.

One of the highlights for little ones is the chance to touch some real 325-million-year-old fossils — how incredible is that? There’s a lovely mix of sea and land creatures on display, with bite-sized information about each one that’s easy enough for kids to engage with without overwhelming them. It’s a small and temporary exhibition, so it doesn’t take a huge chunk of your day, but it’s genuinely fascinating.

A word of honesty: my two-year-old nephew enjoyed it, but he was probably a little young to get the most out of it. I’d say it really comes into its own for primary school ages, particularly if your kids are into prehistoric creatures or science. That said, even the littlest visitors will be wowed by the sheer scale of some of the displays.

Once you’ve finished with Carboniferous Monsters, it’s absolutely worth exploring the rest of the museum while you’re there. Downstairs there’s a lovely temporary shoe exhibition — which makes perfect sense given Northampton’s rich shoemaking heritage — and the upper floors house displays on the history of Northampton and a gallery of artwork including drawings and paintings. There’s something to catch everyone’s eye.

When you need a break, the on-site cafe serves hot and cold meals including sandwiches, cooked breakfasts, soup, jacket potatoes and cakes — and it’s run by The Lewis Foundation, so you’re supporting a fantastic local charity at the same time. There’s also a gift shop on the ground floor if the kids want a little memento to take home.

If you’re after more ideas for free and low-cost days out in Northamptonshire, make sure you’re signed up to my weekly what’s on newsletter — I round up the best local events every week so you never miss a thing. And if the little ones are in need of some indoor inspiration when the weather doesn’t cooperate, grab my free rainy day ideas pack too.

The events listed in this guide are run by third-party organisers, and all details were correct at the time of publication, based on information from their official websites. However, changes or cancellations can happen at short notice. To avoid any disappointment, we recommend double-checking the event information on the official websites before making plans.