The MAD Museum
The MAD Museum, Stratford-upon-Avon: Hours, Address, The MAD Museum Reviews: 4.5/5
The MAD Museum
The MAD Museum
4.5
10:00 - 17:30
Monday
10:00 - 17:00
Tuesday
10:00 - 17:00
Wednesday
10:00 - 17:00
Thursday
10:00 - 17:00
Friday
10:00 - 17:00
Saturday
10:00 - 17:30
Sunday
10:00 - 17:30
About
Stratford upon Avon is most famous for being the birthplace of poet and play writer William Shakespeare, but why not try something completely outside of the box and visit the towns newest most exciting attraction- The MAD (Mechanical Art & Design) Museum.As soon as you step into this quirky attraction you'll be greeted with whirling robotics, churning clogs, rolling ball circuits, ingenious design and crazy sounds! The MAD Museum does what it says on the tin, showcasing an absolutely MAD assortment of Kinetic Art, Automata and Steampunk contraptions, gadgets and gismos. Venture into an eccentric world of moving art; The MAD Museum is a wonderful place to watch and interact with an astonishing assortment of both modern and old fashioned, yet highly innovative and elaborate machines! For the young ones: Dancing lasers, rolling ball machines, roaring mechanical dinosaur heads and whirligigs all with lots of buttons to press! The MAD Museum offers an exciting visit with an educational bias, relevant to curriculum modules such as Design & Technology and Science. We give children an experience that is worthwhile, educationally beneficial and also a lot of fun!
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.5
1,586 reviews
Excellent
1,149
Very good
339
Average
65
Poor
25
Terrible
9
Sophie I
1 contribution
Family
What a wonderful, magical place! My son (5 year old) loved it so much he chose to come here again on the last day of the holiday. A great mix of things to watch and hands-on opportunities and a good compromise for little ones who don't get Shakespeare yet!
Written 12 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
John H
3 contributions
Found MAD listed as a place to visit and boy was it worth it.
This venue is a brilliant place with many interactive things to see and play with for adults and chlidren of all ages.
My wife and I went in and had such a great time we did not emerge for 3 hours.
The ingenuity of the artists/constructors is fantastic. Being able to make your own marble runs using various shape guides on a magnetic wall was great fun.
There were children of all ages playing there, to give you an idea I am 70 and some of the children who were too small to stand played on the floor.
I can not recommend this highly enough. It was one of the best days of our holiday in Stratford.
This venue is a brilliant place with many interactive things to see and play with for adults and chlidren of all ages.
My wife and I went in and had such a great time we did not emerge for 3 hours.
The ingenuity of the artists/constructors is fantastic. Being able to make your own marble runs using various shape guides on a magnetic wall was great fun.
There were children of all ages playing there, to give you an idea I am 70 and some of the children who were too small to stand played on the floor.
I can not recommend this highly enough. It was one of the best days of our holiday in Stratford.
Written 11 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Lee L
17 contributions
My son was bored within 10 minutes.
This place may be enjoyable for younger children, 11 and below.
Staff were polite enough and the place was clean.
This place may be enjoyable for younger children, 11 and below.
Staff were polite enough and the place was clean.
Written 8 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
NewCumbrian
Carlisle Cumbria44 contributions
Family
Kids loved all the wacky mechines and played for ages in the "create your own" room. Reasonably priced, £22 for the family. Great gun
Written 8 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
AJP99
Birmingham, UK18 contributions
Friends
Loved the chance to see the kinetic art, videos and automations: it brought out the big kids in us.
We would have loved to see more and hope that you have the capacity to extend in the future.
We would have loved to see more and hope that you have the capacity to extend in the future.
Written 6 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Timbo3765
Pershore, UK623 contributions
Took 3 grandchildren here during the holidays for the first time. Friendly welcome and reasonably priced to go in. Lots of weird automatons to see and interact with. They particularly liked the area to do your own ball bearing run. There is no cafe here indeed drinks etc are not permitted inside the museum which I think is a missed opportunity. There is certainly enough to keep kids occupied for a couple of hours no more so bear this in mind. The museum is upstairs but there is a lift.
Written 2 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello Timbo
Great to hear you all had a good time at Mad. As you may have seen we just haven't got the room for a café and it's also a safety issue with having a large amount of electrical exhibits around the Museum, luckily Henley Street has quite a few cafés so you don't need to go far for a drink. Thank you for taking the time to do a review and we hope to see you all again.
Written 4 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Vanessa W
5 contributions
Family
Visited today with my husband and my children age 12 and 10. All of us absolutely loved this museum and rated it in our top 3 of things we did in Stratford Upon Avon during our trip! It’s not big but great that most of it is interactive, we spent well over an hour exploring. Lady on the entrance was helpful and friendly. We used Tesco Clubcard vouchers to pay which was great but It’s worth the full entry price.
Written 28 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hi
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and it's great to hear we were in your top 3 and that you all enjoyed your time at Mad. Thank you :)
Written 4 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Melissa-Rollison
Hethersett, UK47 contributions
Family
Great find, highly recommended
Kids and adults all loved it. So much to watch and be mesmorised by. Who doesn't love pressing buttons to make fun stuff happen!!
Kids and adults all loved it. So much to watch and be mesmorised by. Who doesn't love pressing buttons to make fun stuff happen!!
Written 24 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello Melissa
Thank you for leaving a review, we're glad you all had a great time at Mad and enjoyed the Exhibits so much. Thank you :)
Written 26 July 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Simon B
6 contributions
Friends
What a place ! I knew next to nothing before visiting and within moments I was wondering why I didn't know anything of these amazing machines or the incredible designers or makers before.
For the first time ever, I wanted to see every single piece in a museum and read every single panel. So many WOW moments, moments which brought laughter and real pleasure. Mesmerising, amusing and mind blowing.
Loved the hands on area - just wished that I had every child I knew with me because I know how much they'd love it. The little cinema has some incredible films (some of which I immediately found and saved on You Tube). Great little shop with loads of unique items with a range for everyone's pocket.
Special mention must go to the staff who were warm, welcoming and helpful. Thank you very much indeed guys for really topping off my visit. My first time, but definitely won't be my last.
(And oh ... make sure you visit the loos ... 😊)
For the first time ever, I wanted to see every single piece in a museum and read every single panel. So many WOW moments, moments which brought laughter and real pleasure. Mesmerising, amusing and mind blowing.
Loved the hands on area - just wished that I had every child I knew with me because I know how much they'd love it. The little cinema has some incredible films (some of which I immediately found and saved on You Tube). Great little shop with loads of unique items with a range for everyone's pocket.
Special mention must go to the staff who were warm, welcoming and helpful. Thank you very much indeed guys for really topping off my visit. My first time, but definitely won't be my last.
(And oh ... make sure you visit the loos ... 😊)
Written 23 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello Simon
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a wonderful review of your visit to MAD. It' s truly heart warming to read such a wonderful review, it really sums up what we feel (and you) Mad is all about. The artists and the fantastic exhibits they have have created are great and deserve to be looked at and admired for the time and effort that goes into making them. I have always said that we have always been blessed with all the staff that work at Mad, it's a great team effort and everyone one of us loves working here.
Thank you again and we hope you can come and visit us again soon.
MG
Written 26 July 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
naab00
Derby, UK49 contributions
Family
This was such a good place to go!
Staff: very helpful & enthusiastic.
Content: fascinating, held the attention of adults and additional needs/learning disability kids well - many younger children primary-aged and older will love it.
Price: very reasonable, and ticket allowed return later in the day.
It’s not a huge museum but there’s plenty of it for a good couple of hours.
And it’s not very prominent but it is surprisingly central, right in the middle of Stratford.
There are tons and a good variety of hands-on “wow” type activities. Very clever.
Staff: very helpful & enthusiastic.
Content: fascinating, held the attention of adults and additional needs/learning disability kids well - many younger children primary-aged and older will love it.
Price: very reasonable, and ticket allowed return later in the day.
It’s not a huge museum but there’s plenty of it for a good couple of hours.
And it’s not very prominent but it is surprisingly central, right in the middle of Stratford.
There are tons and a good variety of hands-on “wow” type activities. Very clever.
Written 21 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello Naab
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a brilliant review about your visit to Mad, we're so glad you found it fascinating, fun and engaging. We hope you can visit again sometime. Thank you
Written 22 July 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
little-miss-magic1
Wimborne Minster, UK459 contributions
Please can anyone advise of possible time spent here? While I realise this will vary, I’d be grateful for a vague idea please. Will just be two adults.
Jussi&Paul
Birmingham, UK89 contributions
I would say anywhere between a good hour to three hours depending on your level of interest, my husband also enjoyed creating his own marble run in the play area just as much as our 6 & 10 year olds and could have spent 45 mins alone in this part of the museum. I know my Dad who is in his 70’s could easily spend upwards of a couple of hours in here. We loved it.
Is this aimed specifically at children? My partner and I are visiting Stratford again over Valentines weekend and something different to the Shakespeare world would be great.
MG
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK4 contributions
Hi Kara
While we do get children and schools enjoying the Museum, Adults also love it, if you like Heath Robinson or Mad Marble Runs or an interest in engineering you will love it.
Hope that helps, you can find more information on our website.
MG
Caroline Q
Coventry, UK4 contributions
Is Mad Museum suitable for toddler only just 3 (will also have 5 & 6 year old)?
GOMS2013
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK771 contributions
Your 3 year old maybe a bit young (certainly for some parts) but your 5 & 6 year olds will love it.
Joy C
st helens24 contributions
Taking 4 year old grandaughter to Stratford. Weather forecast atrocious. Apart from the butterfly farm is there anywhere in the town to keep her occupied and me sane please. Thank you.
Dale O
Cardiff, UK81 contributions
The mad museum has things for all ages to see. It is a very interesting place and slot to see. There is a cinema called the picture house.
Also a lot of shops to visit such as the Christmas shop that is open all year around and Harry Potter themed shops.
I hope this helps
natalie1982natalie
Birmingham, UK
Hi all,
Is there many things to do for children thinking of taking my 8year old,thanks for reply x
MG
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK4 contributions
Hi Natalie, It's perfect for 8-year-olds. MAD is almost entirely hands-on so there are plenty of buttons to press, machines to interact with and marble runs to be made. Please take a look at the 'families' page on our website for more details. Thanks Natalie.
sarahcl_89
Birmingham, UK9 contributions
Would this museum be interesting for my 4 year old boy or should I wait until he's older?
GOMS2013
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK771 contributions
I think that he would appreciate may aspects of it now. It is very tactile and there is plenty of stuff to do and lots of buttons to push to make things work. There is certainly nothing dangerous about any of the displays and I know that the curator said that HSE had approved their exhibits.
Loveit08
1 contribution
Would this be a great day out for a young couple without children? How long does it normally take to walk round?
DonDons369
Boston, UK381 contributions
Hi,
Even as a family with a 9yr old child, it only took us an hour. Worth getting the joint ticket with the Guildhall and Shakespeare's School rooms if you are interested in a bit of history of the place and Shakespeare.
Carla C
15 contributions
Hi we have a day spare next week in our holidays and this place has caught our eye, but just wondered if there are any other things near by that we can do with our 4 year old, I know this is not a question about your exhibition, we are already sold on coming to visit but we are not familiar with the area at all, thanks
MG
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK4 contributions
Hi Carla, thanks for your interest in our MAD Museum. There's plenty of great stuff to see and do in Stratford upon Avon. Your four year old would no doubt love the interactivity in the Butterfly Farm and Shakespeare's Schoolroom and Guildhall is also really interesting, plus under 5yrs are free! I hope that helped Carla. See you soon
Martinsddn
2 contributions
Is there parking?
MG
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK4 contributions
Hi, we don't have parking but the closest car park to MAD is Windsor Street multi-storey car park which is a 2 minute walk to the museum (CV37 6NL).
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions about The MAD Museum
- The MAD Museum is open:
- Mon - Fri 10:00 - 17:00
- Sat - Sun 10:00 - 17:30
- We recommend booking The MAD Museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 6 The MAD Museum tours on Tripadvisor
- According to Tripadvisor travellers, these are the best ways to experience The MAD Museum:
- Shakespeare's England Explorer Pass - 1 Day Pass (From €46.91)
- Shakespeare's England Explorer Pass - 2 Day Pass (From €60.15)
- Shakespeare's England Explorer Pass - 3 Day Pass (From €72.17)
- City Sightseeing Stratford-upon-Avon Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour (From €18.04)
- Shakespeare’s Birthplace: A Self-Guided Audio Tour in Stratford-Upon-Avon (From €4.89)
- Hotels near The MAD Museum:
- (0.17 km) The White Swan Hotel
- (0.10 km) Courtland Hotel
- (0.17 km) The Queens Head
- (0.20 km) Premier Inn Stratford Upon Avon Central hotel
- (0.28 km) Hotel Indigo Stratford Upon Avon
- Restaurants near The MAD Museum:
- (0.01 km) The Cornish Bakery
- (0.02 km) Subway
- (0.02 km) Zoo sushi & bubble tea
- (0.02 km) Caffe Nero
- (0.03 km) Blue Cow Milkshakes & Smoothies