One of Britain's top free museums has sparked fury by revealing plans to start charging families.

The Science Museum, which has been free to visitors since 2001, is to charge admission to one of its largest and most popular exhibitions.

From October, families will have to pay £22.50 to visit the highly popular Launchpad gallery, which has been renamed and made 60 per cent larger as part of a £6million revamp.

Single adults will pay £8 per adult and a child's ticket will cost £6. An annual pass for a family of four will cost £39, £14 for an adult and £10 for a child

The attraction is a firm favourite among children aged between seven and 14 and contains dozens of interactive exhibits and experiments as well as live demonstrations.

London's Science Museum in Kensington has caused outrage after revealing it will start charging families

The Launchpad gallery dominates the museum's third floor and is, for many families, one of the main reasons to visit.

It has now been rebranded Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery, with 50 new exhibits including a giant interactive display of the solar system, a showspace allowing for 120 visitors with live displays featuring explosions and rockets. Running costs are expected to come in at £1million a year.

The museum claims the extra revenue generated from the 'modest' charges will allow for more free school visits.

But there are fears some families, particularly those from outside London who have already paid travel costs, will be priced out. There are also concerns other national galleries and museums will follow suit.

The museum has been free since 2001 as part of a Labour drive to widen cultural access.

Yesterday families on a day out to the Science Museum told of how the admission costs would make them think twice about visiting again.

Nicola Hill, 45, from Letchworth, Hertfordshire, who was visiting the museum with her eight-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, said: 'That's very disappointing. It's quite expensive.

'It seems a shame as we're trying to get children into science and it's a shame to cut off inspiring children because people wouldn't pay that kind of money.

The Science Museum in London has been free to visitors since 2001, but from October families will have to pay £22.50 to visit Launchpad gallery (pictured)

'For that kind of money people would go to Legoland. I wouldn't pay that.

'We've come in today by train, and now we're going for a meal and if you add on a cost for the museum it becomes too expensive.

'It's a shame because the interactive bits are what gets them into science.'

Andrea Lloyd, 36, from Essex, who was visiting the museum with her four-year-old son, explained that going into the museum with young children is only viable for just a short amount of time and that introducing a price would put her off from visiting the attraction.

'What's good at the moment is that they only want to be there for a couple of hours, but if it cost £22, we probably wouldn't come,' she said.

The Launchpad gallery dominates the museum's third floor and is, for many families, one of the main reasons to visit

'You wouldn't take young kids there because they wouldn't want to stay for long. The fact that you can just pop in for a couple of hours is really good.

'It would be a shame if young children didn't get to experience it because of the cost.'

Vicky Cliff, 30, and her husband, John, 37, were visiting with their two-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son.

'We are down today because our son starts school in September,' said Mrs Cliff.

'From our perspective, we've considered home educating our son and that is something that would be an issue because people depend on museums to help them learn and see things.

'It would definitely have a negative effect on a lot of people.' Her husband added: 'We wouldn't have bothered if it was that much.'

The Launchpad Gallery is a firm favourite among children aged between seven and 14 (Pictured The Large Hadron Collider Exhibition at the museum)

Ian Blatchford, group director at the Science Museum, said: 'Ensuring our visitors understand the science that shapes our lives and inspiring the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians are at the heart of our mission.

'Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery embodies that core purpose, providing the spark of curiosity for the young people of today to wonder the world better.'

Toby Parkin, curator of the new exhibit, said: 'The Science Museum opened the world's first national gallery dedicated to children in 1931.

'Since then, scientists, engineers and even Royal visitors have been inspired by the amazing scientific phenomena revealed in our interactive galleries.'.

Kate Williams, editor of the Mumsnet parenting website said: 'Mumsnet users absolutely love the Science Museum as a destination for kids, and for those on tight budgets the introduction of a charge for this specific area will probably be disappointing.

'There's a lot of sympathy, though, for the expense incurred by museums in mounting these specialist exhibitions and areas, and a general feeling that some visitors could probably afford to be a bit more generous with their voluntary donations.'



