2 April 2024—31 December 2026

Highlights Tour: M Shed

Join us for a tour of M Shed! Let us introduce you to our museum, share some stories you won’t find on the labels and tell you how we came to be. You’ll be greeted by our knowledgeable tour guide who will introduce you to the fascina…

16 October 2024—20 April 2025

Bristol Photo Festival: Dreamlines

14 local photographers have collaborated with local communities, creating a portrait of Bristol today in this inclusive exhibition.

2 January—31 December 2025

Behind the scenes tours

TOUR: Join a tour of M Shed’s collection stores and encounter treasures from the city’s industrial and maritime past.

Talks, tours and workshops

17 April—19 June 2025

Historical Walk: Old City

WALK: Discover a millennium of history on this 1.8 mile walk around the old city of Bristol.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

19 April—2 November 2025

Train rides

TRAIN: Take a train trip on Britain’s only dockside steam railway behind one of our Bristol-built locomotives.

24 April—29 May 2025

Historical Walk: Bristol Abolition

WALK: Discover the names and places associated with Bristol’s thousand-year fight to end the city’s involvement in slavery.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

25 April—27 June 2025

Historical Walk: Redcliffe and Temple

WALK: Venture on our guided walk into the once-autonomous township of Redcliffe, where you will find some of the most impressive remains of historical Bristol.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

26 April—2 November 2025

Pyronaut trips

BOAT: Take a boat trip with a difference! Watch the powerful water cannon at work on Bristol’s former fire boat, during a trip around the docks that she was built to protect.

26 April—5 October 2025

Crane visits

CRANE: Experience a working crane on the dockside with visits inside the electric cranes, M Shed’s biggest exhibits!

26 April—20 July 2025

Erased from the Face of the Earth: A powerful testimony of Ukraine’s devastation

Erased from the Face of the Earth is a photographic exhibition that highlights the devastating impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February 2022. The exhibition can be seen at M Shed in Bristol from 26 April to 20 July 2025.

Exhibitions

26 April 2025

Bristol Radical History Festival 2025

SPECIAL EVENT: Join Bristol Radical History Group and Dublin’s East Wall History Group for an exciting day of talks, walks, displays, stalls and song.

Special events

4 May—1 June 2025

Historical Walk: 1831 Riots

WALK: Our knowledegable guides will vividly retell the history of this tragic episode, exploring some of the sites that played a prominent role in the unrest.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

6 May—3 June 2025

Historical Walk: Floating Harbour

WALK: Join our guides for a tour of Bristol docklands, exploring the maritime heritage of the harbour and its modern regeneration.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

6—27 May 2025

Historical Walk: Pirates and Prejudice

WALK: Explore Bristol’s old dockside on this Pirates and Prejudice walk, shattering the myths around Bristol’s literary and piratical past

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

13 May 2025

Home Educator workshop: Bristol at war – the Home Front

What was everyday life like on the Home Front and how did ordinary people cope with extraordinary circumstances?

19 May—14 July 2025

Museum Explorers: M Shed for Under 4s

Join us at M Shed for these fun sessions, designed especially for the under 4s, and become confident museum explorers!

31 May 2025

Historical Walk: Watts In A Home: Electric Dreams

Follow in the footsteps of the Electrical Association for Women (EAW). EAW was formed in 1924 and a Bristol branch was established in 1929. The tour explores electricity in infrastructure, entertainment and education, walking up to the EAW branch me…

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

30 June—17 October 2025

Steam engine and crane driving experiences

SPECIAL EVENT: Have a go at driving the steam engine, Henbury and one of the iconic electric cranes outside M Shed.

9 August—19 October 2025

John King trips

BOAT: Take a trip on the harbour on this 1935 diesel tug – built to tow cargo ships from Bristol City Docks to the mouth of the River Avon.

M Shed is part of Bristol Museums