The Science Museum

The Smith Centre costs £4,500 + VAT for daytime hire (07:00-17:00) and includes The Salon, Large meeting room, The Boardroom, outdoor courtyard, and banqueting chairs & cluster furniture. Illuminate (levels 4 & 5) costs £20,250 + VAT for full day hire (07:00-23:30) and provides two distinct atmospheres with natural light and City views on one level, and a cutting-edge LED-focused environment on the other. Flight gallery costs £8,750 + VAT for hire.

Flight gallery accommodates up to 400 for seated dinner or 350 for dinner with a stage. Illuminate spans levels 4 and 5 and can handle large conferences and events with flexible layouts. The Smith Centre is suitable for smaller events up to 60 people in various configurations including cabaret, boardroom, and standing reception formats.

The Science Museum operates as dry venue hire only, meaning all catering, furniture (beyond basic banqueting chairs in Smith Centre), and AV equipment are additional costs provided by accredited suppliers. Venue hire includes basic access and specified furniture where noted, but all food, beverages, technical equipment, and additional furnishing must be arranged separately through approved vendors.

The museum works with specific accredited suppliers including Moving Venue for catering, White Light for AV and lighting, Benugo for catering (particularly in Smith Centre), and Twilight Trees for decorative elements. AV minimum spend is typically £6,000, and catering minimum spends vary by event size and requirements, with full supplier lists available on their website.

Standard daytime hire runs 07:00-17:00, while full day hire extends to 23:30 with all guests required to be offsite by that time. Setup access typically begins at 07:00, with guest arrival from 09:00. Evening events can run until 23:30, and early access fees of £500 + VAT may apply for additional setup time before standard access hours.

Events require site visits for confirmation, particularly for dates within two weeks of inquiry. Contracts must be signed before venue hire invoices can be raised. For urgent bookings, site visits must be completed by Wednesday with contracts signed by end of business Thursday. Agency commission of 10% is offered on venue hire only (not AV) and must be claimed within two months of the event date.

White Light provides comprehensive AV services including bespoke lighting designs, state-of-the-art sound systems, projectors and screens, microphones (handheld and lapel), confidence monitors, and PA systems suitable for speeches and background music. Illuminate offers cutting-edge LED-focused environments, while all spaces can accommodate presentation equipment and staging requirements.

Events must be invitation-only with registered guest arrival in most cases. The venue requires details about event advertising and guest registration processes. All events must use accredited suppliers, and the museum operates as a dry hire venue only. Specific restrictions may apply to certain galleries or spaces, and events supporting STEM education are particularly welcomed.

Moving Venue and Benugo provide catering services with flexible menu options including hot fork buffets from £55 per person, full day meeting packages at £75 per person including refreshments throughout the day, and premium catering minimum spends around £275 per person for formal dinners. All catering is additional to venue hire costs and must be arranged through approved suppliers.

Illuminate spans levels 4 and 5 of the museum, providing two distinct atmospheres within one versatile space - abundant natural light with stunning City views on one level, and a cutting-edge LED-focused environment on the other. This blank canvas nature allows for complete transformation to suit any event vision, from conferences to Christmas parties, with seamless collaboration between in-house suppliers.