NPL Open Day 2025

6 June 2025: 12:00 – 19:00 (last entry 18:00)

Admission to the Open Day is by ticket only for all visitors.

Adults - £3

Children under 16 – free

Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult at all times. There is a maximum limit of 5 children per adult.

All proceeds will be donated to our charity partner, therefore there are no refunds.

Tickets are allocated by timeslot for your arrival. You may arrive at anytime during your time slot booking.

Last entry time is 18:00. The site will close at 19:00.

Safety and wellbeing are a priority for all our colleagues and visitors, we want everyone to enjoy their day. We expect all visitors to be respectful to each other and NPL staff. We have a zero tolerance policy for intrusive or aggressive behaviour that is not in line with our organisational values and reserve the right to ask those behaving inappropriately to leave.

Group bookings

Please note that you can only book 10 adult tickets and 5 children tickets per transaction. If you need to book more tickets than the allocation, please do so across multiple transactions.

Photography and filming

No photography is permitted on NPL’s site, this includes video recorders, cameras and mobile devices. Official NPL photographers will be taking photos throughout the day, please indicate to them if you do not wish to be photographed.

Security, safety and first aid

Entry to our site will be subject to a mandatory bag check.

You will also be asked to pass through our security arches and may be scanned with a security ‘wand’. Unchecked bags and their owners will not be granted access to the site. NPL reserves the right to refuse access to site.

There are no cloakroom facilities, so to speed up entry to our site we recommend you minimise any bags. All visitors will be issued with a security wristband which must be worn at all times while on site.

Prohibited items include but are not limited to:

• knives/blades of any kind

• alcohol

• glass bottles

• USB sticks

• dangerous or corrosive substances

Our security team reserve the right to add to or amend this list at any time.

Make the most of your visit to our site

• All visitors will be given a map so you can make your way around our site.

• We recommend that you bring a fully charged mobile device to have the best visitor experience, as you will be able to scan QR codes around site to find out more information about our amazing science.

• If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of our staff, who will be wearing blue or red NPL polo shirts/t-shirts or visit the help desk located in our main Reception, Module 16.

• Some of our scientists will be hard at work, so please appreciate that we are not able to open all of our facilities. For your own safety, please use the map to guide you around the displays.

• All personal items brought on to site are the owner’s responsibility, we can not take responsibility for any lost or stolen items.

• The lifts are located behind the main Reception in Module 16 and also between Modules 12 and 13 – ask our staff if you need help.

• There are no guided tours and some of our laboratories are quite small, so please be prepared to queue or change the order in which you visit the displays.

Disability access

• There is limited disabled parking onsite, for blue badge holders. Please indicate when you arrive if you require a disabled parking space. These spaces are first come first served. Every effort has been made to provide assistance for disabled visitors, although some areas have limited access. Dogs are not permitted on site, except for assistance dogs. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide wheelchairs.

Getting here

• Car parking is limited so please only drive if necessary.
• NPL is well served by public transport, find out your travel options here Find us - NPL.
• Please note that while we encourage green transport, we cannot allow any e-bikes or e-scooters on site.
• Bike parking areas will be available.

Medical devices

• Please note that some laboratories are not safe for implanted or body worn medical devices (like pacemakers). Any restrictions will be indicated at the entrance of the labs.

Smoking

• NPL is a non-smoking site. Smoking, vaping or the use of e-cigarettes is not permitted in any building or the service roads between the Modules.

Cancellation

• We reserve the right to cancel the NPL Open Day or alter the format at short notice.